Hello, everyone. Welcome to Real Talk with Tia and Jill. Happy Monday. Happy June. Happy June. I mean, if you're watching this live with us or, you know, the first time through this, we are finally, we are, I don't know, finally, or we're already in June. So. Yes. Maybe, I guess it depends on how you're feeling about this year. I feel like the first half of the year has flown by. In fact, it's already June first. I'm like, this year is flying by. Here in the Northern hemisphere, like welcome to summer, at least here. Cause I'm up by Minnesota. Right. So we finally have summer like weather, but here we are, here we are at the halfway mark. I feel. There we go. There we go. Yes. And I am ready for summer. They were saying the East Coast is going to be a little cooler this year, which I'm not really excited about. I can't wait till it's like really warm outside. I'm ready for it. But we've been having great days, so I should not complain at all. No. No, but you know, I think this is what it was like, great. When we think about even like the day shifting, this is also where I always think about halfway through the year. This is about when people are starting to get ready to do their mid year. Where are you at on your goals? It's the, we are already planning, you know, a majority of companies still are fiscal year with calendar year. Yes. This is when they start doing the whole like Let's start doing our budgeting. Let's start getting like, what's twenty twenty seven going to look like? That's what this show today is about, right? It's helping people move into this space where they're going to be ready for it. Because I don't know about you, but I know I've definitely had times where I was like, we're here. And even though I've been thinking about what we need or our team's been talking about what we wanted, we weren't fully prepared. to actually execute on that and have a strong voice and have a strong case and, and truly put the work into what we needed. Yeah. Yes. It's, I mean, it's just like what the title of this episode, you know, says where we put it off, put it off, put it off. And we pretend that standing still is not really costing us anything, but it is, it is. And, many times i mean we've talked about on the show and um just how clients come to us when they're at a point of um urgency because they've been putting off development been putting off um leadership development and putting off culture work um for so many years that now they're at this point where they failed an audit or um they're losing money or people are leaving the organization at a rate that, you know, that is not sustainable, you know, or engagement scores have completely fallen off. If you're in that, if you're in that position, you've been putting off this leadership decision for many years until it really just blows up. Right. And in your face where it's like, oh, now we have to do something. Right. And one thing that's really interesting about that is that culture, whether it's urgent or not, culture does not move quickly because of your own urgency. It doesn't shift fast just because everyone's like, oh, we're on fire. Culture's not going to be like, you know what? We are in this urgent mode. And so we're going to shift quickly. Culture takes a while to shift. So if you are, if you have been putting off leadership decisions, this show is for you to really think about and reflect on should you be making decisions today before things blow up? Yeah, we're going to talk through that. That's what we do here, right? If it's your first time here on this podcast, I'm Jill. This is Tia. We're Catalyst Food Leaders. And this is all about having these honest conversations to lead people forward in food because we have been where you are. at least in some version. And we like to talk about the things we wish people would have just said out loud. Yes. The things that you wish somebody would have just said, why didn't you do that, Jill? Or Jill, that's not that hard. Let's jump in and do it. But these are the things that I don't know if we necessarily frame about. These are the things that our team deserves. These are not just what they deserve, but these are the things that drive business outcomes. And when I say that, logically, we all go, yeah, yeah, yeah, we know, we get it. But it's not until you take intentional action that you are making a change. Like acknowledging where you're at and maybe, you know, attending a webinar once in a while. That's a great first step. I'm never going to say don't do that. But if you're actually looking to drive different outcomes, then you need to be intentional on what you're doing. And that's, like you said, Tia, kind of as you started off, that's what we're talking about because it is this time of year. We're having lots of good conversations with organizations and leaders who are saying, all right, what do we map and put together for next year? Like they're looking to be intentional versus being reactive. And leaders who are really good at their jobs and they're thoughtful and care, like, sometimes they even overthink the investment in themselves or others. It's almost ironic. Yes. That's why we're doing this, because we can also talk ourselves out of needing development. But really, the ROI starts with us. Yes, yes. How many times have we talked to people and they're like, I know my team needs development, but we're going to try this thing over here again, or... we're going to work with HR and try, you know, the things that we've been trying year after year after year, but not seeing the results that you, that you need to see, you know, we hope that as you, as you are here with us today and having conversations with us, cause we can see your comments. So put them in the, in the chat, add your perspective, you know, really just think and reflect on, you know, I like to, I like to say in six months, right? Like