Creating Culture in Your Company with Lindsay White
Today, I am blessed to be joined by Lindsay White.
My guest today is Lindsay White, a Leadership Coach and owner of High Voltage Leadership. Lindsay is passionate about coaching female entrepreneurs and small business owners and is committed to showing up as authentically as possible. She is a big advocate for team culture and creating a better balance in your life.
“Nothing kills company culture faster than a leader who doesn't lead by example” – Lindsay White
Listen on iTunes, Spotify, and YouTube https://www.daniellecobo.com/dreamjobwithdaniellecobopodcast
Highlights
💫 2:00 What does "team culture" really mean?
💫 3:04 Some advice for creating culture in the workplace
💫 12:50 The value in getting to know your employees
💫 17:25 Why taking care of your team is just as important as taking care of your customers
💫 20:56 Three Takeaways from today's conversation
Let's Connect!
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Culture is the set of behaviors that people display in a team or an organization that creates an atmosphere and a feeling, and honors sort of collective values. I think the way we would describe it sort of more in layman's terms, is culture is about how you feel and connect to the people around you.
It's a collective experience in how people show up. And how people show up in all aspects of life, too, you know. So, when it comes to culture, what advice would you give to a leader who's saying, I want a culture where people are excited to come to work, where they feel valued, where they feel worthy, where they just look forward to the people that they work with? What advice would you give to others when it comes to creating a culture in the workplace?
Creating A Culture in the Workplace: How To Do It and Why It Matters
The first thing that I always talk about when it comes to creating a great culture is that you need to listen.
As a leader, you need to be an effective listener. You need to be an effective leader and you need to be an effective listener. And I don't just mean listening to respond. I mean, listening to understand. I mean, listening to deeply connect. So that is the very first and simplest step to creating a great culture. You need to listen to the people that are on your team or in your business or your community, organization, or even in your family. Wherever you're leading, you need to listen deeply to hear and understand what is it that they need to be successful. They will tell you if you listen.
You also need to be vulnerable.
You need to be available and vulnerable and open to understanding and connecting. And some of that is the EQ that we talk about, that emotional intelligence. So you need to have awareness of your own emotional space and sort of the vibration that you give us. So that you can tap into other's emotions and, again, understand, walk a mile in their shoes of what their experience is.
So those are sort of the first two things that I always talk to a leader about when they're talking to me about I want to create this impactful great culture where people feel they can do their best work every day. Well, what does doing your best work mean to them? Because it means something slightly different to everybody else.
I also think a very important piece of creating culture is understanding and articulating the collective values.
So what is important to each individual and how do those things come together to create a collective set of values? So if one of the values on your work team is accountability, what does it mean to everyone on your team to be accountable and you can design a collective definition that everyone can buy into. Because when we can see ourselves reflected in that collective value, then we can start to translate that into behavior. So how do accountable people behave? What is the norm? That's what contributes to creating a great culture.
The Importance of Self-Awareness and Emotional Intelligence
I'm so grateful for a couple of things that you said that rightly needed. One of them is understanding emotional intelligence, and really understanding and having that self-awareness as to what your emotions are and how they show up. There's a direct correlation to leadership, and those that are in leadership typically have high self-awareness. There's a lot of value in understanding that.
So for those of you out there, if you haven't read “Emotional Intelligence 2.0,” I highly recommend it. It’s A very valuable book, and it goes into the key differentiating characteristics when it comes to understanding like self-management, self-awareness, and social awareness. There's a lot that goes into it.
I like how you talk about values because everybody's values are different, and taking the time to understand each person's values on the team, we used to do what was called a value card exercise where you take down and you identify, what are the core values, maybe five to seven core values each person has? Then where's the similarity, and where are the differences? Because the similarities can be what your vision statement is going to be as a team. And maybe the difference is understanding why somebody's core values are different than another and it opens up the heart to know each other, and it's that connection aspect.
I think we can all use the same word to define a value. So for example, lots of us have the same value of success. But I would tell you, if you put ten people in a room to talk about what the value of success means to them, you would have ten very different definitions. Now, you may be able to find the golden thread that runs through all of them. It may be something around fulfillment. It may be something around joy or how they serve others to create that success. But realistically, it is about digging into those values, understanding deeply from a very personal perspective, and then sharing as a team to get the clarity and the understanding and the buy-in, then you can start to talk about how do we behave in such a way that that value is lived in everything we do as a team, every day. That's what starts to be the genesis of your culture when you can underpin those kinds of things.
