IGNITE (Aired 04-30-2025) Leading Through Uncertainty: Strategy, Innovation and Inspired Teams

[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign Hi, I'm Vicki Wright Hamilton and welcome to Ignite. Are you ready to spark your passion and fuel your leadership journey? This is where ambition meets action and transformation begins. Let's light the fire and keep it burning. Today we're going to do just that with a magnificent guest. I am so excited to have Eric Himes with me and he works for inspo Strategic Advising and coaching. Let's welcome Eric to the show. Welcome, Eric. [00:00:58] Speaker B: Hey, Vicki. Thanks for the incredible welcome and warm welcome. I really appreciate that and I'm grateful and honored to participate in your show today. [00:01:08] Speaker A: Well, let me tell you, my audience is going to be just excited to hear all the great wisdom that you're going to show today and share with all of us. So why don't you tell the audience a little bit about inspo? [00:01:23] Speaker B: I appreciate it, Vicki. Well, inspo Strategic Advising and coaching is an organization that we created to support leadership development, culture development, organizational growth. And we believe that nobody should sacrifice any part of their life to win and succeed somewhere else. And so we help people, leaders and organizations choose to lead differently. And they do that by investing both in personal and professional growth, in their relationships at work and at home, winning on all fronts. And so we've created a framework and a structure in our organization to offer everybody in the world to start leading differently. [00:02:06] Speaker A: Fantastic. And you know, in this day and time, we definitely need that. You know, one of the things that Eric, that you talk about a lot, as I have been following and understanding a lot more about what the organization does, is building high performance teams. And a lot of people and companies are having problems facing team struggles, how to work together, how to come back. After Covid, it often feels like people are thinking that I'm not achieving my goals, I'm not moving forward, as you can imagine, and I'm sure you would degree there's been a lot of change that has happened lately, you know, going back to the office, not being in the office, what does that mean, etc. So I'd love to ask you, what are the key elements that make a team really high performing? [00:03:02] Speaker B: That's a great question, Vicki, and I'd love to talk to that a little bit. You know, when I hear of high performing teams and when most people do, you know, what do you think of? You know, you think of like this souped up automobile or car with everything it needs to go flying down the street, you know, with that. And it's like you get this power, right? High performance. A lot of people tie that to power. The reality though is high performance comes from a very different place. And it starts with humility in the leader. It starts with vulnerability and a roadmap of developing trust within their team to create and develop those high performance teams. But it all starts inside of ourselves as leaders. And until we work through the challenges that we face in our, in our own leadership style, we won't have the ability to build or develop a high performance team. Those that work through it and establish that framework of trust within their team will develop a high performing team. But it takes a step by step approach. We don't show up into an organization one day and say, I'm going to develop a high performance team today and then it happens, right? It's a work in progress and it's building trust day in and day out and really showing up consistency, knowing that the people that you work with and lead, they know that you're going to be consistent, you're going to be fair, you're going to be intentional and looking out for their well being. [00:04:37] Speaker A: You know Eric, it's interesting because you're right, it's a journey, not a destination. It takes a while in terms of being able to get there. But I also think that when we think about high performance teams and looking at that leader, it really starts in the mind. It's about our mindset. And as you talked about, being able to look within that inner reflection and not being afraid of really being honest with yourself and what you see in the mirror and what's going on and then be willing to make those changes. You know, I always think about feedback and for me, feedback I look at as a gift. It's a gift when someone gives you feedback. Now when someone gives you a gift, you can keep it. You can say, I own it, it's mine, I accept it and thank you. You can take a gift and you can say, you know what, I'm taking this back to the store and leaving it. I don't claim it, I don't own it, I'm not changing it and I'm not going to continue to move forward. Or you can take the gift back and say, you know what, I like it but I want something a little different. And what it may be is that you got good feedback but you believe there's more modification so you exchange it. So as we continue to talk about these high performance teams, I think it's so incredibly important in what you said to truly be able to understand oneself because that's where it really begins. So with that, how can leaders identify and address issues that hidden team, from a hidden team performance perspective. [00:06:09] Speaker B: Yeah, that's a great question. You know, so the first thing is, is we have to be willing to be vulnerable with ourselves and with those around us. And then we have to ask the hard questions, you know, from a team to create a high performing team. First we have to really reflect on what's working well and what's not and what challenges do we have interpersonally, what's limiting our capacity to reach the highest heights as a