The Wake Up Eager Workforce Podcast

Episode Preview: In this episode of the Wake Up Eager Workforce podcast, host Suzie Price dives into the powerful connection between personal accountability and your intrinsic motivators. Drawing on her extensive experience in leadership development and the science of motivators, Suzie uncovers how understanding what drives you can transform your approach to accountability, making follow-through feel natural and energizing. You'll learn how to harness your top motivators to create momentum in your actions, stay consistent, and unlock greater results in your personal and professional life. Whether you're a leader seeking to enhance your influence or someone striving to cultivate better habits, this episode offers actionable insights and strategies to fuel your success. Suzie also shares real-life stories, reflections on the power of motivators, and practical advice to help you embrace accountability, create meaningful growth, and lead with intention. If you're ready to align your actions with what truly energizes you, build stronger accountability habits, and start creating consistent success—this episode is for you. Read the transcript for Episode 141 below and discover how to fuel your accountability and wake up eager every day. Takeaways of Episode #141 --- Accountability gets easier when it aligns with your motivators When you understand what energizes you, follow-through stops feeling like discipline and starts feeling like momentum. "When you're in your flow, discipline becomes desire." — Unknown Every motivator has a strength… and a blind spot Each motivator can support or sabotage follow-through. "Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom." — Aristotle Accountability grows through small, deliberate steps Your Accountability Action Plan anchors wins, opportunities, motivator connections, and measurable next steps. "Small disciplines repeated with consistency lead to great achievements gained slowly over time." — John C. Maxwell In this episode: [00:04:10] Suzie Price: "Accountability becomes effortless when it aligns with your motivators. When you understand what drives you, follow-through feels less like discipline and more like momentum." [00:10:48] Suzie Price: "Every motivator has a strength and a blind spot. Recognizing this helps you leverage what energizes you and manage what might drain your energy." [00:22:49] Suzie Price: "Small, deliberate steps lead to big results. It's not about making huge leaps—it's about consistent actions that align with what truly motivates you." [00:26:08] Suzie Price: "True accountability comes from self-awareness. When you understand your motivators, you can create actionable plans that lead to consistent success." [00:32:03] Suzie Price: "Leadership is about creating space for reflection and ownership. When we lead with clarity and intention, we inspire accountability in ourselves and others."

Episode Preview: In this episode of the Wake Up Eager Workforce podcast, host Suzie Price shares her personal journey of overcoming burnout and reclaiming her energy and focus with powerful tools to help you get out of a funk. Drawing from her expertise and years of coaching leaders, Suzie introduces a fresh, science-backed approach to realign your life with clarity and purpose. Through the lens of TriMetrix and Axiology, Suzie breaks down simple, practical tools that have helped her and countless others transform from stress and overwhelm to energy and alignment. She explains the 1% Solution (Tune In Time) as an easy-to-implement method that resets your mind in just 15 minutes a day, and how consistency can lead to 91 hours of mental calm over the course of the year. Whether you're feeling burnt out, stuck, or simply need a mental reset, this episode provides a clear roadmap to help you overcome those moments and wake up eager every day. Read the transcript for Episode 140 below and discover how these tools can transform your mindset, boost your energy, and put you back in control of your life. Takeaways of Episode #133 --- Tune In Time, or TNT Fifteen minutes a day — just one percent of your time — can completely change your energy and focus. It's the pause that resets your perspective and builds 91 hours of calm clarity over the year. As author Greg McKeown reminds us, "If you don't prioritize your life, someone else will." Those 15 minutes are your daily investment in calm, focus, and ownership of your time. The Intentional Focus Method You can't always control what happens around you, but you can control what you focus on. When you shift from frustration to appreciation, you change your entire emotional landscape — and the results that follow. As Abraham-Hicks says, "You have the ability to focus, and therefore, the ability to choose the way you feel." Self-mastery is true power Every time you choose to focus on what's going well, to plan your six must-do's, or to give yourself grace, you strengthen your alignment. Because the most powerful leaders — and the most peaceful people — are the ones who know how to manage their own focus.As Lao Tzu reminds us, "Mastering others is strength. Mastering yourself is true power." In this episode: [00:05:20] Suzie Price: "Getting out of a funk isn't about waiting for motivation to strike. It's about building small, intentional actions that create momentum." [00:17:43] Suzie Price: "The 1% Solution isn't about big, overnight changes. It's about dedicating 15 minutes a day to realign your focus and reduce stress over time." [00:29:10] Suzie Price: "Self-leadership is the key to everything. When we lead ourselves well, we're better equipped to show up for others and create the life we truly desire." [00:33:33] Suzie Price: "Transformation happens in the small moments. It's those consistent actions that, over time, create the biggest results in our lives."