The Correlation Between Collective Vision and Workplace Culture
Then, we talked about having a collective vision – that's crucial to having a great culture, and what's important is not that you just have a vision statement that's written out and posted on a wall somewhere or written on coasters or lanyards. Repetition isn't actually what's important when it comes to a collective vision. What's important is that the people buy into that vision, see themselves reflected in it, they personalize it, that vision becomes meaningful to them, not just written on a wall somewhere. That is what creates a great culture. Those are the most foundational pieces, and then it just grows from there like it's self-perpetuates if you get those pieces.
Right, because there are so many companies that put this vision statement on the wall, but no one wrote. Most people don't know it. They don't relate to it. Therefore they don't embody it, and as a leader, it's about translating vision into reality.
If you don't know the core values of your team and their why, then how are you going to know, how their why translates to their vision? How are you gonna know how you get to translate that vision into reality?
Having a purpose, if a vision statement is something that you embody, it's something that you live every single day through, you're all collectively supporting each other in that cultural environment. It's got to be something that they relate to, because if they don't relate to it, then it just is one of those vision statements that stands like you said, on a lanyard on a wall on a like coffee coaster, and it doesn't serve anybody.
No, it doesn't. It's absolutely meaningless. And I think the other thing when I work with leaders and executives, whether it's in a corporate environment or their own businesses, one of the most important things is that they have to be accountable to those values and they have to be accountable to that vision. Nothing kills culture faster than a leader that says, "Do as I say, not as I do." A leader that does not walk the talk absolutely is 100% a culture killer. You cannot create that in a wonderful, welcoming environment for your team if you are not all in on participating. It's just the truth.
I agree with you 100%. I've never been asked by my team to do anything that I wouldn't have done myself or would do alongside them. It's about linking arms with them. It's not about just telling them what to do, and, there's one thing that I worked for an organization before and this stood out about the culture. There was one day in a year that the executive leadership team, all the VPS, high-level leaders, directors, everything would wash their employees’ cars, oh, simple. But it was like, again, that example of I'm never going to ask you something to do that I wouldn't do myself. And when you get to take these high-level executives, and they're getting down and dirty and washing their employees’ cars, it created huge humanity, it created vulnerability, it created connection. And it's a simple thing to do, but it left that lasting impression. I probably haven't, like 10 years ago, but I've always remembered that.
The Importance of Building Connections in Leadership
I used to work for a major Canadian retailer. This is 15 years ago, early in my career, and we had a president and CEO that would spend time on Friday, walking around the corporate office, and he would stop to chat with every single person that he could. And he always knew your name, he knew your spouse's name, he knew your kid's name, he knew your dog's name, he knew what you like to do on the weekend, and it meant an incredible amount to people that he didn't just sit in his executive suite, right up to the executive suite on there, executive only elevator and sit in their executive only office. He wanted people to feel connected, he wanted people to feel valued. He wanted to get a pulse on what was happening in the business for real, and sometimes we live in those C suite roles, we get disconnected because we're working at the strategic level. It was so meaningful because he embodied connection. That's what he created, and it was a big value in that company, and what it did is it helped others to feel like they could do the same thing. They could go and connect, they could stop and talk. They could ask questions, they could be people outside of the office, and it was empowering for people, and it perpetuated a great piece of the culture. So I think you're right. I mean, some of those things are fun. If you want to have a culture that includes fun, well then do fun things, do fun things every day, every week, all the time. It's just as simple and as complicated as that.
You know, that is such a great example of that leadership, taking time to invest in getting to know his employees, getting to know who they are, what's keeping them up at night? What are the celebrations that are going on in their life? It's a connection.
People don't leave for money. Oftentimes, they leave because they either don't like the management or they don't like the culture. And so if you have a culture, that's a toxic environment, you're probably going to see high turnover in your organization. On the flip side, if you have an organization with a phenomenal corporate culture where people look forward to going to work, yes, there's an element where you want to stay competitive on the compensation. There's also an element that you're probably going to have very little turnover because people enjoy the people that they work with, who they work with, and the core culture and organization.
