How Today's Leadership Style Will Lead to Generational Change

Have you ever considered the lasting impact your leadership has? Join me as I unravel the intricate ways that exceptional leadership doesn't just change the game but alters the course of history for generations. This episode of Things Leaders Do is a deep exploration into the profound effects of shifting from a results-driven to a people-first leadership approach in the aftermath of COVID-19. We'll examine the real-life implications for our workforce and their families, and the pivotal role leaders like you play in this transformation.

Embark on a reflective journey with me as we dissect the challenges that even the most seasoned leaders face in adapting to a world where employees demand respect and authenticity from those at the helm. Through personal stories and a mission-driven philosophy, we will uncover just how you can be the beacon of change that not only inspires but empowers the people you lead to create a positive, indelible mark on future generations. No guests, just us, on a path to redefining the essence of true leadership.

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:01

Welcome to Things Leaders Do, the podcast that uncovers the secrets of becoming an extraordinary leader. If you're a leader who's constantly seeking growth, inspiration and tangible ways to level up your leadership, then you've come to the right place. Remember, the world needs exceptional leaders, and that leader is you. Now here's your host, colby Morris.

Speaker 2: 0:37

Hey leaders, welcome back to the TLD Podcast, a podcast designed to help you, as a leader, get better faster, because we need leaders who are making real change quickly. My name is Colby, I'm your host for the podcast and I've been doing this as a leader for over 20 years and it's my goal to try to help you not really cut corners, but to help you get better, because it's my honest goal to improve you as a leader, and I'm going to explain why today. This is the truth behind why I started this podcast and why I wanted to become a better leader, and this is my overall overarching, mission-driving thought behind all of this, and it's that by being a great leader, you create generational change, and I bet many of you have never even thought of it that way, and that's fair. I mean, really, I'm just now wrapping my head around this message, this thought, this mission, but I can tell you now, if you're listening to this this is the first time I've said this out loud that this is where I'm headed, this is where I'm wrapping my vision, my mission, around. It's creating generational change. So to get there, I kind of have to back up a little bit. I kind of have to take you on a trip of somewhere we all were about four years ago, and that was COVID.

Speaker 2: 2:29

You see, a unique set of circumstances has happened in the workplace since COVID changed the landscape. Okay, what do I mean by change the landscape? Well, it changed where we work for most of us landscape. Well, it changed where we work for most of us, it also changed the face of who we work for, or at least who we're willing to work for. People don't want to work for jerks, they just don't. And today they have an option If they don't like you as their leader, they'll leave. They can DoorDash, they can Uber, they can Amazon, they can do whatever side hustle to pay a couple bills until they get to a point that they can find another job and see, in many of us in our day that wasn't an option. Many of us in our day that wasn't an option. You just kind of suffered in this job that you didn't like until, god willing, you found another one and you just really hope that boss was better than the one that you have.

Speaker 2: 3:47

But since COVID happened, there's this unique dynamic where companies are realizing that they must become people-centered, which means its leaders must become people first as well. However, many of the I keep using this term season leaders, because I don't want to say older leaders like myself, who have been leaders in the workplace, have always been results first leaders, or we are tasked with training this whole new generation of leaders to be people-focused. But why? We ourselves are trying to figure out and train to be people-focused at the same time. So, if you think about it, for the last I don't know, let's call it 50 years we lived in a results-focused leadership dynamic, and it's not saying that we should not have been people-centered or people-focused, but the results were always what was emphasized.

Speaker 2: 4:55

Leaders were expected to be results-focused. It was about what they could accomplish and, honestly, if there were bodies left in the wake, so be it. Only the tough could survive. Well, the fallout of all of that is this it left more than just the workers in their wake. It's taken its toll on generations of workers indirectly it's taken its toll on generations of workers indirectly.

Speaker 2: 5:24

What do I mean? I'm going to walk you through an example or a scenario here. Let's say that Dan works for Mike. Mike is a results-driven boss who holds a hard line and he drives his employees even harder. Well, the result is that Dan absolutely hates going to work. He wakes up with dread, gets gets up, he makes his coffee and he just fights to get through the morning because he knows traffic is going to suck, and then he has to deal with Mike.