Episode Overview: In this episode of the Wake Up Eager Workforce Podcast, host Suzie Price takes leaders behind the scenes of one of the most costly challenges in business—bad hires—and reveals how to eliminate guesswork with The FIT Formula, a data-driven system for hiring, onboarding, and developing top talent. Suzie begins by addressing a hard truth: most hiring failures don't happen because of a lack of skill, but because of missing intangibles like poor self-management, weak communication, or misaligned motivation. With warmth and clarity, she introduces the Performance Dashboard—a simple yet powerful tool that helps leaders define the top three to five priorities that drive success in any role. Through her signature car analogy, Suzie breaks down the five components of true fit: Roads Traveled (experience), How They Drive (behavior style), Under the Hood (personal skills), Gas in the Tank (motivators), and Where They Park (culture fit). She reminds listeners that hiring based on résumés alone is like buying a car just for its color—you need to know what powers it, how it performs, and where it belongs. Suzie also shares real-world stories of mismatched hires—including a cautionary tale about a brilliant but misaligned physician—and how TriMetrix® tools reveal the hidden traits that predict true success. From there, she shows how the FIT Formula extends far beyond hiring, becoming a lifelong system for coaching, engagement, and leadership growth. By the end of the episode, you'll understand why clarity is kindness in leadership—and how the FIT Formula gives you confidence, structure, and heart in every hiring and development decision. Whether you're hiring your next team member or coaching your current stars, this episode will help you create alignment, reduce drama, and build a Wake Up Eager Workforce—one great hire at a time. Read the full transcript of Episode 139: The FIT Formula — From Hiring Hopes to High-Performance Habits below and discover how to turn every hiring hope into a high-performance habit. Takeaways of Episode #139 --- Clarity Creates Confidence: The Performance Dashboard transforms hiring chaos into precision by defining the top 3–5 priorities that truly drive success in any role. Hire the Whole Person: The FIT Formula helps leaders look beyond the résumé to understand how someone works, why they're motivated, and where they'll thrive. Data Drives Development: Superior Performance Attributes (SPAs)Hiring Templates and TriMetrix tools extend far beyond hiring—they fuel onboarding, coaching, and leadership growth throughout the employee lifecycle. In this episode: Suzie Price [00:04:11]: "Ninety percent of the time when someone is let go, it's not because of their résumé—it's because of missing intangibles like poor self-management, low accountability, weak communication, or misaligned motivation." Suzie Price [00:05:28]: "Start where clarity begins—the Performance Dashboard. It pinpoints the three to five priorities that define success in a role and gives leaders and employees a shared vision of what winning looks like." Suzie Price [00:12:59]: "Hiring based on the résumé alone is like buying a car just for the color of the paint. You need to know what's under the hood, how they drive, what fuels them, and where they'll thrive." Suzie Price [00:22:08]: "Stop betting on gut instinct and incomplete data. Start hiring and developing with rigor and heart—because when people are in roles that fit, they don't just perform, they thrive."

