We are so delighted to welcome Sean Glaze back to the show for this special episode!
If you missed our previous conversation in Episode 58, Sean is an expert speaker and educator. He has been a coach for over 20 years, helping leaders create more positive and profitable team cultures. He is the Founder of Great Results Team Building and author of the book, Staying Coachable.
Sean knows what the most successful leaders know – that the ability to stay coachable is key to furthering your career and impact on those in your organization. But, too often, people wind up complacent in their role and are no longer looking for advancement. That is why he has developed a four-step process to staying coachable. Sean takes us through each, and so much more, including:
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Asking the right questions at the right time
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How to thrive in change
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How to enjoy relentless improvement
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And much more
Stay coachable. Stay successful. Listen in now!
Mentioned in this episode:
Transcript
Sean Glaze: Habits are external evidence of an internal commitment. And I think that what we do each day is evidence of the commitments we’ve made to ourselves and to our future and to our team.
Voiceover: You’re listening to the Build a Vibrant Culture podcast with professional speaker, coach and consultant Nicole Greer.
Nicole Greer: Welcome to the Build A Vibrant Culture podcast. My name is Nicole Greer. They call me the vibrant coach and I am absolutely delighted today to be hosting Sean Glaze. Does that sound familiar people because he’s been on the podcast before. So if it doesn’t sound familiar, you need to go to the podcast. Let’s go find Sean. Google it, you’ll find him. Sean is an expert, author and speaker who helps leaders create more positive and profitable team cultures. As a successful coach and educator for over 20 years, Sean gained valuable insights into how to develop winning teams, and founded Great Results Teambuilding to share those lessons with smart team leaders. Welcome back to the show. Sean, I’m so glad that you’re with us again.
Sean: Nicole. I’m thrilled to be here and looking forward to sharing hopefully some helpful nuggets that are part of the book.
Nicole: Yeah, okay. Yeah. So everybody. Last time we were on the podcast. We talked with Sean and then I’m like, listen, I want to really dive deep into your book Staying Coachable. So if you go to Sean’s website, which is greatresultsteambuilding.net, you’ll see that he’s got his book on there. And I just want to tell you that this is a huge thing to stay coachable. And he says on his website, he says, why stay coachable? So I’m going to start with that first question, Sean. Why should we stay coachable?
Sean: Well, if we’re gonna hire you, as the coach, you’ve got to actually apply the information and the insights that we get right. So we gotta stay coachable if we’re going to be successful.
Nicole: Yeah. And you say it on here that everyone starts out coachable. And, you know, if you think about a little a child, you know, they’re so curious, they so want to understand how the world works. And they want to understand how things go. And then you know, they’ve got this, this desire to learn, they know that, you know, if I learn this, then I can survive. But what happens to people you know, they start out coachable, and then what happens?
Sean: Well, you know, and I joke that the first time that you asked me the question, but it really is, I think something that is incredibly important, that sometimes goes neglected. And, you know, Bill Gates has a really well known TED Talk, where he talks about the importance of hiring a coach. He’s got a coach for his bridge game. But I don’t think he goes far enough, because while everybody may need a coach, and would benefit from that 360 degree view that we don’t always get of ourselves and the awareness that coaching and questions can provide. I think that ultimately, having had the experience I did as a high school basketball coach, and now working with team leaders and seeing that you know athletes and basketball are very much like co workers and employees and teammates, in corporations and organizations.
The issue is oftentimes not is there a mentor or a coach or somebody available? But is the person who needs to improve, are they really being coachable? And I think that you’ve probably seen this in your practice as I’ve seen it working with team leaders across different industries, you know, the issue they have isn’t always talent. The issue is, can we actually change and adjust and get people to grow and improve and develop in new platforms and adopting new things? And, you know, like you said, that idea of people start off coachable.
The reason that you have reached a level of success you’ve reached is because you were coachable. Because you’re willing to do the things that gave you that level of success and knowledge and skill and experience. Just like your listeners, the reason they’ve reached the level of their present success is because they were coachable. At some point, though, I think that it is natural for people to become complacent. And I think you see it happening sooner and sooner in careers, where people sometimes reach a point and instead of continuing to climb that mountain or find new mountains, they get comfortable and start to camp.
