Hello everyone. Welcome to Real Talk with Tia and Jill. Happy Monday. Happy Monday. Welcome to the week. Yes. Your week may have started yesterday already. That's true. That's true. Or some people that might be watching, you might be almost through your Monday. We're getting started here in the States, but we of course want to hear where are you, where are you watching from this morning? Yeah. Where are you joining us from? And are you in the Arctic tundra with me here in Minnesota? This latest jet stream this morning, I woke up and the feels like was like minus thirty seven. Oh, my goodness. Well, we took it a little snow last night. Did you? We're in the thirties or in the twenties, I think. And some teens, maybe like when the sun's not out, but not negative thirty. No, no. I just avoid going outside right now. There you go. but I do love to live vicariously through where everybody else is showing up from so I love when you drop it in there and then I could be like oh yes Tennessee or California or wherever you are yes we love we love to hear it we love to hear it we love to see it we love to be in conversation with you and talk about the real things right and today's topic is is I love the topic because it's all about influence and leading without leverage. Many of us really in the food industry, we're not in charge. We don't have the top title. And most of the time, directions are not coming from people who have the title, who has the authority. And for the people who don't have the authority, we're still expected to make these changes, fix systems and keep things from falling apart. Yeah, I think it's one of the funniest things because I mean, I did this right when I remember being like a lab associate and I was like, someday when I'm a supervisor, I'm going to make this decision different or whatever. Oh yes. Right. Just that, that obviously early career, like probably I'll be honest, I wasn't quite mature. Just thinking and not understanding that even when you're the boss, you don't just get to hammer down on here's what we're doing. And if you do, interesting, because depending on who's on your team, that may or may not work very effectively. But I think there's that myth behind there that like, gosh, when I'm in charge, I get to make more decisions and be more impactful. Yes, yes, and kind of. Right. Yeah. Yeah, that's why I love today's topic, too. Because we all do think even when you are the one you think is the boss, you really the influence muscle is what you should be exercising every day. And Jill, very good point around like, even when you are the boss, if you're leading in that way, there's other issues, right, happening because you're leading in that way. And we run into those leaders, right, of like, I'll just tell people what to do. Or I remember talking specifically to a software company who, we talk to software companies all the time about how to help their clients get ready for their software. And I was talking to someone and they were saying that, yeah this is there's this organization and they're doing well rolling it out but it's a little concerning because their leader is like do it or else and i'm like and so they're like it's moving forward but maybe a little concerning and i'm like yes because once that leader is gone then there's not the or else that's there so you didn't create champions you really just created these people that's doing it because You know, they're kind of going with the flow because they feel like they're going to lose their job versus I believe in this. I want to be a part of this. I'm going to continue this even when the leader is not around. Oh, yeah. Well, hey, if it is your first time joining us for Real Talk, as you can tell, we're going to have some good conversations today. We like to say honest conversations to lead people forward in food. Yes. And I'm Jill. This is Tia. And like we said, today is all about leading without leverage. Because regardless of where you are, direct reports, no direct reports, you know, low on the totem pole, high on the totem pole, however you want to look at it. You're going to need to lead with influence. Yes, yes, yes. But first, let's talk about what's trending. This is something we started with Real Talk this season, just to kind of break it up and see, like, what are people talking about in the workspace? We like to connect the work that we're doing with what's really happening, hence Real Talk. And so, Jill, you found a really funny clip. It is kind of funny. Yeah, let's see. This is our first time sharing a video through this StreamYard platform. So let's see if we can make that happen. To be also clear that we want to make sure that it's on a website that has a lot of advertisements around it. But I think I kind of got it from a pop-up. I'm just going to just share my screen. Let's see if I can bring it up. There it is. Like you said, lots of pop-ups on this, folks. But let's see if I can share. Oh, maybe I can. Yeah, so people might be wondering like, what's going on there? Oh, they recognize the music. Right. Yeah, if you use Microsoft Teams, that's probably, you're probably like, what's happening right now? Is somebody trying to call me? Oh my gosh, I love that. I know for, right, people who have Microsoft Teams, they probably were like, oh my gosh, is someone calling me this morning? Right. And can you believe somebody's actually, this DJ has like transitioned it into like getting a crowd to be like dancing to the Microsoft Team thing? Yes. Like that's leading by influence. Right, right. You know, turning something in that really, as you think about, I mean, how many times do we hear people, oh, every time I hear that team's sound, right? But this DJ has really turned into something positive, something fun, right? And so now, you know, you're welcome. Now when you hear your team's message go off. So you're ready to like, dance it up a little bit. You can get moving. You can get moving. Yeah. Right. And whether it's teams where you're thinking like, oh, another team, or