team as we perform together. And so that reflection bit and those questions we have to ask is as a leader, we need to be open to that feedback. To your point, Vicki, because that feedback is going to help them be seen and be heard, which then is also going to empower them to want to play a role in knowing that they do matter, that their work and their efforts are going to be seen and they understand how it connects with the work that they've committed to. And so that intrinsically motivates them many further steps down the road with purpose and passion. Right. And so those high performance teams, we have to foster that type of environment and we really have to become vulnerable with ourselves, open ourselves up and look in the mirror and say, you know, it's not about what everybody else did, it's actually about how we've shown up and how we're showing up. [00:07:33] Speaker A: So to that end, how can a leader truly address those issues when there are issues that are there, how do they move the organization forward? [00:07:44] Speaker B: Yes. So it's a lot of self reflection and self worth. We have to be willing. You know, we believe that to create a high performance team, we just have to work harder, longer hours to go after the goal. But the reality is it's the investment we're making in ourselves because we can't give what we don't have. And so we have to build ourselves up as leaders to give that to everybody else around us because the team is only going to be as good as the leader. And so the outcome and the performance of the team always will sit with the vision of the organization and the leader leading that vision. And so if we didn't do the work and invest in ourselves to grow, we can never expect the team to go further than us because we're the limiting factor always. [00:08:32] Speaker A: Well, you know, I'd like to talk a little bit about that because I have a philosophy when it comes to leaders. First of all, in my world, I believe everybody's a leader. Everybody's a leader in their own right. Okay. So when we start Talking about leadership, I also think there's some accountability that each person owns within that team. So yes, the leader sets the strategy and the vision and we have to believe in the leader and trust the leader in terms of helping us to get where we want to go. But every single person has a role to play. And with everybody having a role to play, each person has to go look in that mirror. Do you agree with that? [00:09:12] Speaker B: I do. Titles don't make you a leader. And it doesn't matter what level you are within an organization. True leadership sits within and can manifest in everyone as it does. It just you have to choose to either open yourself up and we're going to use the name of your show, Ignite that fire. Right. To grow into that leader that you've been called to be and in the role that you're in. Because it's not. People don't follow managers, they don't follow titles. They're influenced maybe a little bit by them. But the reality is that people follow people that can lead and anybody can do that and everybody has the capacity to do that. [00:09:55] Speaker A: So in this last minute or two, before we take a station break, how can you share some strategies that really foster collaboration and trust within a team? [00:10:07] Speaker B: Yes. So what I would recommend is doing work together on ourselves and so we can build a safe space. So call it. And we're all going to go through the process of growing together, but we can't throw grenades over the fence. It's got to be a self reflection only, a safe place to share the work that we're doing and the areas we're choosing to work on because we all have blind spots. And so when you do that as a group, as a team, everybody's taking ownership and everybody has been growing together. But it's a real special environment that has to be facilitated and that does have to be facilitated by the leader because nobody will be more vulnerable than the leader is. The limit is the leader in that space. And so if the leader is all in, guess what? Everybody else is all in. And everybody transforms together. And that creates a great environment for people to truly grow and work through their blind spots, get incredible feedback that is safe, that they can use. It's not hurtful, but helpful and it lifts everybody up together. [00:11:23] Speaker A: You know, that's awesome. And you're right, we all have biases and we all have to reflect and understand what those biases are. We're going to take station break and when we come back, we're going to talk to Eric about embracing servant leadership. We'll be right back. Welcome back. And for those of you that are just joining us, I am here today with a phenomenal guest, Eric Hines. He's with Inspo Strategic Advising and coaching. And last segment, we were talking a lot about building high performance teams. If you miss it, if you missed it, I encourage you go back and listen as he gave us some great nuggets around building a high performance team and what it takes. Before we took a station break, Eric, as I mentioned, I really want to get into embracing servant leadership. One of the problems that I think a lot of people in our audience that are struggling is that traditional leadership styles aren't resonating anymore with teams. Things are evolving, they're changing, they're going in different directions. And sometimes it feels like there's a disconnect between the leaders and the team members as they continue to move forward. So my question is, what is servant leadership and how does it differ from traditional leadership models? [00:12:49] Speaker B: That's a great question, Vicki. I appreciate that. One Servant leader, I think it has a lot of thought and a lot of an idea around what it could be, what it might be, and there's a number of different ways to identify