what we have six, seven months left in the year. If, You are in the same spot you're in today at the end of the year. How would you feel about that? Without an outlook, right? Where, you know, if I'm six months down the road and I'm literally right where I'm at today, I'm going to be like, boo. But if in six months, I'm like, you know what? I know that I have this plan that kicks in. either in six months or beginning of the year, or maybe it's later this year. I feel this little glimmer of hope. Yes. Like, you know, you know that you are prioritizing the things, right. That's going to move yourself maybe from a leadership perspective, your culture, your team, your team forward. Yeah. You know, and if we, when I think about this with people who, if you're a budget owner, This really is for you to think about as well. And you probably know this, that what gets funded in the next, you know, next year is what happens in the next like sixty, ninety days. Right. Yeah. So when you think about what you are building for either later this year or for next year, this is a critical moment as a budget owner where we know you are combing through line by line. People are asking you, do you really need that money? Do you really need all those supplies? Right. maybe you do zero-based budgeting, whatever it is, like there's cost of good quality. Yes. And either you're investing in quality or you are putting dollars into poor quality. So you've got to pick the bucket you're going to be in. Absolutely. Absolutely. And you have to make those, you have to make those decisions and decide, right? Yeah. Decide where you're going to go. Yes. And that's why today we have like three movements you can make to help with the decision. Because like we said, we talk about it. This is all things that people are like, yeah, we know, we know, but let's talk through very specific movements that happen to help you move forward. And the first one is exactly what we were talking about, right? The delay, it is a decision. You delay your, your, You know, not moving forward that really every time that we, you know, we even said it earlier, like the waiting, we like to pretend that it's neutral, but it's not really every week that we don't invest in leadership. The patterns become default to how people show up, how we work together. you know, every month that you're thinking about, Oh, should we make this culture investment? You're kind of reinforcing the behaviors that you don't want to see every single month, every single week, as you, as you wait, just think about those times where we hear people all the time and we didn't, we used to be so great at this. We used to have functioning programs. You know, we used to be like, I thought back five years ago, we didn't have this problem. Well, every when these problems started showing up week after week right you decided to delay you decided to wait you decided to look elsewhere you decided right you decided to do these things so eventually you wake up and you say wow, this is a norm for people now to do this versus the other thing you used to do when culture was so great. And we see that, we see that with one of our clients where they woke up one day and they said, wow, like I had no idea Our food safety and quality programs have gotten this way, had no idea our culture had gotten this way. And it didn't happen overnight. It happened step by step by step, where these little delays in decisions have built up to what they've seen, right? People leaving the organization quickly, engagement scores going down, even moving out talent. that had been there, but maybe contributing to culture, even some of those shifts happening, things that were a surprise for them, even though we know that these things happen little by little. Yeah. So I think that's it, that delay. It's almost those moments. So I think about in the grocery store, right? The end caps are meant for those things where you're like, ooh, I'm just going to do an impulse buy. And the reason it works is because you're like, oh, I need that, I want that, and you buy. And maybe you do, maybe you don't have buyer remorse. I don't know if I've ever really had that. Probably just more like, come on, Jill, how much can you spend at Target or Costco, right? But I think the same thing, when we think about these moments where we also go, oh my gosh, I would love to do that course. And you just stroll, like scroll by it. Yeah. Like what about the pause to be like, not only is that something that I've been wanting to do, like why not do it today? Yes. Clearly I'm biased because, you know, we're here in this space and this is what we do. But this is also that passion of understanding the impact it makes. And Tia, I think about, right, like we've got someone in our boot camp right now who they've been watching us. for six, nine months. They've come to real talks. They've come to the summit. They've been in the background being like, ooh, when's the timing right? And this is that thing. Now that they're in bootcamp, they're like, wow, why didn't I do this sooner? And what I also love about it is They recognize that we're not just doing things like how to have a difficult conversation. Right. Yeah, that's kind of a really structured. Usually when you go to leadership, it's structured. You role play. Yep. Oh, that's important. But what I love hearing is, you know, now that she decided to come in and do this. recognizing that the skills that we build through our coaching foundation are much different than just a script of how to have a difficult conversation. They're about how to step into your own power, how to feel more confident, how to ask different questions. And the longer you delay being able to do that, the longer you just stay where you're at. Yes, it makes it real. It makes it real and tangible, practical solutions that you could use right now. And I feel like that's