[00:00:00] Suzie : welcome to this wake up eager workforce podcast mini episode where we share in 10 minutes or less our monthly article from LinkedIn in a new audio format courtesy of our AI co host as they walk through the article and share additional insights exclusively for you I am Susie Price I'm your podcast host and the founder of Priceless Professional Development and whether you're listening to one of our long form episodes or something like this mini episode our focus is always to to provide everything to you related to helping employees in your organization build a high commitment low drama wake up eager workforce we're focused on creating great hiring creating great teams helping leaders and individuals wake up eager you can find all of our episodes long form and short form at Wake up eco workforce.com and you can subscribe anywhere that you get your podcasts so let me know if you have any questions if you are enjoying these mini episodes or any of our other episodes or if I can help you in any way you can find me at Susie at priceless professional.com Susie Price on LinkedIn and of course our contact information if you go to wake up eager workforce.com thanks for tuning in appreciate you very much and go out and have a wake up eager kind of day take care welcome to the deep docs today we're jumping right into well a classic global management challenge leading a team that's on paper really confident but uh deeply resistant to any kind of outside influence we've got this great case study to unpack based on a consultant's work with a leader let's call him Danny he was facing this exact issue with his team in Poland trying to bring them under a new more centralized strategy so our mission here is to sort of fast track your understanding of how you gain leverage in these well these really emotionally charged situations we're looking at how data culture leadership styles how they all clash on that global stage why do good people sometimes resist changes that seem necessary okay let's get into it [00:02:04] A1 : yeah and this case is such a good example because it really highlights that clear financial goals they're often not enough not even close what we're really digging into here is the power of that ingrained local culture you know that tendency towards group solidarity maybe pushing back against outsiders it can effectively block corporate strategy even a really logical one Danny wasn't just tweaking processes he was up against a kind of cultural defense mechanism [00:02:32] A2 : okay so where did he even start yeah I mean you can't just walk in and say your culture is resistant right so the breakthrough or the start of it came from something objective [00:02:40] A1 : exactly it started with a specific piece of analysis a leadership assessment he commissioned for a key local leader this was John the VP of operations OK right that report the VP Operations Benchmark Gap Report it was absolutely pivotal it wasn't just saying John's doing badly no it mapped his actual behaviors against a predefined standard for that VP role yeah and Justin did have strengths the report noted you know real passion for learning very direct communication style [00:03:05] A2 : okay operational strengths good for getting things done [00:03:09] A1 : definitely essential for execution but the gaps [00:03:12] A2 : they were pretty significant especially for a VP level [00:03:15] A1 : oh massive liabilities things you really don't want in a strategic leader we're talking significant shortcomings in personal accountability diplomacy tact and maybe most importantly people skills you can be a technical genius but without diplomacy you can't manage effectively up down sideways it just doesn't work [00:03:35] A2 : and the source material really emphasizes this wasn't just about John was it his gaps were almost amplified by the local situation [00:03:42] A1 : that's right the consultant called it a fortresses culture within that Polish leadership team deeply ingrained very hesitant about new perspectives and honestly really good at creating this sort of barrier against new talent coming in wow a structural barrier that's the perfect term for it John's weaknesses weren't just his own they were symptomatic of this larger kind of protectionist mindset they rewarded sticking together keeping things insular so if Danny had just say replaced John without tackling the culture [00:04:09] A2 : the new person would have just bounced off that fortress wall [00:04:12] A1 : instantly ostracized neutralized yeah so Danny's goal had to be bigger than just fixing John it was about building a leadership foundation strong enough to resist that that pull towards the way things had always been done [00:04:26] A2 : okay this is where it gets really interesting for me because you've got this high emotion environment any criticism feels personal how do you even start talking about competence about culture when everyone's defenses are way up [00:04:39] A1 : data you have to lean on the data those assessment reports were the key they shifted the conversation it wasn't Danny thinks John is abrasive anymore it became this objective tool shows a 45% gap in the specific relational skills needed for this VP role [00:04:54] A2 : that reframing is crucial [00:04:56] A1 : it's everything because if Danny had just used his own observations you know John's difficult the team's resistant they could have brushed it off oh that's just cultural