maybe it's another meeting where you get to see influence, power struggles play out, like whatever it means to you when you hear that. I mean, it is, it's in this scenario with the video, it is a little bit funny. Yeah. It is in to think about too, like if you're in this environment and you have like this team's PTSD sort of thing going on on your team because you're burnt out, right? Overworked. You have a lot going on. There's a lot of conversations happening. This might be a laugh that you, that you can bring to your team, right? To lighten the mood before diving into something heavy. Yes. Yeah. And you know, that's, I think that's the thing, right? Like when we think about doing our work, part of it is when it does feel heavy, like that's also where we often aren't using influence in an appropriate way because influence shouldn't, doesn't need to feel heavy. No. No, I mean, we, we talk about this a lot because it's one of the things that we get asked the most about, like, how do I influence better? Yeah. And we're like, it all comes down to connections and relationships. I mean, I think we sometimes get cut off with influence thinking it means we're manipulating or we're trying to be persuasive. And like those words kind of carry this negative connotation, but really influences about like connecting, sharing, being curious. Yeah. Yeah. You know, we, for people who've gone through our leadership bootcamp or looked it up or know about it, we talk about influence there, but influence is about the ninth module. There's fourteen modules in bootcamp. And it's about the ninth module and people are like, oh, I'm so ready to get to influence. But like you said, you have to build connection before you're able to influence properly. So we talk about building relationships and building trust and safe spaces way before we talk about influence because like you said and this is really going into our first main point is that influence isn't about control it's about connection connecting to people and you have to have that connection first before you can influence in any way yeah and you know coming from well you know we i don't say we pick on but coming from food safety and quality It seems easy to lead with science and data. Yeah. And, you know, I learned really quickly when I would, you know, start talking science jargon where people would just, you know, glass eye tune me out. I had not connected with them on a human level to even have them be curious about what I was talking about. Right. Yeah. Yeah. And we see it, you know, we see it across the clients that we work with, the people that we coach. they're trying to influence and move move people through and if there's no connection if there's no trust if there's no relationship then people are also looking at why should i listen to you right like why should i listen to you why should i trust you over someone else why should i trust you over myself right we run into many people that's like i think i know the path you're like that's not the path we want to take well why should i trust you over my own self that It really comes down to that true connection, that relationship. It is. And if you even go back to sales, and I had sales training, and part of that we hear all the time is people buy from people they know, like, and trust. Influence is the same way. Ideas are the same way. I don't necessarily want to get ideas from someone that I don't like, don't trust, and don't know. Right, exactly. When you think of it from that standpoint, I, you need to know someone and what they stand for and what they value and maybe even know, like, I know you won't fully like, this isn't something you maybe fully can support, but can you support this part? Like that's where having connections and relationships with people, you know, it's yeah. I wish on one hand, I wish we could take influence out of this part of the, the dictionary when it comes to leadership, cuz really it's about connections. Mm hmm. Mm hmm. You're you're absolutely right. And it reminds me of this of a client I was coaching and she's talking through, oh, I'm working with this person in an industry. They've been in industry for thirty years. You know, they they say that they know these things, but they don't separate allergens appropriately. um and it's like okay well how are you trying to influence that and really we ultimately got down to how are you building relationships with people because like you said using regulations data science best practices all of those things well that person's been in the industry for thirty years So that's not an influencing method, right, to use in that situation. But once you build the relationship and start having conversations, then you could see, right, how do I inspire this person to take up this best practice? How do I inspire this person to move in a way that they haven't before in thirty years? Right. You don't know that unless you build a relationship, build the trust, build the safe spaces and open that conversation. Right. Open the conversation up. Yeah, I think it's once again, it goes back to that curiosity because anybody can read the like GFSI requirements that say allergens should be separated. So right in that situation, you can say that and someone will go, yep, I know that. Right. But instead, how do you how do you build on this and be like, what do you think would happen if, you know, your dairy allergen had some holes in it and it all fell through onto this one. What would that, what would happen? Like, how would you all handle that? Right. That's a different conversation, right? Yeah. But that's that, like you said, the difference, if you don't have a relationship, it's hard to ask those types of questions, not knowing maybe what people will respond to or how, but that's also the difference. the joy and maybe what holds people back too from building relationships, not knowing what people will do. Yeah. And what they will say. Yeah. You know, this point makes me think about like how as leaders, you know, we need to slow down