why most people who's kind of watching us that eventually signs up, they're like, man, I should have done this last year. I should have done this here because you literally do take these skills that you're learning and you're practicing week after week. And not just practicing in a bubble by itself, but you're practicing in your job, in your role, at home, where you live, right? And you're seeing these improvements happen that, you know, maybe you've heard this before. Maybe you heard, man, you need to, you know, lead with values or you need to, you know, tap into people's beliefs. But when you're actually in a space that you have that support and you have that time to reflect, and you're actually practicing these skills, like that time is there for you to practice. I mean, it just shows up completely different for you, right? It sticks, it sticks very, very differently. And I would say everyone that leaves bootcamp in particular says, man, I need to continue blocking this time off on my calendar, even after bootcamp ends. And it's because we don't find this time to reflect on what we're doing and how we're going to intentionally move forward. And bootcamp gives you that time. Well, really all of our leadership courses give you that time to reflect. And then afterwards, people are like, I still need this time to reflect because they see the benefit of, you know, really being intentional as a leader in order to lead, right. In order to show up in a way that, um, actually pushes them towards their end goals. That all goes back to that delay in decision. And even I've had moments where I'm like, gosh, I kind of deprioritize making sure that I am getting my own professional development or personal development. And it feels like there's a canyon when I don't do it. And then I'm like, wow, I can come back out. And I think the other part is knowing that it doesn't have to be one decision at a time. What I love is right. We've got a client like this, this one client that we're working with right now, where they saw culture, like not being great over a couple of years. So, you know what, here's what we do as partners. We contract together to be partners. So they have seats for their team to be able to come and do programs. Yes. There isn't this decision anymore of, oh my gosh, is it in the budget? or when is somebody gonna go? It's like, this is how we do business and this is how we take care of people. And that's because they knew what their rate of turnover costs them. Not just like Tia, like you talked about in engagement, but they felt it everywhere. Their ops team felt it. Their R&D teams felt it. Everybody felt the pain. And so instead of deciding, oh, I'm going to send one person to this one course and one person over here, they're like, let's partner together so that we have this continuous flow of development and support for our people. That is committing to people and culture. yes yes and is making is making sure that just as human beings we don't slip back into the delayed decision making right like you have already made this decision you've already built it into the way that you do work and then it's you know you really the way that we structured structured catalysts and we talk about this all the time on just being in food we structure catalysts on what we wish that we had in industry and a piece of that is that We wish we had this partner that's able to grow as we grow. Think about the different type of leadership skills that I need at different levels of the organization. And even if I'm at the point where I have these skills and now I need to practice these skills and I need to be coached and I need to be supported along the way until I'm ready for that next step. You know, I wish I had that, you know, sort of growing up in industry. And that's something that we wanted to build for the industry. We know it really honestly doesn't exist with this focus on food, with practical solutions and just being relatable to the work that we do, which is so different than other industries. You know, that's really how we built it so that organizations, people don't have to think about, oh, well, you know, should I delay my development? You don't have to, right? You don't have to. Like you said, you don't have to delay and think about, okay, I'm going to be in the same position I am in next year at this time because I decided not to put your own development first or your team development. Yeah. you know, and this is kind of a continuation, like Food Safety Summit was last month. And I love that there's, you know, I love that we were these trailblazers of let's talk about culture leadership and the importance of integrating that into how we develop people. Because now these conversations come up all around. Yes. Way versus just culture what it was before. Right. Yes. And even there, I love that they had several panels that talked about you have this need for leadership and development. And obviously our stance is culture doesn't change till leaders do. Of course, that means you and me. But you know, this, There's a need like we all recognize that we need to go from just being the technical expert to being the business partner. But the space between here isn't going to be filled by just attending a summit. Right. And we know that even with our summit, that was just the spark of like, let's be inspired to think about how do we shift. Yes. And so, you know, when we think about how we do that, every time we delay the decision to actually lean into the skills needed to be the business partner we want to be, that is really just cost. Yes. That is, you know, that's costing you, your team and the business every day because you're not stepping fully into this version of how you need to be to drive those type of results. Mm hmm. Yeah. I always think about with leaders and organizations where, you know, we're not investing in people