misunderstanding or corporate doesn't get us right [00:05:07] A1 : easy excuses but the gap report it used a recognized framework third party objectivity that was the lever Danny needed it allowed him to actually engage them in those tough but necessary conversations [00:05:18] A2 : and didn't he do something specific with the report visually something quite clever he did [00:05:22] A1 : he asked for a direct visual comparison John's actual assessment results right next to the preset job benchmark for a VP and you're right that benchmark wasn't just a list of tasks it was like a a psychometric map of the ideal VP profile for that company [00:05:38] A2 : so like side by side here's the target here's reality [00:05:41] A1 : exactly laid bare you could see for instance where the benchmark required high scores and say influence intact and John's profile showed these significant dips right there visually that visual data gave them a common neutral language it helped cut through potentially years of defensiveness because suddenly they weren't arguing about personality they were looking at verifiable behavioral gaps against a required standard [00:06:04] A2 : so for you listening if you're facing that kind of dug in resistance objective data isn't just backup it actually provides a kind of psychological safety net doesn't it it lets everyone discuss the roles needs not just perceived personal failings [00:06:17] A1 : and that focus on the role brings us to the next critical point where the real cost of that cultural resistance that fortress culture it became painfully clear John style combined with that team dynamic it basically created an environment that actively rejected desperately needed new talent [00:06:36] A2 : and that talent was Anne right the promising new leader Danny brought in [00:06:40] A1 : that's her she represented the strategic forward looking perspective that the Polish office really needed but she just couldn't get any traction [00:06:47] A2 : why not what was happening day to day [00:06:49] A1 : well the consultant realized she was essentially set up to fail not intentionally maybe but systemically and they use this fantastic analogy to help Danny see the disconnect between her and John [00:06:59] A2 : oh yeah I remember this John was the contractor [00:07:02] A1 : exactly focus purely on execution getting the job done now [00:07:05] A2 : and and she was the architect focused [00:07:07] A1 : on the blueprint the long term vision the strategic direction five years out [00:07:12] A2 : so the contractor just wants to pour the concrete today while the architect is worried about the building's integrity decades from now yeah what did that look like in practice [00:07:21] A1 : it looked like well John the contractor was all about immediate results hitting quarterly numbers keeping costs down right now very tactical and the architect she was focused on strategic alignment managing conflicts relationships with stakeholders investing in things that might not pay off this quarter but were crucial for the future they weren't just bad at communicating they were speaking fundamentally different professional languages [00:07:44] A2 : and the existing culture reinforced the contractor view [00:07:47] A1 : completely John saw Anne's planning as you know maybe impractical pie in the sky stuff and Anne saw John's intense short term focus as actually undermining the company's long term health the resistant culture basically sided with John's approach and starved Anne's strategic initiatives of support and resources [00:08:06] A2 : and the outcome was pretty much inevitable [00:08:09] A1 : I guess sadly yes and resigned and look that wasn't just one failed hire it was a huge red flag about the organizational culture itself the culture was so strong it literally pushed out the very talent brought in to help evolve it which forced Danny and the consultant to ask a really tough question how on earth do you recruit the talent you need when your current environment is basically designed to reject it [00:08:33] A2 : that's a brutal question to face but necessary so Danny's frustration losing in that became the moment things had to change fundamentally a pivot point [00:08:42] A1 : absolutely it forced a pause a necessary recalibration the consultant really pushed Danny to shift focus stop trying to just fill the empty chair quickly instead they needed to deeply analyze the essential traits the next hire absolutely had to have just to survive let alone succeed in that specific environment it meant accepting maybe that you couldn't just drop in a pure architect type leader not until the cultural foundations were shifted somehow [00:09:07] A2 : so what kind of questions did they start asking then if not just who can do the job [00:09:11] A1 : they got really specific like okay right now does this role need more deep technical expertise to just stabilize things or is relational depth the ability to heal and connect the absolute top priority right now for fixing the culture [00:09:27] A2 : it's not just technical versus relational though is it it sounds like it was also about power [00:09:31] A1 : that's a great way to put it where does the power need to sit did they need someone who would just execute and report up or did they need someone with the the authority the personality to actually push back against that entrenched culture you know you can't send in a gentle mediator if what you actually