and before going straight forward to, I got my to-do list and I need to do, you know, I need to do this and then to get people on board and I need to do, I need to do all of this. Think about the other person and think about like your to-do list is not their to-do list, right? They have other to-dos to think about. And most likely they're not even thinking about what you are trying to influence them on, or they, they think that we shouldn't do it and it shouldn't be on their to-do list anyway. So having that connection and understanding those points makes it easier for you to have conversations. And you don't know, I don't know, maybe they might influence you that you don't need to go down that path. That's an option, right? When you open your mind, when you open conversation, you also open up yourself to have the best possible solution because you might be influenced as a part of this conversation. Yeah. It's that leading with curiosity and learning versus like, let me share what I know. Oh yes. Yes. And that makes a really big difference because even when you go into the conversation, cause we've all been there, right. Where someone's like, they may ask a question, but it's so leading that it's very clear what that's supposed to be versus really, you know, asking questions for things that you really don't know and just to learn and be curious. That helps people come along with you and feel more inspired that you're there to help solve something or make something better when you bring them into that conversation. Mm hmm. Mm hmm. Because they feel they're a part of it. Right. They're a part of it. I also like when we talk about this to say that it doesn't mean that you just eliminate the facts. Right. And don't bring up the facts. The facts are very important. You want to have those. You want to make sure that, you know, your facts line up with where you're going. So it doesn't mean to never bring them up. But you want to couple it with building this connection and really inspiring people to move forward. And some people might be more data inclined, right? Those are the people that you want to shine with, right? You want to say, here's all the data. And they're like, wow, I love this data. This is how I'm going to move forward. We all know those people, right? But you know that that's what they love. That's the connection. That's the relationship is that you know that's how they think. This is what moves them forward. This inspires them to move forward in their work. I think when we think about influence in using data or leading meetings, we often think that to influence, we have to be the one, like we said, in charge and being loud about it and being of i don't say in your face but like right there yeah and i think that's also one of the myths of influence that really influence can happen so often in the quiet moments yeah and this comes from you know an introvert who is naturally um You know, I don't necessarily just jump in there and be like, this is where we're going. I mean, sometimes you're out there, you've seen me do that, but it's these little moments of like planting seeds of curiosity for people that actually can drive influence in soft ways that feel natural. And this is the part of leadership that introverts might thrive at. They're used to being quiet, listening, observing, where extroverts might not. That might be something that they need to work more on. But you're right, this piece of really being quiet and listening. Listening is the number one thing around influence and building those connections that you have to know how to listen. um, actively listen to the people around you. And so you're right. Like being able to hear others opinions, other perspectives, right. And not, you don't always, like you said, have to be loud, have to be the one in front, have to be the one that has the answers, right. You might not have the answers and that that is okay. Right. You can still influence and should influence in that way. And I, especially in these, days where our schedules are so busy and everything's happening around us, like we don't need to add to the chaos. We don't need to add and be loud necessarily. Like how we can stay grounded and help others be grounded as we, you know, navigate through some of these situations that, you know, for lack of a better term, that we are looking for influence or understanding influence in these situations. So I think that's another really important part. Yeah, I think so too. It's about, you know, it reminds me of just being intentional about when you speak, right? Intentional about when you speak, intentional about when you do not speak. And as leaders being mindful of, hmm, in this meeting, I need to listen more than speaking here. Or in this meeting, I might need to speak more because this is the intention, right? And being actually, you know, mindfully present about that um so that you can get the type of outcomes that you want to see and it sounds easy right it sounds easy but it's not right it's really hard to be in a space and you're like i'm supposed to be here listening not really adding and but your mind is like oh good thought or oh i want to say something about that but let it play out right because you need to intentionally listen sometimes and then sometimes you need to intentionally speak that's important Yeah, I'm going to share, I'm going to do a plug for this, the book I've been reading lately, The Art of Quiet Influence. And funny enough, I've had this book on my shelf back here probably at least five years, if not more. And I actually didn't, obviously I hadn't picked it up because influence can feel kind of icky at times when we talk about it with those other words like manipulation and being persuasive. So I kind of left it on the side. But for whatever reason, now was the time. I picked it up. And not just because of this show coming up, but it is fascinating if you get a chance to read it or maybe we'll have it as one of our book media club. But it's really this people forward relationships and in