to grow. It's like we're paying them, you know, one hundred plus thousand dollars, two hundred thousand dollars, you know, to be in these leadership roles. But we're not actually investing in their growth. And just the impact, right? The impact when we talk about this cost, the thing that it's already costing you. I mean, just even in the statistics that's out there, just one percent more of productivity, just two percent more of productivity, what that gets you when it comes to your bottom line, what it gets you in terms of engagement, what it gets you in terms of just well-being of your team, just a little investment. gives you so much in return. Like even it's one of the reasons why we really lean into coaching. I mean, coaching has seen like wild ROI numbers because people are tapping into who they are to show up authentically as themselves. It's the reason why it's the foundation of where we are. And I just think about like, we pay people a lot of money to be in, to lead our organizations. to kind of leave them, you know, really out by themselves and sort of complain behind the scenes on how this person's not being productive, you know, is really just costing you, right? It's really costing you funds. Yeah. And that always brings up, you know, I always have to talk about my whole, like, develop everyone, believe everyone. Because I know there is a tendency to, you know, put people on the bell curve and pick our high performers and let's move them forward. Yes. But when you can move the rest of that, sixty seven, seventy five, eighty percent of people forward. you, that's when you make significant shift in your teams. Like moving a couple people forward, that's great. They're already high performers and they do need nurturing and continued development and challenge. But this other group, they're like a gold mine, just waiting for someone to like, they're in the desert, just waiting for someone to give them a little water. Right, exactly. Watch things bloom versus the high performers are like, they're already the blooming flowers and we just want more blooms. Right, right. We want them to be ever blooms. So when you think about it, don't limit it to the people that you think might want it or the people you think deserve it. Come on, as leaders, we're here for everybody. Yes. That is our role. And that's the beauty of what we get to do. How about you, Tia? Those are moments, too, where, you know, when I think about, you know, we said we're going to have three movements to kind of do today. One of them is this research spiral. The movement is how do we move out of the research spiral? Yes. And then in that spot where I'm like, OK, I need to find development for my team. And I might ask that, you know, I ask them for what they want to do. But then as I'm researching and all of a sudden I get choice overload. Oh, yes. There's so many things to pick from. And all the way from Simon Sinek, who we know is good, or Mel Robbins, or these big name people. And there's even then all these other local coaches that are now popping up all over. That's true. That's true. It's interesting, right? There's this endless comparison. Yes, there is. There is. And there I mean, even people, you know, that we've even talked to, like, oh, but should I go back to school? Should it? Right. That's also an option there. And like there there really is. a lot of comparison and there's a lot of it's a lot of options you know as you think about this and hopefully you're thinking now like yes okay i do need to make a decision the next step is really to stop overthinking you know like there's there's so much out there you just need to to choose you know you need to think about you know people who move forward they they don't necessarily have all the pieces of information i mean it's so funny when people get to boot camp and they're like i don't know what to expect you know i've been watching you all i know i value you know leadership development i value coaching i value this intersection between like human human beings and and i work in industry um you know i value these things but i don't know what to expect and then they're in and they're like oh okay I didn't know I needed this. I didn't know I needed this piece of it. Ooh, I love this part of it. And those people would have never figured that out if they hadn't just said, I'm just going to sign up for this. Right. You know, there's, I think the other part is technical experts. I always play on the stereotype that we feel like we need to have all the information to be able to move forward. And there is truly value in that. But I think about, What I think about are the people who are like, oh, can we have one more call to talk about it? Can you send me one more case study? And we are happy to do that. There are testimonials on our website. We have client stories that we can share. Like, we've got all that stuff. Because everybody experiences things differently. So completely understand that. But it's also this moment for you as a human, as a leader, to also distinguish between, like, what is this pattern? Like, why do I feel I need more research? Because at some point, more information isn't going to change the decision that you need to make. as a leader, part of your role is to make the decision to be able to move forward. So being stuck in the research spiral, isn't helping you. And in fact, it's probably sucking energy from you and the organization versus allowing you to be like, all right, take a sigh, I made a decision, it's time to go forward. Yes. And I laugh because even as you are describing this person, I'm like, this is the perfect person for our courses just because we allow so much time for that reflection. Even as you're like, What's the pattern, right, that you see? Like, why do you, like, even to compare it to how does this show up in your work, right, in your spaces on how you're