I think it's true, and we're seeing that right now, of course, as we're sort of moving at the tail end of this pandemic, hopefully, fingers crossed, and we're hearing about this huge shift that's happening. People are looking to move on from where they're working right now, and they're estimating somewhere between 40 and 60% of people are already on the job hunt. I mean that sort of depends on what Canada uses. But people are leaving the organizations they work for right now, and a lot of it is based on culture. You're absolutely right, and they've really as we all sort of moving home to work or there were layoffs or furloughs. We're seeing in tough times. What the cultures of these organizations are all about.
And for a lot of organizations, they dropped the ball. They decided culture wasn't important anymore. It was just all about keeping the company afloat. And yes, I think you got to do that, that's got to be a focus – but not at the expense of doing some of these cultural pieces, of bringing these values to life and leveraging how people show up in your organization that doesn't cost anything except some time and effort. It's doesn't have to be expensive.
When you're a leader, your number one customer is your team. And sometimes people will think it's your customer, and the reality is, your team is your number one customer because if you take care of your team, they will then take care of your customers. And if you don't take care of your team, if you don't have a great culture, if you don't have psychological safety and trust, how are they interacting with your clients? That's a huge question mark. I get female entrepreneurs and small business owners that come to me and say, I've got some turnover happening. I've got some infighting, my team is like bullying each other and backbiting, and I've had some bad reviews show up on Google, and I don't know what to do like I've talked to them. But I don't know what to do. And it all goes, every time I do a discovery, I talk to the key players, and what I always uncover at the bottom line is we don't have a really solid set of values. We don't have a vision that everybody buys into. We don't have leadership that's accountable. Because sometimes the small business owner is the worst offender. It’s my business, so I can do whatever I want. Well, yeah, you're absolutely right. You can but like, the question is, how's that working for you? But when I peel back the layers of what's happening in these beautiful businesses, and some of them are really successful, right at the core of what's happening is always about the values and the vision, and how they collectively subscribe to it, and how they bring it to life in all the work that they do and all the interactions they have. Really, it comes down to that at the heart. Because it starts at the leader, and if you're not willing to do it, then you know, you can't expect others to do it; and it's about side by side with your team and getting out from the back leaning side by side and powering all aspects.
Empowering Leaders So They Can Empower Others
I think there is a moment where I talked to my CEOs about Okay, you do need to start taking some steps back. You do need to move into the strategic space. So how are you empowering? How are you leading the leaders in your business? How are you empowering every single person, to your point, to be a leader every day? You need to bring that philosophy that everybody can lead, even if you don't have direct reports. How are you leading every day here in the workspace, and they'll take that home, they'll take that home and recognize that they can be a leader in all the spaces; and that's where you really get incredible momentum, you get incredible energy, you get incredible innovation because people feel empowered to bring a great idea forward, and like be really creative about what they're doing. That's where you get really great leaps forward in your business.
Your passion for culture is infectious in so many different ways. You have shared so many, like just key nuggets. What are three things that you would like our listeners to take away from our conversations? What are three things that they can take away and implement today?
How to Contribute to Building a Good Company Culture
Identify your personal values, evaluate how you live them, and recognize the behaviors that you associate with personally.
If you are not crystal clear on your own personal values, if you do not know what they are – and I'm not just talking about circles or some words on a piece of paper, that's like the tip of the iceberg – if you are not crystal clear on your values, what they mean to you deeply and if you are bringing those to life every day or not because maybe that's part of the problem, that is the first thing you need to do. You need to get super clear on what those are and how you live them and what the behaviors are associated with personally.
Have a personal life purpose statement.
What are you here on this planet to accomplish? Why are you even here is the question? If you don't know what those two things are, those are the first two things on the list, you've got to get clear on those. Because that will inform then how you show up in your family, in your friend groups, in your community, and most importantly in your business.
Define what your leadership brand is.
What is authentically who you are as a leader – and that's not a perfect leader, that's a great leader – because great leaders make mistakes. So you got to build some of that into your leadership brand as well, and that will help you define your authentic leadership style. So for me, I'm big and I'm bold, and I make mistakes, and I say, “Oh my god, I totally screwed that up. I'm such a jerk.” I'll fall on the sword, that's part of my leadership style. Maybe your leadership style is a bit quieter, a little more composed. But you need to know what that is.