the little moments. And it's a really worthwhile read if somebody's like, how do I step into this differently? Because whether it's power is quiet or influence can be quiet or how do you navigate through some of that chaos? This book has a lot of great stories. Okay. I have not read the book yet. So that will be an awesome read. It is a good read. It is. Yeah. Yeah. I like that because, you know, many times as we think about like inspirational leadership or, influencing leadership, sometimes we equate it with being loud or being front and center. But most of the time when your influence is actually, it actually is quiet, it actually is in the background. It is and I, because it connects so much to what we're talking about today. That's why since it's sitting here, because it's one I've been reading, that's why I wanted to plug it because it does talk a lot about these little moments of intentional leadership, where It's not, you know, having a meeting and going through everything and on your scorecard and checking your KPIs. It's these little moments of, you know, walking over to someone or when you see them be like, hey, I saw the, you know, the scorecards looking great. Way to do that. Keep going. Yeah. It sounds crazy, but those are the little moments that people go, oh, I had a connection. Like you saw me, you saw the work I'm doing and it didn't have to, I didn't have to wait for a formal setting in a meeting to Have you noticed that? Yeah. Yeah. This is where, you know, we believe people start stepping into really being a strategic leader, right? This is something that we focus on in our strategic leader course, where it's how do I, how do I show up in that way? Right. You might have some foundations around, okay, influence. I know, you know, there's different ways to influence, but when you can really start to influence in these small moments, like the way you talk about it, that's when you start to show up more as a strategic leader in your organization. yeah it's just a different type of leadership and you know it's building upon skills we we've been talking a lot about these soft skills are really critical skills so human skills soft skills but these are critical skills especially as we think about um you know where where the industry is headed when it comes to people and ai and robotics and all of those things yes absolutely and we feel and because we haven't really seen them as critical historically in the industry we are now feeling, right? We're feeling the outcomes of it, right? The symptoms of not valuing leadership skills. We see it in retention, we see it in engagement, right? We see it in empowerment. Everyone wants to empower their team. It's hard to do that, right? Because we have not taken advantage of growing these leadership skills that our leaders need. Yeah. And, you know, I'll often go back to my own story because when it comes to influence, part of why I probably use data or science as my armor is because if people were like no i don't like that like i'd be like whoa that's conflict and i'm passive so i'm stepping back from that so i think it's also one of these things where when we think about influence that it does create a space where we need to be a little bit vulnerable as leaders we need to be open to people going no i don't agree and recognizing that that resistance is actually exactly why you need to lean in there when you think about influencing and what you're trying to accomplish. Yes. Yes. Yeah. You know, it's one that, you know, even as we were writing up the show and like seeing the words of like resistance, isn't the enemy. Hmm. It's not the enemy, it's a part of the job. That is so true. You should expect it. Even as you look to influence, as you look to move, you should expect some amount of resistance just because we're human beings. And we like things to stay the same. We do. We like things to stay the same. We like things to be predictable. You know, especially once we just got this started, we are rocking and rolling and I know what to do here. I might not know what to do over here. I have to learn something totally new. What if I fail at it? All of these things are happening to us as human beings. And so resistance is a part of the job. It should be a part of your plan. And so that's I mean, that's why leadership skills are so important, because we assume, oh, we're going to make this change. We're going to do these things and then we're not going to have any resistance. No, you're still going to see some resistance. You just need to build in those conversations, those connections to understand where the resistance is coming from. Should you listen to it? Right. Like people are telling you something. Listen to it. Right. Try to understand it. try to get on the same page. That's what influence is all about. Yeah. And it's a normal human, human reaction, right? To shy away from things that feel like resistance because it's survival. Right. And I think about, like you said, the coaching that we do. I mean, a lot of times coaching conversations are around, like, what is it that we're like avoiding? Yeah. You know, that resistance is often like where we don't want to go because we are unsure of how to handle some of that resistance. But yet when we think I'm going to expect resistance, like what will that look like? What will it feel like? How do I stand in that and still be open and inviting to others so that they're willing to share so that we can move forward together? Yes, yes. And I want to take it one step farther. What if you have the mindset of I'm expecting this resistance and I have the tools to work within it and come to a positive outcome? Now it feels like, ooh, this might be fun, right? For us to get to, this might be fun. I have the tools, I have the, and I know the person, right? I built the relationship. This is how I kind of think about it. Yeah, I know. I'm laughing because if somebody's watching us, they're going to see my face be like, wow. And you're like, I'm in. And I'm like, yeah, passive