trying to move culture forward? Like, we ask those questions. So even as you're asking these questions on, like, what's behind this, I just, like, picture so many people who've been through boot camp or strategic saying, huh, let me think about that. You know, I've never really thought about how, you know, I just kind of see it as I'm collecting information, but I never really thought about how that relates to how I show up for my team or how I present information or, you know, how I'm trying to shift culture. But we help, we help our clients do that and ask those tough questions so that they can they can grow. And so it's funny, as you ask those questions, I'm like, if you want a little bit of what happens with Catalyst, it's that, because that's how we become better as leaders. Yeah. And I always relate back to, it's not just professionally that this helps. And the episode today is about what this is costing you. But this weekend, Tia knows I was painting. Yes. So I had been thinking about what color I want to paint the shutters on my house. The doors, everything. In my head, I have the picture. I know what it needs to be. So I've been thinking about it. And finally, I'm like, good. You just need to go get some paint. So I go to Home Depot. I pick all the cards because the color I want. I want to do some comparison. And I go up to the desk to be able to have a little conversation because I'm not a paint expert. And I get up there, and the person goes, I don't know anything about paint. And it made me doubt being able to like the research I had been doing. And actually, I left. Right. I left. I was like, oh, I don't know if I can make this decision on my own. Interesting. Right. I was in the research spiral. I wanted some other information. I get in the car. I go get gas, get a car wash. And I'm like, Jill, Menards is two blocks away. You just need to go there and get the paint because you don't need more information. You already know what you want to do and you know when you want to do it. Just go get it. So I did. But it's just this moment, like even professionally or personally, I'm coaching myself because these are the skills we teach at Catalyst, whether you're a boot camp or whether we're working on leadership and culture and org structures or even technical consulting with you. It's the self-coaching of recognizing the pattern so that you can pause and go, what am I doing here? yes and i think it's so important because once again this is what i've experienced putting my budget together to go what can i put in here oh no will somebody let me put that in there do i need to research more to justify it or to show different versions the answer is no we all know that the budget at this point is the the buckets We're looking for how much money do we need in the buckets so that the business can do some version of budgeting. And in three months, we're going to be going through this again. So this is when I think about you as a leader out there going, what should I do? Put money in your bucket. Put money in your development bucket. That's what you need to do. So you don't need to get stuck in the research spiral. Get some cash in there so that you've shown commitment that that's a priority for you and your team. Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. And I feel like that this is the most obvious step, but it's a step that we missed. We cut ourselves short. I think that's a perfect example of just around your paint, where you were just like, well, I'm just going to leave it behind. How does that help you painting your shutters? It didn't, right? It did not help me move forward. I would have driven home and looked at the shutters, and they're like, ugh. Right, I should have gotten a paint. I should have put it in my budget. I should have, right? I should have done this thing. Yeah, I'm going to put my big girl pants on and like, let's make this decision and go with it. And the other part I said it is like, if this doesn't work, if I don't love this color, I can pick a different one. You can pick a different one. Absolutely. Absolutely. But don't get stuck in the research. Don't get stuck in the research. Commit to doing something. Yes. Yes. I feel like that's something that's a little tangential to this that people get stuck in is just the assessment research. When I think about you need more data to tell you which direction you need to go in with culture when in reality you don't need more data. You don't need you don't need to take any more assessments. You know, you don't you you have the data that you that you have. That's what you need to start acting on. You need to start doing work around that because you giving survey after survey, after assessment, after assessment, you're just telling your people you don't listen to them. And you just don't know, and it's okay to not know, but that goes into this third movement today. When we think about, you know, what it costs us to not make decisions. The third movement is like, decide, think about like, even for me with this paint, like what changes when I decided, like, I'm just getting the paint. It was an instant relief. My brain doesn't need to continue to think about. this question anymore. It's decided. And now I just move forward. Same thing happens when we think about this investment into leadership development. Yes. Once again, I've been in your seat where you're like, if I put money in there, then people have all kinds of questions about that bucket for my budget. They're going to challenge me about it. They're going to ask me, shouldn't that go into HR's budget? Don't they have that covered? Look, at the end of the day, and this was hard for me, well, it was hard when the people around me kept having that type of conversation. But when I finally stepped in to decide to say, we're putting it in our budget because it's important enough as a priority