need is someone to challenge the existing power structure [00:09:49] A2 : and ultimately they decided they needed what was the term you used earlier a diplomatic bulldozer [00:09:07] A2 : so what kind of questions did they start asking then if not just who can do the job they got really specific like okay right now does this role need more deep technical expertise to just stabilize things or is relational depth the ability to heal and connect the absolute top priority right now for fixing the culture it's not just technical versus relational though is it it sounds like it was also about power that's a great way to put it where does the power need to sit did they need someone who would just execute and report up or did they need someone with the the authority the personality to actually push back against that entrenched culture you know you can't send in a gentle mediator if what you actually need is someone to challenge the existing power structure and ultimately they decided they needed what was the term you used earlier a diplomatic bulldozer haha yeah something like that a very specific blend they needed someone hands on someone who really understood the operational side that was critical for credibility but they also needed this rare mix high dominance uh you know the willingness to challenge to make tough calls and stick to them combined with strong people skills sociability tact someone who could bridge that gap between the big strategic picture and the day to day realities and successfully navigate the minefield of that Polish office culture someone who could stand firm on a decision but then you know smooth things over afterwards that blend was the absolute must have [00:10:30] A1 : so it wasn't about finding the perfect resume anymore it was about finding the exact personality profile that could withstand and maybe even start to change yeah that specific cultural environment [00:10:41] A2 : precisely and that whole journey for Danny it really underlines that leading through these deep cultural challenges especially internationally it's often an iterative process you learn as you go the path forward really came down to those three key things we've talked about 1 relentlessly use objective data to cut through the emotion and validate concerns 2 foster conversations centered on the roles requirements not personal attacks or feelings and 3 strategically reframe setbacks like and leaving not a failure but crucial data that helped refine the strategy for the next hire the one who could potentially succeed [00:11:17] A1 : yeah that whole story from John's assessment to really understanding why Anne couldn't succeed it's a powerful reminder isn't it aligning people on purpose especially across cultures means navigating some really murky uncertain territory it feels like the temptation is always to simplify to find easy answers but maybe the greatest clarity actually comes when you lean into that complexity embrace the uncertainty but demand the data to help you find a way through well said sometimes that complexity that messiness that's exactly where the real hard one insight is hiding thank you for joining us for this deep dive

[00:00:00] Suzie Price : welcome to this wake up eager workforce podcast mini episode where we share in 10 minutes or less our monthly article from LinkedIn in a new audio format courtesy of our AI co host as they walk through the article and share additional insights exclusively for you I am Susie Price I'm your podcast host and the founder of Priceless Professional Development and whether you're listening to one of our long form episodes or something like this mini episode our focus is always to provide everything to you related to helping employees in your organization build a high commitment low drama wake up eager workforce we're focused on creating great hiring creating great teams helping leaders and individuals wake up eager you can find all of our episodes long form and short form at Wake Up Eager workforce.com and you can subscribe anywhere that you get your podcasts so let me know if you have any questions if you are enjoying these mini episodes or any of our other episodes or if I can help you in any way you can find me at Susie at priceless professional. com Susie Price on LinkedIn and of course our contact information if you go to wake up eager workforce.com thanks for tuning in appreciate you very much and go out and have a wake up eager kind of day take care [00:01:24] AI 1 : has you ever been in that spot where you just you feel like you could be a better leader or maybe more influential even just day to day maybe prepping for something big or just wondering what that uh secret sauce really is [00:01:36] AI 2 : absolutely it's a common feeling [00:01:38] AI 1 : well if that sounds familiar you're definitely in the right place because today we're doing a deep dive into something absolutely fundamental for leadership communication [00:01:47] AI 2 : the bedrock really exactly [00:01:49] AI 1 : and our mission here is well it's pretty straightforward we want to cut through all the noise and get straight to the most impactful stuff for you mm hmm we've focused on this really insightful analysis it's called 4 Communication skills that make or break all leaders [00:02:05] AI 2 : yeah it's a good one [00:02:07] AI 1 : and we're going to break it down distill it to you know the core ideas think of it like your fast track to understanding what