And when you have your values, and you know what they are when you have your purpose, and you're really clear on it, and you know what your leadership brand and style is, that is an unstoppable combination. Whether you lead in a corporate environment, or especially when you lead your own small business.
I love how you also said, authenticity and vulnerability in a leader. Because oftentimes people think that as a leader, you need to be the best of the best and perfect, and the reality is vulnerability is a very powerful characteristic to have as a leader.
Yeah, people can't follow a perfect leader. Because they can't see themselves reflected in that. That's the truth. They can't connect to perfection. They can connect to vulnerability, they can connect to someone who's authentic, they can't connect to perfect. And as a leader, your first job is to be connected to your team. So I do think that authenticity is my core value. If I can't show up as who I am every single day, I don't want to participate. I'm not in. Which is part of the reason why I started my own coaching and consulting practice. I think those are the things that I think are just absolutely fundamental. And they're always a journey. It's not a destination to figure out what your values are, they grow and change and iterate with us. But I do believe that when you can get a really clear vision of what those are, and how you show up in the world, then you can really bring incredible energy.
Culture has really shone through on the power of it on when it comes to the environment, the just how you support your employees and getting through really tough times, who stays who goes. There's a lot of people that are looking for new jobs right now, and it's a really great opportunity to reevaluate what your culture is, and how you want it to look in the future.
Transcript
Danielle Cobo
Welcome to another episode of Dream Job with Danielle Cobo. I'm Danielle Cobo, and today we have another very special guest. This woman is powerful. She is a leader. She is inspiring, and she is such a supportive woman out there. This is Lindsay White. She is the owner of High Voltage Leadership. She is a leadership and executive coach. She is specializing in female entrepreneurs and small business owners. She leads with how to show up as a female leader and being authentic. She's a big advocate for team culture and also creating balance in your life. So thank you, Lindsey, for joining us today.
Lindsay White
Awesome, I'm excited to be here and speak with you, Daniel.
Danielle Cobo
Well, thank you. It's an honor to have you as a guest. So we talk a lot about leadership. We talk a lot about culture. What is culture? What does culture mean to you?
Lindsay White
So I think it's sort of a more technical way. Culture is the set of behaviors that people display in a team or an organization that creates an atmosphere and a feeling and honors sort of collective values. I'm paraphrasing a little bit, but I'm pretty close on that. I think the way we would describe it sort of more in layman's terms, is culture is about how you feel and connect to the people around you.
Danielle Cobo
Right.
Lindsay White
It's a collective experience in how people show up.
Danielle Cobo
And how people show up in all aspects of life, too, you know. So, when it comes to culture, what advice would you give to a leader who's saying, I want a culture where people are excited to come to work, where they feel valued, where they feel worthy, where they just look forward to the people that they work with? What advice would you give to others when it comes to creating a culture in the workplace?
Lindsay White
So there are a few things, and the first thing that I always talk about when it comes to creating a great culture is that you need to listen. As a leader, you need to be an effective listener. You need to be an effective leader may need to be an effective listener, and I don't just mean listening to respond. I mean, listening to understand. I mean, listening to deeply connect. So that is the very first and simplest step to creating a great culture. You need to listen to the people that are on your team or in your business or your community organization or even in your family. Wherever you're leading, you need to listen deeply to hear and understand what is it that they need to be successful? They will tell you if you listen. You also need to be vulnerable. You need to be available and vulnerable and open to understanding and connecting, and some of that is that EQ that we talk about that emotional intelligence. So you need to have awareness of your own emotional space and sort of the vibration that you give us. So that you can tap into other's emotions and, again, understand, walk a mile in their shoes of what their experience is. So those are sort of the first two things that I always talk to a leader about when they're talking to me about I want to create this impactful great culture where people feel they can do their best work every day. Well, what does doing your best work mean to them? Because it means something slightly different to everybody else. I also think a very important piece of creating culture is understanding and articulating the collective values. So what is important to each individual and how do those things come together to create a collective set of values? So if one of the values on your work team is accountability, what does it mean to everyone on your team to be accountable and can you create can you design a collective definition that everyone can buy into. Because when we can see ourselves reflected in that collective value, then we can start to translate that into behavior. So how do accountable people behave? What is the norm? That's what contributes to creating a great culture.