for us. Yes. That changes everything. It does. It does. It changes the conversations. It changes who's on board. Like it completely changes everything. based off of that decision of I'm going to prioritize this. I'm going to be intentional about it. Yes. That confidence my team had in me to support them changed. Yes. Instead of saying, we'll see what HR has, or we'll see if it can be in the budget. I was very clear. Like we have a path of things that are going to happen. And this is how much we're putting aside to make it happen. Yes. It doesn't mean the conversation didn't come up later, but that changed everything. And I like the way that you said it too. I'm like, this is, what this decision means for us in the future. This is what we are building. This is what is coming our way. And so to be in tune with like, this is how it supports our goals, our organizational goals. This is why this investment is important today, not to delay it, right? Not to wait till this blows up in front of our faces, not to kind of go into this spiral, but like, this is what this changes today when we make this decision. Yeah. And this is a bigger leadership move than calculating out how many gallons of chemical you need for sanitation next year or how many supplies you're going to use for swabbing. And are you changing your swabbing plan or, you know, pick. Right. Yes. Yes. Like how much packaging you're going to use and what that's going to cost. Like pick one of those other items. Like, great. That's why we have accountants to be able to plug that stuff into. make those numbers happen. That is important for business. But what we're talking about here is being a better business partner means making these decisions. Otherwise it is costing you and the organization every day. It is, it is. I mean, we talked about it even a little earlier. I think the thing that stands out to me is the behaviors that we accept while we are in this delay. and how that becomes our culture. When we talk about this third movement of what changes when we decide, what is staying the same if we don't decide, right? If we don't move forward, this is going to stay the same. What are we reinforcing of this is okay, right? This is okay the way our leaders show up or the way that we, you know, the leaders that we, the type of behaviors we accept from leaders. I remember there was an organization I was about to leave and, I remember that they were promoting this person that was not a great leader, a fantastic person, fantastic person, a fantastic technical resource. But the organization just missed developing this person as a leader. And we could see that they were trying to promote this person almost like out of where they were. And I remember thinking, that if this is the type of person that gets promoted in this organization, I don't even know if I would want to stay here long-term. Interesting. You know, like I was thinking like, if this is the type of leaders, like I don't want to be in an organization where leaders are not being invested in, where it's almost like everyone saw it too. And again, this person, is one of the sweetest people that i knew at the time like genuinely a very good person and i just felt like they were kind of leaving them out there to struggle which over time that's exactly what happened and they ended up leaving the organization because they hit this point where they were just like struggling because no one invested in this person So when we think about like not making the decision to invest in that person, the organization lost a very talented technical person, someone that is like very nice, just genuinely nice person. that if they had the leadership skills would have been amazing because they know their stuff. They're super people like nice leaders, you know, people that they can relate to, but they just miss the skills. And it almost reinforced that this is the type of leadership that the organization wants or that they're not going to support you if they do see you struggling as a leader. And so when I think about not making that decision, it's that kind of stuff that comes up on like This is this is what you're telling your people. This is what's not changing versus seeing the change, the actual decision making and saying, oh, OK, I see that care there. Well, it's almost like there was a ceiling for this person. Yes. Like you as a leader, as an organization, because we're not developing, you create your own ceiling for people. Like how unfair is that? But also. That doesn't allow the business to grow. The only way the business grows is when people grow. Yes. Otherwise we stay the same. And to even think about how many times you've had conversations on a, you know, I'm on site with clients on a regular basis. And when I hear somebody say, gosh, when I think about developing my people, there's really no place for them to go besides where they're at. Oh yeah. That makes me sad because. we might say or we might see in our org structure right there we don't have lots of seats that need to move sometimes if people aren't moving but when we develop people we give them opportunities to think not just within this role that they're in but we give them possibilities yes and that in itself is priceless when we think about the commitment that we give people Because these days, companies don't give lots of commitments. But as a leader, you can help commit to supporting and growing people. And that pays dividends. Yes, absolutely. Absolutely. And what's the same if you are not growing, right? You're dying. If you're not moving your people forward, if you don't see the growth year after year, if you feel like you have a person that's hit a ceiling, there's something going on there that you need to investigate and you need to make a decision around. Otherwise, that person will continue to feel limited, right? Or they'll continue to cause