Midwestern. Like, no, maybe. Because it's funny as you talk about influence and you're like, yeah, you know, kind of shying away. For me, it's fun because it is it's I love just talking to people in general and learning about people. And when you're in this space of everyone sort of coming together and talking about their perspectives, and some people like it, some people don't, and this is how it impacts their role and that type of thing, I'm learning so much about what they do, who they are as people, the things that they like. I'm also collecting information for the next time that I'm going to have to influence, the next time I'm going to have to have these conversations. What do they like me to bring to the table? you know what what influences them best what kind of sets off their oh i'm inspired i want to move forward i'm collecting that information about people and for me that's fun that's fun to do and knowing right like we're gonna get to the other side of this we have the skills to be able to do this we have the relationships have been built that's fun now i've been in situations where i don't have the relationships i don't i don't know the person i don't know how this is gonna turn out right that's when I feel the little fuzzies in my stomach, right? That's when I feel like, ooh, I'm not quite sure how this is going to turn out because, mainly because I don't have the relationships. I don't have that connection. Yeah, that's a really good point. I love how we are sometimes so opposite, which is cool. I love it. That's what makes this all so good. And I do want to let people know, like, even though my initial reaction is like, ugh, after all these years of coaching and training like I also have rewritten like when I know this is coming up like I have self-talk to help me through it yes yeah so it's not something where like I keep avoiding it but I you clearly see my response and my reaction here where it's not on the top of my list of like this is going to be fun from the standpoint of I might encounter resistance But I do, I have self-talk where I'm like, okay, all right, Jill, here's what we're gonna be doing today. Here's what you can expect. You can stand in this because it's your place to be curious. It's your place to invite people in or whatever happens to be my pep talk to myself for that day. But that's also one of the skills that we really work on with our clients, whether it's coaching or in our cohorts of how do you self-coach for these moments? Yeah. That's what helps kind of build that long term change that you're looking for to make it easier each time. Yes. Easier each time. Yes. Yes. I mean, it's such a great point, Jill, especially as you talk about like the emotion around it doesn't go away, but you recognize, oh, OK, I got to go into this situation. This is how I'm feeling about it. Now, how do I deal with it? What are some things I need to do, whether it's self-talk, whether it's journaling, whether it's taking five minutes before the meeting for deep breaths, maybe it's writing down your thoughts. There's a lot of different ways to get your head in the right mindset to go into a conversation. And if you think it's fun, you still have to do those things because it's still hard, right? It's still hard to do. There's still things that are unpredictable. So doing those things that help you get into the right mindset to have those conversations is so important. It does not mean the emotion goes away. You know, we talked about this in enrichment this last week for this month. where we were talking about different emotions and it's like, you're still going to be angry, right? You're still going to feel happiness, whatever the emotion is. It's not like you're going to try to eliminate it. It's like, what do you do with that information? You know, when I think sometimes people are like, well, you know, resistance is, I want it to feel fun for me. Well, it might not ever feel fun for you because this is not where you like to sit, right? That's okay. How does it feel to you? And then how do you navigate yes can i recognize it can i then self-coach on it or whatever it is sometimes just recognizing that it's there is the best thing just be like it's here yes excellent now i can make a choice on what i can i could sit there or i can do something different but if you never recognize it you don't even have those choices Right, exactly. And you know, even as you think about, you know, because I know people are listening, they're like, Oh, sometimes I feel like too nervous to have the conversation. Well, you might need to shift it to the next day. You know, we've all shown up. You know, I've definitely shown up to work. And I'm like, you know what, I am in a bad mood. And I do not need to have this meeting today. Let me shift it to another day. Because that that's important, right? That that impacts how you show up and how well you're going to be able to influence. Yeah. And, you know, you really have a good platform there to kind of move us into another spot, which is we've been really talking about us as, you know, how we're showing up. But it is also when you think about having these conversations, you need to be reading the room. Yes. Like whether it's an individual that you're going to be in conversation with or perhaps it is at a meeting or with your team or somewhere like. Part of this is reading the room to be like, hey, what's the energy here? How are people feeling? If you're moving into it and you're like, I'm in a rah-rah through something to influence and people are like, not the day. Can you read that? exactly like that's not the time to push right it's not the time to push because you're not going to get the type of outcome that you're hoping hoping yeah it's just going to feel like you're pushing versus inviting yes right and people are much more open to being invited someplace than being pushed into something yes yes i like that joe it's one of the things like even as you're in meetings like if you feel like you're pushing stop Right. Take a step back. Maybe