it and explain it. From my standpoint, personally, servant leadership is willing to see the need of your people and meet that need in the best way possible to help them grow and develop into the best leader and person they can possibly be. That's how we look at it from inspo's perspective. It's an investment into the person to be intentional and show up where you're needed for them without undermining their ability to succeed and grow. Because I think the thing is, is that servant leaders sometimes say, well, that's me doing the work of my people. Well, that's not true. We're not here to do the work of our people, but we're here to help them grow and invest in. Into them. Right. And so serving them well is by watering them. [00:13:58] Speaker A: Absolutely. Absolutely. I couldn't agree with you more. And I think that servant leadership is truly about being willing to serve the one CEO I used to love. His, his saying, you know, from Chick Fil A is that he used to always say, my servant leadership means I can get on my knees and I can tie your shoes. You don't have to get on your knees and tie mine. I just, it's one of those things that I'm willing to serve others. My title doesn't make me different. It doesn't say that I can and you can't. I just Love that. I just think that's so humility goes a long way, you know, as you continue to move forward. So how can adopting a servant leadership approach improve the team morale and productivity? [00:14:48] Speaker B: Oh, my gosh. You know, servant leadership, I think, equals love. And, you know, there's no better way to put it. And so when you're. You're coming in to work with people, you're loving people as a leader, and therefore that's going to open up the doors for morale in so many ways, because they know that you're going to be personally cared for. They know, they feel it, right. It's not like you say it, but they actually feel it. They feel special. Right. Every time you meet somebody, you have an opportunity or work with somebody, they'll leave them with an experience. The experience is going to happen no matter what, and it's going to either be a great one or a terrible one, but you're going to be leaving them with something regardless. And so we have a choice as leaders of how we're going to lead. And as servant leaders, it's one of those things that you have the opportunity to leave somebody better than when you found them and to, you know, and whatever that might be, if it's a word of affirmation, a word of encouragement, something to inspire them to grow, something to challenge them, you know, in that. So that's what we think about from a servant leader standpoint. And the morale catches fire because guess what? When you're demonstrating that it's contagious and other people are going to pick up on it too, and all of a sudden you have this entire mindset of positivity, encouragement. It's uplifting. And the energy points go through the roof, right? Which then increase the productivity value of the organization because everybody's excited to be there, right? They're truly. They're more than engaged, they're inspired. And that inspired workforce, the productivity value goes from 100 to 225% without working any more hours. But more happens, right in that. [00:16:39] Speaker A: Well, you know, I think one of the things that's really interesting about this, Eric, as you continue to talk about it, is, and we all know people may not remember what you do for them, but they sure remember how you made them feel. And those feelings and emotions are what they're tied to. And the more that we can help someone to feel better, to feel positive, to feel heard, to feel like we care about their progression, their careers, their families and what's going to happen, the more loyal they become and the more they want to make sure, look, I'm here because I want to be here. I don't have to be here. You know, I remember as a leader and I had somebody on my team that was working for me and got approached for another job and she made a point to let me know. Well, I wanted you to know I got an opportunity, I got a call for another opportunity and I said, oh, that's awesome. Did you take it? And she said, no. Nothing is worth the relationship that we have in this team and the company that we built. And I don't care how much they're offering money wise, that peace of mind and comfort is worth millions to me. Of course that warmed my heart because it meant that she really wanted to be there. But I did tell her, I said, don't let any one person stop you from any goals and dreams you have. But if this is your passion and you're happy, that's all we can ask for because that's living out our why to the maximum capability is our own personal why. So I love that, I love that as we move forward. So let's talk about a leader who needs to transition. What's the best way or steps that you can give them in order to transition to servant leadership? [00:18:22] Speaker B: You know, I think that leadership, it's such a byproduct of the environment we live in and grow up in some times unfortunately, and you know, we're molded by who we have around us. It just happens, right? I mean, we're influenced by those that circle around us and you know, good or bad, we're going to have a level of influence of what we've learned growing up, right. I think by age 28 you stop growing from a sponge standpoint realistically, because you've formed and molded based on experience only, right? And then you have to make a cognitive decision on is this for me or not? And I think that that doesn't happen early enough in life. I know it didn't for me to where we made a decision on what type of leader am I going to be instead of watching the leaders around me saying what parts of them do I like, right? And manifesting this leader instead of saying, I'm going to be a servant leader and