churn, right? Like when I think about the example that I gave in my career, like there was churn there because the organization was not investing in that person. Where if they were, like, I just think about like how strong the team would have been at that time. Yeah. These are the decisions that when we delay cost us as leaders and our team you know I think about Tia the client that we had that they had they had actually secured seats like for our programs they kept being like gosh there's too many projects somebody can't we can't get somebody signed up for that cohort oh gosh well now the business is going through changes and it's not a good time and finally we actually I mean we don't do this often but right we put like a due date like either use them or lose them And they finally got people in and the leader was like, why didn't we do this sooner? Because now after that, right, we, we continue, they continue to put people in, in bootcamps on a regular basis and their programs, because once again, that. they saw how much it was costing them and their team by not developing. Yes. So even after you make the decision on what to do, then don't delay because it's amazing, right? How we can make time for the things that matter. Yes. And that's the important part. We, we make time for the things that matter. And we hardly ever have people that come into our programs who are like, oh, I won't be able to show up because I have some other project or something like that. They prioritize it, which is incredible because that means that need is there. And so how much they appreciate that their leaders did not delay to make a decision and give them the opportunity to be part of our program and to keep going. Yeah. And they see the benefits. You know, they see the benefits after the first week of, oh, this is what I've been missing. You know, and we cover a lot in our leadership development courses and, you know, over the time that we spend. And sometimes people are like this, this is what I really need to work on. And there's something in there where it's so funny, like the way that we build our courses sort of like build on each other, right. Even throughout the course. And so we, we talk about all the time, how people are like, Ooh, they're at the point. Like, if I think about bootcamp, they're at the point that they really need to build relationships. The rest of the stuff that kind of comes after helps solidify some of the conversations that they're having, some of the some of the connections that they're making, maybe even identify new connections for them. But they're really honed in on building those relationships so that they can influence in the future, so that they can make changes in the future. And so we really connect with people in that way. And, you know, people have described as being personalized, like even though they're in a cohort, they feel like it's personal to them because of, I mean, honestly, it's because of the coaching aspect of it. It is. where you're really reflecting and thinking about how does this impact you and the work that you're doing? And it is, it's extremely personal. And I feel like for people who have delayed and finally they get in, it's like, I should have been doing this. I should have been doing this when I started. This should have been a part of my own boarding. This should have been a part of, right? Like this should have been a part of this piece of my career that I wish that I had. And these are people who've been in industry for many, many years giving the same type of feedback. And it's because we do delay. We don't actually spend the intentional time building our leadership. And, you know, we love to just invite people, right? Like if you are in this If you're in this position that you feel like you are delaying or, you know, you're in this research spiral or, you know, like you need changes to happen. We invite you. We invite you to come to one of our courses. See what it's all about. See what our testimonials, our case studies, see what these things mean for you and how they can truly make a difference in how you show up as a leader. Yeah. And I know this podcast probably feels a little bit like now is the time and like maybe even a little salesy because we know that this time with budget season is so important for the leaders who have been putting off this decision. Yeah. So I think about if that's you, you know, if you're sitting on something right now, whether it's, you know, a program or a conversation or a case you haven't made, ask yourself this one question. Like what would it cost your team if you waited one more year? And then think about like, what does it cost you? You know, it costs you something, but it also costs them. And when I think about, I mean, right. I didn't always do this right. The spots where I was in the way of letting somebody be able to grow. That makes me sad, but that's also why I'm so passionate about being here doing this work. Cause I know what it's like to have hindsight and go, you know what? The person could have gone further if I would have, if I would have had been more open-minded and believed in the possibilities for them. Yes. Yes. That's a sad, like, this is my, my vulnerable moment, right? I have, that makes me super sad when I think about that with people where I'm like, I wish I would have been a better leader back then. Yeah. Right. So that's costing them. I stepped in the way of what was costing them. Yeah. Yeah, it is. It's one of those things that's like, man, I wish that I had these tools. Right. Wish you had the tools or the insights. You know, that's the reason I love how you even said earlier with real talk. Like these are the things that we wish that we had, that we had this information and hindsight, you know, look. hindsight is twenty twenty and we see where those where if I had a different mindset or viewpoint or had this