this is not the time unless it's something that's urgent. And I want to say really urgent, not just on your to do list and you want to check it off for the day unless it's something urgent. There's no need to push. Right. That's only going to cause conflict. Take a step back. And I know I've done this many times in meetings. I'm like, OK, I feel like I'm pushing. Maybe I didn't think about it in that way, but I feel like I'm not moving forward. I can't get the group to move forward. I might need to take a step back and get curious. Create, invite connection, right? What is kind of going on in the space? Wow, you know, like, ooh, we did have that really terrible thing happen last week. How are people feeling about that? Maybe we need to spend some of this time doing that so we can build some connection with the group so that we can move forward with the conversation that we need to have. You know, even something like a due date. You know, I think about when you're like, needs to be done by friday like wow it feels like i mean once again depending on what it is and who you're talking to and all the things yeah that can feel kind of pretty directive and do you need to feel that way or could it be like what would it take to have that done by friday right yeah it's such a subtle shift but yet it really shifts the conversation the energy and the power so when you can lean in like that you also get more information because in your head you already might be like I don't see why we can't get that done on Friday right someone's like do you know all the things I have going on from now till Friday that you already told me were priorities um yes opening that door for conversation so that if somebody's like oh I really don't think we could get it done by Friday well okay let's What else is happening? How do I support that? And is Friday really that important? So being curious really allows you to have more of that conversation to better influence. Yeah, I think when people do well at influencing, they understand what is the priority. Even as you think about if you are hard and set on like, nope, this is what it needs to be, this, this, this, and there's no flexibility in what you're doing, you're probably going to feel more resistance because there's zero flexibility on what you're doing. But when you actually take a look at it and say, okay, what is it that I really need? We like to talk about it like boundaries. Where are the boundaries of what I need? And then how can I have people play in the middle of it to their ability? That gives people this ownership. It dissolves resistance because it's like, okay, what is there to resist when I can do what I want to do within these boundaries? So understanding that piece, spending the time to understand, because sometimes it's not it's not front and center right it's not something on like yep these are the boundaries this is what we need to move forward with sometimes you have to really think about yourself how do you feel in the situations right like we all have i mean how many times we talk to people and they're like sops must look like this you know it's like no sops do not need to look like they don't no but you need maybe a scope you need who is impacted you need these things right but it doesn't need to look like that. It doesn't need to look the way you see it in your, in your mind. Yeah. You know, even in that example, I think about how that tells someone about the culture around here. Yes. Right. What it tells me is someone's going to be really directive on like, it must look like this. Oh, okay. That's really different than someone's like, well, what do you propose for an SOP format that has, you know, these elements or what have you seen work? Like, the culture that's coming through on just these seemingly probably like, I don't say unimportant, but straightforward things is completely different. Yes. Yes. And recognizing that most of the people in your organization that's influencing like this do not have the leverage of their title or position to be able to. Sorry about that. I guess we have a little bit of. No, that's what happens when you live, right? And dogs are the hardest to influence. So they're kind of doing their own thing. But you're right. You know, leading without leverage is culture work, right? It is building that culture and it represents what your culture is. If you find that people can't get things done without a title, then we encourage you to take a look at your culture. Sorry for that dog interruption. I had to shoot, get her shoot out of here. So, but yeah, that I, you know, that is such an important part because when we are on autopilot and we aren't consciously thinking about what we're sharing and showing up, that's, that is also showing culture. So it's, it's not just when we're trying to influence, but this is where it's really such an embedded part of like just how we are. Yeah. So when companies talk about culture and like following the values on our wall, and this is what we stand for. And it's like, that's cool if it's up there, but if it's not how we feel and show up and how we do things around here, like you can put whatever you want on that wall. Like that won't matter. Right. Exactly. At that point, it's just words, right? If you're not doing that daily persistent work of a leader and You know, if you, I mean, that's also a really good place to start. I feel like this whole conversation, we're like, start here. If you're, if you're thinking about your culture, because you can take a look at what's written on the wall and you can say, does my leaders have the skills and does my leaders have the skills to uphold and show that this is the way that we, we work every day. Right. And your answer is no, we don't spend any time on influence. We don't spend any time on building connections. We don't spend any time on building teams. Like real time, not just, hey, we have this one hour thing you can sign up for and work day and maybe you do it, maybe you listen to it, maybe you don't, right? Maybe it