this is what we're going to do. So the transition is hard because you know, it's sitting here leading in a direction and you know, a servant leader isn't weak. It's actually the strongest leader out there I believe, because they have a level of humility and a great deal of self awareness. And so there's gifts in being a servant leader that you get to experience, but you have to. What do you have to leave behind? You have to leave the hierarchy of I'm the authoritative person, and you have to leave that away because it doesn't matter about your authority. You're a leader. So we're not leading by title, but we're leading as an individual and we're leading other individuals. Right? And so we have to take ourselves out of the ivory tower. We have to come down, work with all of the people that we work with, and recognize that they are no different than me. And when we do that, that is where the secret sauce is to where things start changing, the morale gets better. We're serving the people around us. They're staying. You know, turnover rates drop because people are invested, intentionally invested to not only the work that they're doing because they understand its purpose, but the leader that's loving them. Well, you know, through being that servant leader, driving and creating that inspired culture. [00:20:46] Speaker A: Well, you know, and to your point, being a servant leader is being authentic. It's being real, it's being authentic, it's caring, it's loving it. But it's also, and here's the point that I believe is really, really important. Just because you're a servant leader doesn't mean that you can't lead a team and take corrective action. And I think people confuse corrective action with being a servant leader because a good leader recognizes the importance, what needs to be done, why it's done, but also recognizes the responsibility to help the individual understand that, to know what it means and why it means that and the implications of it. But if somebody's not performing, it doesn't mean that you don't discipline. It doesn't mean that you don't have a conversation. Servant leadership means that you have the ability to even talk to that person about what's. Where their opportunities may be. But you do it in a humane way. You know, you don't have to be. You don't have to be bad about the way you do that when you're. When you're working with that individual or make them feel low or less than. But you still have to do that corrective action. So I think you're right. It's very difficult going into that servant leadership. But it all starts with the fact that you want to be the kind of person that people want to follow. They want to, you know, they want to be a part of your team. They feel like, you know, there's something to offer, you know, as they continue to move up and grow and that you respect what they offer. Well. [00:22:28] Speaker B: And they know they're going to be invested by you, Right? [00:22:31] Speaker A: Exactly. [00:22:32] Speaker B: They know you as the leader, is going to invest in them and take a personal interest. And then the other thing is love isn't always soft. Right. Those that love you the most are going to have the hardest conversations with you because they want the absolute best for you. So I don't want to mistake love as this soft environment because sometimes it is where it's needed. Right. And empathy and all of that. But also, if I care enough about you and I really appreciate who you are, I've got to have to let you know some of the things that you need to know to be the best version of yourself as a leader. If I don't do that, I'm not being the leader that I'm called to be to give you the best opportunity to succeed. [00:23:14] Speaker A: And you know what, as you said, if I'm not going to be honest and authentic and tell you the truth, I'm not serving you. So what's the point? Because what we find out is, is that people want to know where they can take corrective actions. People don't get up in the morning and say, oh, I'm just not going to do my work today or I'm just going to do a bad job. Whatever happened or occurred, there was a purpose, there was a reason, but there's also a learning opportunity. And I think that's what you're referring to as we continue to talk about, you know, that corrective action that we move forward. Well, we're going to take a station break and when we come back, Eric, we're going to talk about developing a strategic vision. We'll be right back. Welcome back. Now, I don't know if you're just joining us or not, but Eric Himes has been full of some great information. You know, we first started out talking about building high performance teams and what that looks like. Like, we then went into embracing servant leadership. How do we get it? What do we do? How do we transition to it and what does it really mean? Now, Eric, on this segment, as I said before the station break, I am really looking forward to talking about developing a strategic vision. Now if we sit back and we really look at all the challenges that we have amongst us, getting a clear direction for an organization, a nonprofit, your own business or service, it does not matter, can be extremely difficult. And it often feels like we may be moving in a direction and not have purpose. How many times do we hear people say, it's like, I'm doing a job, but I'm not living my purpose and moving forward. Why is having a strategic vision crucial for an organization's success as they continue to move forward? [00:25:22] Speaker B: Yeah, thanks, Vicki. Yeah, strategic visions are really important. No matter where you're at in the life cycle of business. If you're just starting out as an entrepreneur to a small business, to a large, you know, multi billion dollar organization, vision is everything. And where there isn't one, the people perish. And nobody