Speaker 2: 5:52

Well, dan's wife and Dan's kids know without a doubt that Dan hates going to work. They know that Mike Mike is a jerk, but at the same time they will be polite and shake his hand at the company Christmas party if there is one Dan's two boys in the impressionable stage at their end. They have a somewhat correct notion that, well, work sucks. It's a daily grind that includes working for someone they don't like or won't like, and it's this ritualistic sacrifice they must make in order. But inevitably you're going to work for a jerk and if you get promoted, you'll be expected to be a jerk as well, because that's how you get promoted to make, and so it goes. So what's the worst part of this. Well, mike has 15 other people who report to him other than Dave. So inadvertently, he's created 16 different lineages of this scenario and let's say each of those lineages will go through generation upon generation and for this scenario we'll call it four generations. Mike just affected the lives of 64 generations of workers and future workers. Can you take a moment and grasp that? And grasp that one bad leader affected 64 generations of workers just because he was a jerk, just because he was results-focused. So let's reverse that.

Speaker 2: 7:35

Can you imagine in this scenario, if Dan loved working for Mike, if Dan woke up every morning excited to get to work, because he had a foundation of trust and relation in relationship with Mike, that when he got to work, despite the traffic, he knew he was doing something that mattered. He knew he had a connected why to his work. He knew that he was going to be developed, he was going to be rewarded, he was going to be recognized for what he did. And you know what, when things started getting a little much, mike, because he had that relationship with Dan, said you know what, dan, it's been a busy week, why don't you cut out early, go see the family? And Dan hops in his car, appreciate it, turns on his favorite music and he heads home. And he gets home and he's in a great mood, kisses his wife, hugs his boys. And now Dan's wife and his kids have a different scenario.

Speaker 2: 8:42

Hey, work can actually be fun when you have a great leader. And this is what a great leader is I have time for my family, I'm not shut off In the mornings, I'm not the monster looking for coffee, and so that begins to change that lineage. And again you say four generations deep. If all four of those generations become great leaders and they go out and start affecting 15, 16 different lineages, each now Mike has a totally different legacy to leave as a leader. So my question for you is this If one day you're surrounded by future generations of the ones that you're leading, what kind of story are they going to tell?

Speaker 2: 9:39

Do they like work? Do they like leadership? How do they view it? And here's the kicker Four generations down the road. They're not going to know who you are. They're only going to know the legacy that you left If they are great leaders, because they've seen that down the line. That is the legacy you lead. So be very honest with yourself what kind of legacy are you leaving? What is it that you're doing to change history? And don't kid yourself, you're doing exactly that. You are changing history for generations and if you'll start looking at it that way.

Speaker 2: 10:27

If you'll start changing the way that you think and start changing the relationships you have with the people that you lead, you will leave an impact. You will leave a legacy that's going to be amazing to be a part of. But you have to start doing things different. You can't be results focused. You have to be people first. Yes, you have to get results as a leader. I get that, but who gets those results? The people that you're leading. Those are the ones that drive the results. So if you, if you'll pour into your people, the results will come. The results will happen because you chose to lead differently.

Speaker 2: 11:18

You're going to hear me talk more about this in the future. Again, this is going to be my driving direction. This is going to be where we're headed as leaders, the thing we're going to focus on, and I have no idea where it's going to take us, but it's going to be a heck of a ride and I hope you'll come with me. I hope you'll join me in leading differently, because it's going to make an impact that you can't imagine. If you want to connect with me, I'm in the show notes. I've got my LinkedIn link there, as well as the Instagram. But hey, I'm connecting with so many of you on LinkedIn. Just go there, connect with me, tell me that you're listening to the podcast. If you know somebody who needs to hear this, share it with them.

Speaker 2: 12:03

God, we need great leaders. Don't keep this to yourself. Let's change the face of leaders in every organization Because, again, we just talked about one scenario today one person who affected 64 generations. How many leaders are in your company, how many leaders are in your organization? And multiply that times four generations and tell me that it won't make a difference. All right, I'm going to get off my soapbox and I appreciate that you listen. I appreciate all that you're doing and I appreciate the value that you give me, because I want to give value to you. So go out there and lead differently. Be different as a leader, impact people and form those relationships, because those are the things that leaders do.

Speaker 1: 13:02

Thank you for listening to Things Leaders Do. If you're looking for more tips on how to be a better leader, be sure to subscribe to the podcast and listen to next week's episode. Until next time, keep working on being a better leader by doing the things that leaders do.