just plays while you're doing email, right? That's not a real strategy, right? It's not a real strategy for building these skills. And if you take a look at your values or your mission and you say, wow, we don't spend any real time developing our leaders to do that. then most of the time it's actually not your culture, right? It's like aspirational or it's, maybe it's not even aspirational because you're not really doing the work. It's just words that look and feel good to other people. That's walking and seeing your posters. Yeah, and you know, I'll admit I've used those where we probably didn't, our culture probably, our values were more aspirational than where we were at that day. But it did stop me from pulling that out to be like, you know, when I didn't, have conflict to be like does this fit this value that's not the leadership approach I recommend for anybody to do because we weren't living that value and we knew it so even trying to use it to say like are we doing this really yeah I kind of went to the whole like well we haven't even we don't even know what that means for us we just can write it on the wall and we're still all interpreting what that is so it's so important that we think about how we're showing up and how are we developing people to be in these spaces and these conversations? Because we always say, if we're not taking care of people and being respectful of where they are and their perspectives, that's what erodes all the trust. Influence and relationships is all built on trust. Yeah. We see this is why we're in this space that we are today when it comes to culture. For years, organizations have asked their people to trust in them, to work hard, to be dedicated. But we've seen that organizations haven't provided the same thing back. Now, our younger generations, which we have raised, um to say no i'm not i'm not gonna really put my full trust here right i'm not gonna put all my eggs in one basket i'm not gonna stay here you know for thirty years i'm gonna move around i'm gonna see or maybe you know what i'm not ever gonna enter this industry um because of what we're known for like those are the things that we have to shift if we want to continue to hire great talent right if we want to continue to have strong leadership. If we want exactly what you're saying about well-being, that we don't want everyone that's working in the food industry to feel burnt out, stressed, taking work home. That impacts our work, our home life too. Yeah. It does everything. I love that we always talk about culture doesn't change unless leadership does. It starts with leaders and it's so possible. Oh, yeah. I think that's the other part where sometimes when you think about like even when we share our influence methods from the Center for Creative Leadership, you know, there's moments where I'm like, oh, I'm not really sure I would be able to do that. Well, like that style. And I think the other part is leaders is like it's not about taking on and adopting things that are like not you. It's about learning what. elevates your style already that feels right to you that agrees with you, but allows you to be in spaces that you and do things that you probably haven't been able to do before. Yes, that's, that's what building these skills is about. Yes, yes. I feel like great leaders, they, they learn about themselves, and they use these tools to enhance who they are. You know, I love what you said, Jill, because, you know, many times we think, oh, I need to be like that person to be a leader. I need to be like this person. They're so influential over there. They always seem to get what they need or want. Right. So I'm going to try to do it that way. But I mean, that works for them. And it doesn't mean we can't pick up tips. I'm like, oh, I like the way they said that. I'm going to try that. Right. Or I'm going to try that, but I'm going to change some words because that fits best with my personality. Perfect. Right. Perfect. Like we want to elevate who you are, because like you said, it is possible. It's possible for you who you are as a full human being to be a great leader. You just might need to sharpen your skills or gain new skills or learn more about yourself. in order to step into that space. But it is possible and we need you to, right? Like it's like a necessity too. Like we need better leaders in the industry. We need better leaders in the world, right? Who know how to show compassion. Today is MLK Day, MLK Junior Day in the States. Everyone's mind here is around perseverance, love, care, compassion. We need leaders to learn these skills and embody these skills so that we can have the spaces that are fit for everyone, fit for people who want to be there in the space. Yeah. Those are the things that build trust and connection. Yeah. So, you know, whether, however you think about leading, those are the things that when you bring those into what you're doing every day are the things that make a difference and show people that you're, that you actually care and are there for the long haul. I think my perception, and this is the story I tell myself is sometimes the people who are like the, you are our cheerleaders. They're the ones who get things kicked off and then they leave. And you're like, so yeah, But they all bring good things, right? Even the people who are able to use their voice loud, like they bring sometimes this, like another element that we don't, see from other people. And so I think it's the other part, like how do we recognize what everybody brings and understand that we do need all parts. We need all parts. Yes, we need all parts and it needs to be integrated into how we move forward. And those pieces on like, okay, what doesn't work well? Like if you have the rah-rah cheerleaders and you never see them again, or they don't come back or they don't do work, we're probably using them incorrectly. We have their focus here. They're doing great there. People are like, yes, let's go. And then they're like, oh, well, they're not a part of the real work. They're not