knows what's going on and nobody has any direction whatsoever. And everybody just sucked up into the whirlwind of being busy. But nothing strategically is taking place. And so, you know, the vision, it's a big responsibility for leaders in every role, in every capacity. You know, we develop what we call, you know, is okrs, and also vgo's visionary growth objectives. And so these visionary growth objectives help organizations develop a vision, but then they understand the objectives that they need to accomplish to say, hey, we're on the right road in the right path of our vision, and our people are in the same boat with us, rowing the same direction because they also have objectives that support the vision. And so. But developing the vision is where it all begins, right? And a lot of leaders, I think we underutilize and underestimate the time required to create a great vision. And so we find it as unproductive. Maybe some do, because it's not activity, right? It's, you know, and so if we're active, it means we're busy, which means things are happening, but nothing strategic is taking place, really. And so we have to slow down enough to take a look back and set a vision for one in five years and to say where we're going to go. And then what I have is an overarching vision of how far are you going to go? Right? And so for Inspo, the vision that we have is we're going all the way, right? We're going all the way. That's our vision, you know, over the top of everything that we're doing. And people like, well, what's all the way? I said we'll find out when we get there. But we're not stopping to follow what it is that we've created for our organization. And we're going to just continue to build and build and build and invest right in that. So having the framework to having these VGOs set in place gives us the ability to be successful in executing. But then in the Framework that we designed and created, we actually give pieces of the vision to every individual of the organization. So now all of a sudden they know one, the work that they're doing does impact the vision. The leaders have successfully communicated the vision because they've given the work to be done to support it. And everybody's totally invested together in it to win it. Right. And so it's a huge dynamic shift. Everybody knows what we're talking about and then we're meeting about it every week. Right. So we don't lose it. Right. There's so many companies that set vision, but then they can't tell you what it is because they've been so busy that they, you know, over time it just gets lost. And then if you go one level or two levels down, they don't even know there is a vision half the time. And so at inspo, we created the systems and the framework to eliminate those problems, to get the most out of the team and get them intrinsically motivated to switch, support something bigger, knowing that the work they're doing matters. [00:28:53] Speaker A: Well, you know, it's important because a lot of times we will set up a strategy and a vision, go through all these long days, work days, just getting out what we really want the vision to look like, the strategy to look like, etc. We'll roll it out to the team, we'll roll out to the organization. This is what we're doing. And then it's like a piece of paper on a shelf. Nothing happens, nothing gets done. Everybody's gung ho the moment that happens. But something that you said that is so critical is that continuous checking validation. Let's make sure. And I think a lot of that validation, a lot of that continuous activity actually revolves around the key performance indicators or your measurements that you put together that's going to say what success looks like. Because let's face it, we can use the same words as a vision, but our, but our thought process of what that outcome is going to be can be two totally different things, which is why we have to be so clear about what we do and in that value proposition that we're sharing with all the people that are participating. And that leads me to how can leaders craft the process they can use to craft a compelling vision that will align with all the team's values and goals as they're putting it together? [00:30:25] Speaker B: Absolutely. Well, it's a team effort for one. The more people you have involved in developing the vision to a certain capacity, the better, because not one person has all the answers. And we all miss things because we all think a different way in a certain way. We all see things differently. And so we have to create a collaborative effort. We got to carve out uninterrupted time. And depending on how much time you need to develop your vision, we conduct one, two or three day workshops to get through it. And we go through a framework and a process and a system that we have to. Where we all start with our own personal vision of what it would be for the organization if we were leading it. And then we get into the depths of, okay, where's the mutual alignments from what everybody is sharing? And then we start narrowing it down, right? So we might have 15 visions to start, and then all of a sudden, you know, we work through them, but we come away with one robust vision that everybody's voted on, invested into, and said, this is the direction we're heading together, you know, but it takes time and it takes effort and energy without distraction to really get to that. But when you do that, guess what? Every senior leader is bought in, which means every one of their team members has probably been heard if the organization is living in the inspired culture. Because the voice matters in these organizations, gives everybody the best chance to succeed and make things happen. And not just make things happen, but live out, live a life of purpose within the organization that they work for, knowing that they are making a difference