Danielle Cobo
I'm so grateful for a couple of things that you said that rightly needed. One of them is understanding emotional intelligence, and really understanding and having that self-awareness as to what your emotions are and how they show up. There's a direct correlation to leadership, and those that are in leadership typically have high self-awareness. There's a lot of value in understanding that. So for those of you out there, if you haven't read emotional intelligence, 2.0, I highly recommend it.
Lindsay White
Yeah.
Danielle Cobo
A very valuable book, and it goes into the key differentiating characteristics when it comes to understanding like self-management, self-awareness, and social awareness. There's a lot that goes into it. I like how you talk about values because everybody's values are different, and taking the time to understand each person's values on the team, we used to do what was called a value card exercise where you take down and you identify, what are the core values, maybe five to seven core values each person has? Then where's the similarity, and where are the differences? Because the similarities can be what your vision statement is going to be as a team, and maybe the difference is understanding why somebody's core values are different than another and it opens up the heart to know each other, and it's that connection aspect.
Lindsay White
Yeah, it is, and I think we can all use the same word to define a value. So for example, lots of us have the same value of success. But I would tell you, if you put ten people in a room to talk about what the value of success means to them, you would have ten very different definitions. Now, you may be able to find the golden thread that runs through all of them. It may be something around fulfillment. It may be something around joy or how they serve others to create that success. But realistically, it is about digging into those values, understanding deeply from a very personal perspective, and then sharing as a team to get the clarity and the understanding and the buy-in, then you can start to talk about how do we behave in such a way that that value is lived in everything we do as a team, every day, that's what starts to be the genesis of your culture when you can underline and underpin those kinds of things. Then, Danielle, you talked about having a collective vision, that's crucial to having a great culture, and what's important is not that you just have a vision statement that's written out and posted on a wall somewhere or written on coasters or lanyards, or that that doesn't matter. Repetition isn't actually what's important when it comes to a collective vision. What's important is that the people buy into that vision, see themselves reflected in it, they personalize it, that vision becomes meaningful to them, not just written on a wall somewhere. That is what creates a great culture. Those are the most foundational pieces, and then it just grows from there like it's self-perpetuates if you get those pieces.
Danielle Cobo
Right, I spot on, because there are so many companies that put this vision statement on the wall, but no one wrote. Most people don't know it. They don't relate to it. Therefore they don't embody it, and as a leader, it's about translating vision into reality.
Lindsay White
Yeah.
Danielle Cobo
If you don't know the core values of your team and their why, then how are you going to know, how their why translates to their vision? How are you gonna know how you get to translate that vision into reality?
Lindsay White
It's true.
Danielle Cobo
Having a purpose, if a vision statement is something that you embody, it's something that you live every single day through, you're all collectively supporting each other in that cultural environment. It's got to be something that they relate to, because if they don't relate to it, then it just is one of those vision statements that stands like you said, on a lanyard on a wall on a like coffee coaster, and it doesn't serve anybody.
Lindsay White
No, it doesn't. It's meaningless. It's absolutely meaningless, and I think the other thing when I work with leaders and executives, whether it's in a corporate environment or their own businesses, one of the most important things is that they have to be accountable to those values and they have to be accountable to that vision. Nothing kills culture faster than a leader that says, "Do as I say, not as I do." A leader that does not walk the talk absolutely is 100% a culture killer. You cannot create that in a wonderful, welcoming environment for your team if you are not all in on participating. It's just the truth.
Danielle Cobo
I agree with you 100%. I've never been asked by my team to do anything that I wouldn't have done myself or would do alongside them. It's about linking arms with them. It's not about just telling them what to do, and, there's one thing that I worked for an organization before and this stood out about the culture. There was one day a year that the executive leadership team, all the VPS, high-level leaders, directors, everything with wash their employee’s cars, oh, simple. But it was like, again, that example of I'm never going to ask you something to do that, I wouldn't do myself, and when you get to take these high-level executives, and they're getting down and dirty and washing their employee’s cars, it created huge humanity, it created vulnerability, it created connection, and it's a simple thing to do. But it left that lasting impression. I probably haven't, like 10 years ago, but I've always remembered that.