a part of the time that we feel stressed or we feel like we're not going to make it to the finish line. Those people have places to play even throughout even throughout the process and so great leaders can see that right great leaders can say okay here's where we need to plug those people in because sometimes you don't need them the whole time right that's sometimes right great having cheerleaders but we don't need cheerleaders right now and i i think that's the part right like figuring out what those parts are and being open to recognize that not everybody plays the same part. But the important thing is like how you show up and how you're consistent in that. Because without any of that, whether you're loud or quiet or anything in between, if, if you're not consistent people, that's, that's one of those elements that's really related to trusting people. Like when I know what to expect from you. Right. And so as you think about influence, it's, We always say it's in those little moments, those intentional little moments that are every day. Yeah. Yes. So the key points we want you to take away with and just think more about if you need to influence a situation or even as you think about your team, right, where maybe you don't have the title to influence or to, you know, demand change. Right. Like you're really in this space of where you are. you must do right to like no we want to influence we want to create champions to come along with us you know the first one is around you know influence is not about that demand it's not about the control it's about building real connections so start there right where are your connections how are your relationships what do you need to know more about people start there and build those relationships because that's where it starts yeah absolutely know and i think remember that resistance isn't the enemy yeah yeah yes right when when we think about progress and moving forward that can be i always say a gift it can be a gift that's the moment of like look here and how what what else do we need to know what have we not considered yes so influences about not only leading forward but also leading bringing others with us and as you might encounter this resistance, remember that power is quiet. You might need to be quiet. You might need to listen, actively listen to what's going on so you can have the best possible solution to move forward. Yeah, absolutely. And the last one, influence builds culture. You need these skills around influence because the majority of your workforce, the majority of the team, right, do not have the title, do not have the authority, and they are influencing and leading without leverage. So this is at the core of your culture. Invest in your people, right, to gain these necessary skills to be able to push through resistance, right? Or I should say invite during resistance, right? Know when to be quiet, when to speak up, right? And really to build these relationships. Yeah, those are the elements that when you think about influence, when we shift to these elements that help enable us to move things forward a little bit easier, That's when we find the wins. That's when we find the progress. That's when we find we can feel purpose. Yes. And that's what we're here for. Absolutely. Absolutely. Yeah. So, you know, I think about like, if you are in a spot right now listening and you're like, how do I do that? Like, how do I do this better? How do I build some of these human skills, critical skills, soft skills better because You know, when you are here with us, great. We love that you're here and picking up some tips, but this takes practice and it takes study. And that's really where we have our spring cohorts open already. Right. We invite you to look at these and say, how does this fit with my development goals for this year? Or do I need to shift some of my development goals? Because these skills are critical. Yes. Yes. Yes. If you find that, man, through this conversation, I need to take a time out, right. I need to learn how to become more aware, you know, or maybe you just struggle with pushing through that resistance. Right. And, and really being able to connect with people. Our leadership courses are specifically designed for you in food to learn and help provide practical solutions to the problems that you're seeing. I mean, we see it happen every cohort. I learn every cohort as people show up, but just people like, ooh, the light bulbs of like, ooh, oh, okay. I see what I was doing before and I see how I can apply differently going forward and to kind of watch people grow. um it's definitely uh right this is why I love doing what I do is because that gives me joy but these light bulbs are are needed in the industry like you said these are critical skills yeah they are so whether you're ready for boot camp which is kind of our foundational uh critical skills course or if you're like getting ready to lead your function and your leading leaders, then strategic leader might be the cohort for you. Both cohorts start the week of March sixteenth. So now is the perfect time to plan to get registered. So you are ready for those coming up. Yes. And we hope to see you there. We do. Because leadership is not a one person show. You know, we talked a little bit about culture does not grow on its own. It doesn't just happen or it will happen, but maybe not how you want it to be. And it really takes intention and it takes structure and it takes a system. So with that, that is today's real talk. We hope that you gained something from our conversation today. And if this did spark something for you, send it to someone, send it to someone that might need to hear this message or thinking about their own leadership. that wants to lead with purpose and with grit. And like Jill said earlier, right? Like when leaders grow, that's when culture change. And we're happy to be a small part of that for you. Until next week, have a great week. Enjoy, influence well out there and reach out to us if you need us. Have a great rest of your day. Bye.