every day. [00:32:13] Speaker A: You know, it's. It's interesting because one of the things that you know, especially when you're in your own business and you're starting, you're saying, okay, how do I want my clients. Clients to feel? What do I want them to experience? What do I want them to go through? That's another form of strategy. Whether you have a team or not, you can be a solopreneur and still do that, right? And think about how I want them to experience me, what do I want them to say about me in terms of how they felt and what I delivered and the value that I gave, et cetera. And I think what happens is, is that sometimes when we begin to put those values together and those goals together, we have to align it to our business purpose. Because if you don't, what happens is people can feel really good about what they're doing, but they don't understand the impact and how it aligns to how we're actually making money, how we're actually going to keep the business going. Because let's face it, no money, no pay. No pay, no business, no job. No job. I don't care what you do. I'm not going to be happy because I can't take care of home. Right. So it's really about making those connections and helping people to really align with that and make it happen. I know I have clients that I work with, and I always tell them, if you have a goal and you can't put it into one of the strategies of your vision where you are, you shouldn't be doing it. Why are we measuring it? Because the question is, why does it matter? What difference does it make? Making sure that we keep those in alignment as we move forward along those lines. Eric, I'd love to get your thoughts on this. What are the common pitfalls to avoid when developing and implementing a strategic vision as leaders are moving forward? [00:34:02] Speaker B: Communication. Communication. Communication. [00:34:05] Speaker A: Amen to that. [00:34:07] Speaker B: We've got so many people, and you could, you know, you have to say it so many times for it to connect. It's not like, hey, here's our vision, and we all go back to work. Now the leaders have to be saying it every day, every week, you know, you know, at least 30 to 50 times, you know, And I'm serious, because it doesn't resonate if it doesn't connect. Right. With those people. But then it's the activity, right? And so if we don't adjust the workflow of our people and help them develop the habits that they need to have in place to support the vision. Well, they've just heard me talk about all of this, but they haven't changed anything. They've left, and I haven't given them anything to change, right? And so therefore, oh, we have this great vision and this is what we're going to do. Okay? Business is normal, right? Business as usual. No, it's not business as usual. This is the new process. This is the new procedure, or even forget those, but this is the new habit. This is what I need you to work on developing for yourself. I need you to grow in this skill set specifically so we can be successful in delivering the vision that we want. If that's a customer experience, if that, you know, depending on the role in the organization, if that's how you're becoming and growing into a servant leader. So call it if that is somebody that is growing in vulnerability to connect deeper relationally, right? These are all things that we have to develop personally, right? So, but if I don't give that, or if somebody doesn't give that to me, we can have this great conversation about this vision, and it's all energy and no action. And so therefore, we're all excited. What are we doing? I'm not sure. You know, it sounded really good, and I think we're going to be going really far. But yet, you know, we just don't know what to do, Right? And so people need to also understand. It's like, hey, these are the other things that we need to be doing. So I know what I have to do, right? So these are the actions. And then really we got to put it in a scorecard, right? We have to have a place to measure it and know we're doing it. [00:36:26] Speaker A: You're absolutely right. Because people do what they get measured, right? That's how we operate is we do what we get measured. And I think something that you said earlier that I'm a true believer in is that when you're creating a strategy and a vision and you want people to follow, you need to make sure you have, you have positions at all levels that are participating so that people can see themselves in it. And lo and behold, what happens is they become to be your champions out in the organization or whatever you're doing. If you're an entrepreneur, getting information from your clients and allowing your clients to grow and give information back to you allows them to go and talk about what you're doing and how you're servicing them in order to get that return, you know, from your clients as well, to get referrals and all the rest of it. So I think involving everybody at certain levels, I'm not saying you need 500 people, but if you have 40 different groups of roles where all 40 of them are going to be impactful, have one person, let them be your champion and that champion of moving forward so that they're involved, their voice is heard. When you get ready to roll it out, that champion can say, hey, wait a minute, I participated in that and we're ready to move forward. [00:37:45] Speaker B: That's right. [00:37:45] Speaker A: So we're going to take a station break and when we come back, we're going to talk about fostering innovation and originality. We'll be right back. Welcome back. I don't know if you're just joining us or not, but if you missed the previous three segments, you definitely have to go back. Eric Hines from Inspo Strategic Advising and Coaching has been here giving us lots of nuggets and information. We began with building high performance teams. What