really makes great leaders tick [00:02:15] AI 2 : and what's great about this source is how it really nails what inspires people what actually motivates them to act positively it's definitely not about that old command and control style it's more about building an environment where people feel genuinely empowered [00:02:30] AI 1 : that makes me think of a quote the analysis brings up from Ralph Waldo Emerson it's our chief want is someone who will inspire us to be what we know we could be powerful isn't it [00:02:40] AI 2 : it really is and if you think about it communication is basically the pipeline for that inspiration the pipeline I like that yeah it's how leaders connect potential with reality they paint that picture that vision and crucially make others feel like yes they can achieve it [00:02:55] AI 1 : okay so how do you actually do that that's the big question [00:02:58] AI 2 : well that's where this framework comes in [00:03:00] AI 1 : right the analysis gives us this framework it's simple but pretty powerful an acronym actually [00:03:05] AI 2 : C a L L C a L L yeah see you remember yeah and it's designed to help grasp these key skills you know the ones for building trust strengthening relationships inspiring that confidence ready to unpack C a L L let's do it okay first up c it stands for cultivate a positive sense of self in others now this isn't just like flattery right oh definitely not it's much deeper it's about actively empowering people seeing their potential recognizing their contributions and doing it authentically authentically [00:03:36] AI 1 : that's key absolutely leaders who get this right they don't just praise tasks they build the sort of deep seated confidence in the person and that makes the whole team stronger [00:03:47] AI 2 : exactly much stronger more cohesive more effective ultimately it's helping people see their own best qualities [00:03:54] AI 1 : okay so cultivating positivity is crucial but what about when things go wrong problems pop up which they always do right so that brings us to the a N C a L address problems quickly by focusing on behaviors and facts this sounds potentially tricky how do you do that without making things worse [00:04:14] AI 2 : yeah it's a really critical skill the analysis stresses sticking only to facts and observable behaviors no assumptions no judgments precisely you take out the emotional interpretation that you always or you never kind of language it keeps the conversation focused constructive [00:04:28] AI 1 : so it's about the what not the why or the who in a blaming sense [00:04:32] AI 2 : exactly it pays a much clearer path to actually solving the problem rather than just you know creating more conflict [00:04:39] AI 1 : okay that makes sense moving on then from tackling problems to working together the first L is lead by inviting input and participation this feels very collaborative [00:04:50] AI 2 : it is totally the best leaders they know they don't have all the answers they just don't right so instead they focus on creating this space this environment where people feel safe psychologically safe is the term often used [00:05:03] AI 1 : safe to share ideas even maybe disagree [00:05:06] AI 2 : yes safe to share ideas perspectives unique insights even challenges and this isn't just nice it demonstrably leads to better decisions [00:05:15] AI 1 : and people feel more invested [00:05:17] AI 2 : I imagine huge difference they feel ownership because they help shape whatever it is the outcome the plan the solution [00:05:23] AI 1 : got it okay last letter the second L in C a L L is listen aggressively that phrase aggressive listening it sounds intense [00:05:32] AI 2 : it does sound a bit intense doesn't it but it's not about being confrontational [00:05:36] AI 1 : so what is it about more than just you know not talking [00:05:39] AI 2 : oh much more it's about going way beyond just hearing the words it's about tuning in to understand the real intent behind the words the emotion yeah the content exactly the unspoken stuff the full picture when you really practice that kind of focused empathic listening it's a game changer for trust in any relationship any relationship professional personal doesn't matter you're not just waiting to jump in you're genuinely trying to understand where the other person is coming from [00:06:06] AI 1 : okay so C a L L cultivate positivity address problems factually lead by inviting input and listen aggressively if you actually do these things consistently what's the payoff [00:06:18] AI 2 : well the analysis is pretty clear on this it gives you a real competitive edge how so people want to work with you your team your clients your colleagues things just get easier [00:06:28] AI 1 : easier like less friction [00:06:29] AI 2 : less friction more natural flow more authenticity think about work projects sales conversations they feel less like a struggle and more like a collaboration and beyond work does it spill over absolutely if you zoom out it impacts pretty much every part of your life you build deeper trust you have more honest conversations just better connections all around [00:06:50] AI 1 : okay that all sounds great in theory but you know people might be thinking where's the proof does this stuff really work in the real world [00:06:58] AI 2 : great question and the analysis tackles that head on it looks at what actual employees say about their leaders they gathered feedback from