Lindsay White
Yeah, I used to work for a major Canadian retailer. This is 15 years ago, early in my career, and we had a president and CEO that would spend time on Friday, walking around the corporate office, and he would stop to chat with every single person that he could, and he always knew your name, he knew your spouse's name, he knew your kid's name, he knew your dog's name, he knew what you like to do on the weekend, and it meant an incredible amount to people that he didn't just sit in his executive suite, right up to the executive suite on there, executive only elevator and sit in their executive the only office. He wanted people to feel connected, he wanted people to feel valued. He wanted to get a pulse on what was happening in the business for real, and sometimes we live in those C suite roles, we get disconnected because we're working at the strategic level. It was so meaningful because he embodied connection. That's what he created, and it was a big value in that company, and what it did is it helped others to feel like they could do the same thing. They could go and connect, they could stop and talk. They could ask questions, they could be people outside of the office, and it was empowering for people, and it perpetuated a great piece of the culture. So I think you're right. I mean, some of those things are fun. If you want to have a culture that includes fun, well then do fun things, do fun things every day, every week all the time. It's just as simple and as complicated as that.
Danielle Cobo
You know, that is such a great example of really that leadership, taking time to invest in getting to know his employees, getting to know who they are, what's keeping them up at night? What are the celebrations that are going on in their life? It's a connection.
Lindsay White
Yeah.
Danielle Cobo
Keep it all. People don't leave for money. Oftentimes, they leave because they don't. They either don't like the management, they either don't like the culture and so if you have a culture, that's a toxic environment, you're probably going to see high turnover in your organization. On the flip side, if you have an organization with a phenomenal corporate culture where people look forward to going to work, yes, there's an element where you want to stay competitive on the compensation. There's also an element that you're probably going to have very little turnover because people enjoy the people that they work with, who they work with, and the core culture and organization.
Lindsay White
Yeah. I think it's true, and we're seeing that right now, of course, as we're sort of moving at the tail end of this pandemic, hopefully, fingers crossed, and we're hearing about this huge shift that's happening. People are looking to move on from where they're working right now, and they're estimating somewhere between 40 and 60% of people are already on the job hunt. I mean that sort of depends on what Canada us. But people are leaving the organizations they work for right now, and a lot of it is based on culture. You're absolutely right, and they've really as we all sort of moving home to work or there were layoffs or furloughs. We're seeing in tough times. What the cultures of these organizations are all about.
Danielle Cobo
Yeah.
Lindsay White
And for a lot of organizations, they dropped the ball. They decided culture wasn't important anymore. It was just all about keeping the company afloat, and yes, I think you got to do that, that's got to be a focus, but not at the expense of doing some of these cultural pieces, of bringing these values to life and leveraging how people show up in your organization that doesn't cost anything except some time and effort. Like the truth. It's doesn't have to be expensive.
Danielle Cobo
Now, it's when you're a leader, your number one customer is your team. Absolutely 100%, and, sometimes people will think it's your customer, and the reality is, your team is your number one customer because if you take care of your team, they will then take care of your customers.
Lindsay White
That is absolutely the truth, and if you don't take care of your team if you don't have a great culture if you don't have psychological safety and trust, how are they interacting with your clients? That's a huge question, marked. I'll tell you, Danielle, I get female entrepreneurs and small business owners that come to me and say, I've got some turnover happening. I've got some infighting, my team is like bullying each other and backbiting, and I've had some bad reviews show up on Google., and I don't know what to do like I've talked to them. But I don't know what to do, and it all goes, every time I do a discovery, I talk to the key players, and what I always uncover at the bottom line is we don't have a really solid set of values. We don't have a vision that everybody buys into. We don't have leadership that's accountable. Because sometimes the small business owner is the worst offender. It’s my business, so I can do whatever I want. Well, yeah, you're absolutely right. You can but like, the question is, how's that working for you? But when I peel back the layers of what's happening in these beautiful businesses, and some of them are really successful, right at the core of what's happening is always about the values and the vision, and how they collectively subscribe to it, and how they bring it to life in all the work that they do and all the interactions they have. Really, it comes down to that at the heart.