does that look like and how do we do it? Embracing servant leadership. What is servant leadership? What do we need to do if we need to transition to servant leadership when we haven't been one previously? And Trying to learn and enhance those skill sets. Number three, developing a strategic vision. Why do we do it? What does it mean? Who do we involve and what does it look like? And now we're going to talk about fostering innovation and originality now. You know, a lot of people get stagnation in their business practices. They just get stagnated. They're not sure where to go or what to do. And it often feels like they're behind the competition. Right. And, and the competition. Who's innovating now, as we think about competition, I. One of my philosophies is that none of us really have a competitor because each one of us have a different journey. Your joint journey defines your method and your method and process for whatever it is you do. Nobody did your journey but you. So other people may do the exact same thing, but they did it in different ways. So understanding that a little bit about that competition and journey allows you the opportunity to truly innovate. So how do we, how can leaders encourage a culture so that we can continue that innovation within the teams and move forward? [00:40:00] Speaker B: I love that innovation is everything. It really is. But innovation comes from a place of being okay with who you are. And as a leader, you have to be comfortable in yourself to be able to take the risk, to innovate and be original. There's no better person to do it than you as a leader. And I just want to talk to all the leaders out there for a moment that are listening in, because I think this is really, really important. You don't have to be your neighbor. You don't have to be the CEO, or if you're the CEO, you don't have to be another CEO. You're original in and of yourself. And that's enough for you to be the best version of yourself and invest in the person you're made to be. If you spend all of the time looking over the fence trying to outperform, outdo, outlift, out, be your neighbor, you will never win. You will never win. You'll be tired, you'll be exhausted, and all you're doing is creating a carbon copy of somebody else. But by the way, you're the only one of you, and you are unique. And I think that you have the opportunity to invest in yourself and continue to invest in yourself and be okay. And so I just want to share with everybody, love yourself. Well, take care of yourself, know you're enough and step out and step up because you have the opportunity to do a lot from an innovation standpoint. But first, you have to have the belief in yourself in order to believe in others. And so I just want to give that encouragement to all of you watching, because you are special, you are unique. And innovation only comes when you are firmly planted in knowing who you are. [00:41:47] Speaker A: And knowing your own uniqueness. Right. What am I unique at? And knowing that, believing in yourself, that confidence. I know I'm good at this. I know I understand this. You know, a lot of times when we're talking to team members or leaders and we're discussing, you know, being that original person, the thing that happens is, is when you can sit and have a conversation that you didn't have to rehearse, you didn't have to think about, you didn't have to wonder what the answer was. It just flows. That's who you are. That's showing your originality. You're not having to convince somebody of what you're doing. That foundation allows the ability of innovation and new ideas to grow. I call it the art of the possible. We can begin to understand our own personal art of the possible as we begin to get closer, comfortable with where we are, and then begin to see things differently. Wonder if. If I dreamed, if I close my eyes, what would that be like? What does that look like? So in understanding that, Eric, can you provide examples of how fostering innovation has led success in your own experiences going forward? [00:43:10] Speaker B: Absolutely. So when I started inspo strategic advising and coaching 15 years ago, it was put on my heart. You know, God gave me this opportunity to do this and really grateful for that opportunity. And one of the things that, you know, was definitely put on my heart is like, it can't be like anything else out there. It has to be unique, it has to be different, and it has to be not of the world, but we're going to bring it into the world. And so what do you do with that? Right? So you can't talk to anybody or anything else. You just got to rely, you know, on the Holy Spirit to lead you through it. And, you know, I'm grateful for the opportunity to build and develop inspo, you know, and it is. It's creating and fostering a very different environment for people that. That innovation. You know, if I wasn't comfortable in myself, I wouldn't dare risk it all to do it right. The risk would be too great because I would be very insecure in my own abilities because, you know, and thinking that I have to do all this. And so, you know, in order to innovate, we have to be confident, we have to trust, you know, in that. And so. And knowing that what you innovate may not be for everyone, but it is for a group of people. And that that's okay because we're not here to please everybody else. And with the work that we're doing, we're just here to help everybody grow and get a little bit better than they were yesterday, you know, and help organizations climb to the next level and experience the greater outcomes and challenge them to win differently and invest in their people differently. And so when we innovate, we have the opportunity to do something that hasn't been done, which is new and exciting. And also it's really giving. It's really giving to others. Right? Because