information, I would have made a different decision because we know like, you know, leaders who build the best cultures and food, you know, they're not the perfect ones. Right. They're not the ones that had the perfect information to act. You know, they're really the ones that decided. that tried, that adjusted, that kept going, that thought about, right, like, how do I help develop this person? How do I get out of the way for this person? How do I ensure that the organization is investing in them? You know, they really recognize the patterns around themselves and the systems that are in place or not in place that they need to build to help their team grow. Yeah. You know, that is a real moment for me thinking about my team. But I also have these moments where I think, hmm, had I been a better leader, I could have influenced better. I could have approached conversations differently. I could have helped have a bigger impact in this space with my leadership team as a business partner. And I look back and I have moments. I don't have too many moments where I kind of regret like, but I have moments where I look back and I think, ah, I can see why I felt like I hit the wall. I see why I was frustrated. Yes. It wasn't because of all the other people, the thems. It really was me. And if I would have known that, yes, I was still developing, right? I was still growing as a leader, but I needed that next level of leadership. Yes. Insights, perspectives. Thought, critical thinking, all of those things to have those better conversations. And I had not prepared myself for that. And my leader didn't. They didn't care. They're off doing their own thing or whatever. You know, they weren't minded from that standpoint. That wasn't the top of mind for them. So, you know, when you think about this moment of budgeting, like it's, yes, it's your team, but gosh, don't forget about you. Yes. Don't forget about you. And what you are describing that you had in your career is so common where industry promotes all the time. Yeah. And it's like they have not given you the skills. They don't give leaders the skills, especially middle managers. Right. If you are a senior manager, a director, your middle manager in the organization, many times you are promoted because your technical expertise and how you execute on work. The organization really hasn't prepared you for that role in terms of leadership, which that in your career, that time in your career is really when you should start switching from I'm leading, I'm leading through others, I'm executing through others versus like you doing the work. And that transition is so hard. And we're not developing in people before they get there. So I'm even I'm talking to the people that's like, oh, yeah, I want to. I don't want to stand in the way of this person's development, but I'm not quite sure they're ready to be promoted. Give them the skills now. Give them the skills so that they can practice and start building them and like flexing that muscle. We were talking about this in boot camp a couple of weeks ago on how leadership is this muscle that you need to build. Give them the skills now so that they can build it so that when they are ready for promotion, they have the skills and they're ready to rock and roll. Yeah. And even if they're not getting a promotion to be better in your role, like leaders, our job is to have everybody advance either in their role or to new role. So that is the core. That is the core of like when we delay this decision making, when we delay putting it in the budget. You know, and I think about like if this is sparking something for you today, right? If you're sitting there going, yep, that's me. Like, guess what? There are things happening. And yes, I'm going to toot our own horn because as you've heard, we're very passionate about making sure people are set up for success, making sure organizations know that there are partners like us out here who are, well, there really aren't other partners like us who are food focused, coaching based with all the years and the experience to help make this difference. But fall is coming up where we start new cohorts. So if you're ready to stop researching and you are ready to be like, yes, I'm in. Fall strategic leader and fall boot camp are starting. You can download details of those modules. That'll be a link. Yes. But if you're also sitting there and you're like, I need to do more for my team or you're an organization where you're like, we don't actually have something set up to do this. We talk with senior leaders and HR directors and L&D directors who are moving into planning for next year. So we're happy to even have conversations with yours because this is the window. This is the time that you can make that difference. And so if it's a very minute call just to talk about where are you going and what's most useful, like let's plan and help you set your teams up for success next year. Yes, yes, yes, yes. Yes, do not delay anymore. We want to see, well, we really need culture to move forward in food, right? And, you know, many people are on the verge of having that fire, having that blow up. So don't delay if you're thinking about this, like, Set up that time. We'll make sure that there's links in our show notes on our events so that you can easily get there. But of course, you can find all this information on our website as well. And we know leadership is not a one person show, right? Culture just does not grow on its own. It takes intention. It takes a system and it takes this development of your leaders. Yes, we say it over and over, but culture doesn't change till leaders do. So that is today's Real Talk. We're excited that you were here with us today. If you're listening later on from Monday, hello. We're excited that you have picked up our podcast. And we will be back next week. We will. So make it a good week. Bye, everyone.