Danielle Cobo
Yeah, 100%, because it starts at the leader, and if you're not willing to do it, then you know, you can't expect others to do it, and it's about side by side with your team, and getting out from the back leaning side by side and powering all aspects.
Lindsay White
Absolutely. I think there is a moment where I talked to my CEOs about Okay, you do need to start taking some steps back. You do need to move into the strategic space. So how are you empowering? How are you leading the leaders in your business? How are you empowering every single person, to your point, Danielle, to be a leader every day? You need to bring that philosophy that everybody can lead, even if you don't have direct reports. How are you leading every day here in the workspace, and they'll take that home, they'll take that home and recognize that they can be a leader in all the spaces, and that's where you really get incredible momentum, you get incredible energy, you get incredible innovation because people feel empowered to bring a great idea forward, and like be really creative about what they're doing. That's where you get really great leaps forward in your business.
Danielle Cobo
You are I mean, your passion for culture is infectious in so many different ways. You have shared so many, like just key nuggets. What are three things that you would like our listeners to take away from our conversations? What are three things that they can take away and implement today?
Lindsay White
Yeah, so the first thing that pops into my head, Danielle, is if you're listening today, and you are not crystal clear on your own personal values if you do not know what they are, and I'm not just talking about circles, some words on a piece of paper I'm talking about, because that's the activity that we feel, oh, here's 100 different worlds that are different values, circle the ones that are meaningful, okay, that's like the tip of the iceberg. If you are not crystal clear on your values, what they mean to you deeply, and how you are bringing those to life every day or not. Because maybe you're not maybe that's part of the problem. That is the first thing you need to do. You need to get super clear on what those are and how you live them and what the behaviors are associate with personally. The second thing you need to do is you need to have a personal life purpose statement. What are you here on this planet to accomplish? Why are you even here is the question? If you don't know what those two things are, those are the first two things on the list, you've got to get clear on those. Because that will inform then how you show up in your family, in your friend groups, in your community, and most importantly in your business. Then the third thing that I would say is that you do need to define what your leadership brand is, what is authentically who you are as a leader, and that's not a perfect leader, that's a great leader because great leaders make mistakes. So you got to build some of that into your leadership brand as well, and that will help you define your authentic leadership style. So for me, I'm big, and I'm bold, and I make mistakes, and I say, oh my god, I totally screwed that up. I'm such a jerk, I'm so like, I'll fall on the sword, that's part of my leadership style. Maybe your leadership style is a bit quieter, a little more composed. But you need to know what that is, and when you have your values, and you know what they are when you have your purpose, and you're really clear on it, and you know, what your leadership brand and style is, that is an unstoppable combination, whether you lead in a corporate environment, or especially when you lead your own small business.
Danielle Cobo
That is excellent, powerful, just inspiring, nuggets that people get to take away, and I love how you also said, authenticity and vulnerability in a leader. Because oftentimes people think that as a leader, you need to be the best of the best and perfect, and the reality is vulnerability is a very powerful characteristic to have as a leader.
Lindsay White
Yeah, people can't follow a perfect leader. Because they can't see themselves reflected in that. That's the truth. They can't connect to perfection. They can connect a vulnerability, they can connect to someone who's authentic, they can't connect a perfect, and as a leader, your first job is to be connected to your team. So I do think that authenticity is my core value. If I can't show up as who I am every single day, I don't want to participate. I'm not in. Which is part of the reason why I started my own coaching and consulting practice. But that's a story for another podcast, Danielle. I think those are the things that I think are just absolutely fundamental, and key, and they're always a journey. Like it's not a destination to figure out what your values are, they grow and change and iterate with us. But I do believe that when you can get a really clear vision of what those are, and how you show up in the world, then you can really bring incredible energy.
Danielle Cobo
Oh, yes. Well, thank you so much, Lindsay, for joining us. I mean, such a powerful message and culture, like we've said, during the tough times during a pandemic. Culture has really shone through on the power of it on when it comes to the environment, the just how you support your employees and getting through really tough times, who stays who goes. There's a lot of people that are looking for new jobs right now, and it's a really great opportunity to reevaluate what your culture is, and how you want it to look in the future. So thank you so much, Lindsay, for joining us, very appreciative. You are an inspiring, powerful woman. So thank you.
Lindsay White
It's been my pleasure, Danielle. Thank you so much for having me.