thousands of people all sorts of industries too aviation healthcare sales tech really diverse [00:07:14] AI 1 : and what did they find were there common themes about the best leaders [00:07:18] AI 2 : oh yeah very consistent themes people constantly use words like great listener fair knowledgeable listening again always comes up also things like gave me confidence or believed in me and interestingly gave me confidence in their company or believed in their product [00:07:33] AI 1 : so confidence in the person and the mission exactly [00:07:36] AI 2 : other common phrases were inspired me to my best I trusted this person often followed by that she had my best interests in mind [00:07:44] AI 1 : trust is huge [00:07:45] AI 2 : crucial also was straight with me telling the truth good or bad made sure my goals were understood looked out for my development and back to collaboration asked for my opinion and input [00:07:57] AI 1 : wow it paints a really clear picture [00:07:59] AI 2 : it does and there's this one quote the source highlights that really sums it up an employee said I wanted to work with this person I never dreaded our meetings I did more for this person than I did for others because of the confidence and trust I felt [00:08:13] AI 1 : that says it all really doing more because you feel that trust [00:08:16] AI 2 : it really does and what this feedback shows is that people universally value these things trust feeling supported fairness clear communication [00:08:25] AI 1 : leadership greatness isn't some magic formula [00:08:28] AI 2 : no it's about understanding what people fundamentally need from their leaders to be effective themselves it comes from them [00:08:35] AI 1 : and this isn't just based on stories right you mentioned data earlier [00:08:38] AI 2 : correct these anecdotal findings these human experiences they're strongly supported by hard data the analysis points specifically to Gallup research Gallup they do massive studies right huge this one involved nearly 8,000 teams 7,935 to be exact across 36 countries wow and they proved quantitatively the bottom line impact of mastering these skills trust building relationship building yeah it hits the numbers [00:09:06] AI 1 : okay so what kind of numbers are we talking about what's the tangible impact [00:09:08] AI 2 : well Gallup looked at what happens when you have say a 25% team that's genuinely motivated and inspired what they call engaged right engaged teams what's the difference it's pretty staggering those engaged teams they brought in over $80,000 more in monthly revenue 80,000 a month per month plus 1 to 4% higher monthly profits success rates were 103% higher [00:09:31] AI 1 : 103% that's more than double [00:09:33] AI 2 : exactly and on top of that stronger customer loyalty and significantly lower unwanted turnover people stick around [00:09:41] AI 1 : those aren't small differences that's major impact [00:09:43] AI 2 : it absolutely is so the big takeaway here for you is that trust strong relationships they aren't just nice to have they are critical for better performance higher profits happier teams and it all circles back to communication better communication from leaders drives this [00:10:00] AI 1 : okay this is all incredibly compelling but here's the thing that might feel daunting can anyone actually learn this stuff or are some people just you know born with it [00:10:11] AI 2 : that's the best part maybe the analysis makes it really clear these are not traits reserved for some mythical natural born leader no no these are skills and like any skill they can be Learned they can be practiced and yeah they can be mastered anyone can do it if they put in the effort [00:10:27] AI 1 : that's really encouraging so it's not about changing your personality it's about honing specific skills [00:10:31] AI 2 : precisely and that leads to a kind of challenge the material poses directly to you the listener hey what's the challenge it asks what would happen if you focused on just one of these skills maybe cultivating trust or addressing challenges clearly or inviting input or that deep listening just one in every interaction you have this week just pick one and focus just one see what changes it's a simple starting point but potentially really transformative [00:10:59] AI 1 : so really if you want to step up your leadership it doesn't need to be overly complex [00:11:04] AI 2 : it's not complex no but it does need intention right [00:11:07] AI 1 : intention practice and really committing to connecting meaningfully with people that's the heart of it okay so let's quickly recap what we've dug into today the big insight is that communication it's not a soft skill definitely not it's the absolute cornerstone of effective leadership it's the engine driving real measurable results revenue profit loyalty morale [00:11:31] AI 2 : you name it and the truly empowering piece is knowing these skills aren't some innate gift they're learnable they're actionable [00:11:38] AI 1 : the power is literally in your hands [00:11:40] AI 2 : exactly you can start cultivating these skills today and genuinely transform not just your leadership but all your relationships [00:11:46] AI 1 : so as we wrap up here's something to think about considering everything we've unpacked today what's one small shift you could make in your communication just one thing that could start a ripple effect of trust and engagement right where you are starting today