you've had to take the time to invest into kind of figuring that out, navigating that, and then to offer it. You know, the biggest risk is, what if somebody says, we don't like it? You know, well, then what are you going to do with that? Well, they don't like it. Well, we're going to have to find somebody that does like it or, you know, we're going to have to fine tune it a little bit, you know, to get it out there. But I think innovation is everything because everybody can watch the same 60 minutes over and over again, you know, and it's the same thing. You know, it's like we have this and then we have this. We have a version. You know, let's just be different. Being different is good. Different creates a lot of opportunity. It creates you to become really your true version of yourself and giving the opportunity for those around you to believe and live out the same thing. [00:45:50] Speaker A: And, you know, it's interesting because when you are yourself and you're authentic and you're actually, actually, you know, doing innovation and growing and development, I think the thing that people forget about is you're inspiring somebody somewhere. You're giving them hope somewhere where they can see things that they weren't able to see before through just being who you are. And to your point about the fact that everybody may not like what you have, the importance is to find out the ones who need what you have. You know, I tell all of my clients, I need you to be a doctor, and I need you to be able to prescribe the medicine for the patient that's coming in. But I want you to understand intrinsically, what is it that they have pain about and recognize the pain is a symptom to what is stopping them from doing. It's not all the cause. Right. So as you begin to think about, how can I Make it better. How can I address that patient's concern more? How can I get to that right person? You're going to be prescribing underneath that specialty that those patients really want from you specifically, to your point, it may not be everybody, but we're not here and we're not going to service everybody and everybody's not going to look at us the same way. But somebody on this earth needs to hear what you got to say. Somebody needs to understand what you have to offer, right, in terms of moving forward. That's why God gave us all our gifts, right? He wants us to share our gifts. And whatever that gift may be, you know, other people may know it, but there's going to be people out there who don't. And whoever doesn't is who you want to service. So I think that's really important. So as we begin, Eric, and we're continuing the conversation about innovation, thinking differently. I think in the world today there is a lot going on in our economy, there's a lot going on around us in the world, et cetera. And some people are struggling. Well, how do I keep the day to day going and still innovate at the same time? Do I need to just pause it? Can you give the listeners some guidance on your thought process of based upon where we are, whether they should or should not or what it looks like in terms of continuing that innovation effort? [00:48:24] Speaker B: Absolutely. And innovation has a magnitude of distance from high cost innovation to low cost innovation to. But here's the reality. If you're not growing, you're dying as an organization. There is no plateau in the middle. You're either moving forward or you're moving backwards. You have either momentum or you don't have momentum. And innovation, I believe, is the key ingredient to finding it and keeping it. And you have to keep continuing to innovate. And I know the economy and the, you know, impacts different businesses, different ways from policies to all the different things going on right now. And the reality is, though, that doesn't mean we should pause innovation. We need to continue forward in it. We need to figure out how to innovate in the circumstances we're facing today and always be having our strategic mind adapting to and growing through the environment. Because for every challenge there's an opportunity. And don't miss the opportunity when we see it as a challenge only to fix the challenge, we miss the opportunity to grow from it. And it's really important that we double down on those challenges and turn them into opportunities. Every conversation you have, every problem you face is an opportunity to grow and innovate. And that's going to be part of the lifeblood of your organization and who you are. And that's the difference of being resilient or not. And so I want to encourage everyone to keep the resiliency going, to be innovative, turn that part of your mind on and keep it going. Because the vision that you have is only limited by when you choose to stop innovating. So keep looking forward because there's great opportunity ahead, no matter the circumstances. And don't give up. [00:50:19] Speaker A: You know, Eric, as we close today, one of the things that you said that I believe is really, really important is that we must continue to innovate. When times are hard, you get the most creative to find a solution. Let that creativity of juice create the innovation of what can take you to the next level. So you're not concentrating on what's not going right, but you're creating ways in order to improve it going forward. I am so excited that you were here with us today, Eric. I appreciate all your insights and everything that you have left with our audience today. If anyone is looking to get in touch with Eric, go to inspo Strategic Advising and Coaching. He is here to serve and to help again. He told you how to keep that fire burning. Let's keep that innovation going. Thank you so much for joining in and we'll see you next time. [00:51:21] Speaker B: Thanks, Vicki. This has been a NOW Media Network's feature presentation. All rights reserved.