Nicole: Yeah. Well, Sean, I gotta tell you one thing I get asked a lot, is they’re like, well, Nicole, is it not okay to be content? What would be your answer to that question? Because I don’t know that content and complacent are the same thing. What do you think about that?
Sean: No, I think that there is a marked difference. And you I absolutely believe that contentment is important. That idea of gratefulness for where we are and what we have and who surrounds us and our opportunities, and all the things that we enjoy in that present moment. We should be content and grateful. And that’s what gives us that sense of happiness and pride. But I think that complacency is that negative that seeps sometimes we allow ourselves to get comfortable and stop climbing. You can absolutely be grateful in the moment and still have an ambition for wanting to have a little bit more impact and for wanting to continue to grow yourself, and make sure that the time that you have with those that you actually have an opportunity to impact is as valuable as possible.
Nicole: Yeah, I agree. And, you know, one of one of the things I think leaders need to think about, and of course, we’re talking about how to build a vibrant culture here and how to be great leaders. And this idea that like, I mean, hello, you’ve got this one life. And, you know, I’ve just got to think, you know, you got to make some kind of dent in the universe with this one life, you know, and that, you know, complacency would be like, you know, this whole idea of, I can’t do anything about it. And contentment is, I’m doing something about it. I’m maintaining and moving things forward, I got my eye on the ball, don’t miss that, that basketball reference right there. You know, and, you know, I’m trying, I’m working on it here. I’m content with the good work that I’m doing. So I think that’s really important. Well, in your book, it’s a story, first of all, right? So it’s, it’s read a little bit like a parable.
Sean: Yeah, each of my books have been parables. And I thought that that was important to take some of those nuggets that I’ll share in events, and in speaking programs, and turn them into stories that hopefully, be not just memorable takeaways for the audience, but also applicable ideas and insights that are going to make that message more memorable. So the story has within it, you know, some some pretty powerful questions. And I know in your coaching practice here, that’s largely what you’re going to do with your clients is to use questions. And that was really one of the major shifts that I’ve seen is really important for people to become coachable is where leaders, I think, oftentimes, and I was one of those, Nicole, as a young basketball coach, leaders focus upon command and control.
And that’s the dynamic that they have with their teams. And so that ends up ingendering compliance, instead of commitment. And I think when you talk about complacency, that’s on the complete other end of the spectrum from being committed to look to achieve and to grow and to climb new mountains. And, you know, if we want our teams, if we want ourselves as individuals to really be coachable, that starts with you asking questions, instead of having to deal with the frustration or annoyance of commands.
Nicole: Right, right. Okay. So in your book, you you have a subtitle, and it’s a story with four questions to help you thrive in change, keep climbing, and enjoy relentless improvement. Are those kind of the four steps?
Sean: Well, oddly enough, those are all outcomes from those four steps. And there are four questions that as you get into the story, and I’ll share a brief synopsis so your listeners can have a little bit of context to what we’ll be talking about. You’ve got in the story, you’ve got a father and son who are going on a hike because basically, the father’s frustrated with his work situation. And some of the changes and implementations there that he’s kind of having some resistance with. And the son who is a basketball athlete is having some issues with his coach and some of the things that he’s being asked to do. And so they’re both in similar places, or they don’t necessarily acknowledge it, and they’re wanting to get away because the father is wanting to help the son.
And he’s kind of felt powerless, because he can’t have that connection and have the impact that he wants, because he’s commanding his son, much like the coach probably is, and much like the father’s boss has been. And so in the midst of that journey, they meet an older woman, who is the wife of a retired coach. And she basically in the midst of building relationship, she invites them into a correspondence where she shares letters over the next many weeks. And in the midst of those letters, she shares a set of questions with every package that she sends, that spurs them on to the next step of what it means to be coachable.
Nicole: Hmm, fantastic. Okay, so first of all, don’t miss this, everybody that, you know, it’s so much easier to read a book if it tells a story because humans are wired for story. But then along the way, there’s going to be all these nuggets from Sean. Okay, so start us out then with the four step process. What’s the first step in staying coachable?
Sean: Well, I think that this is something that I was so thrilled because I mentioned to you before we started our interview that you after our very first interview, I took the initiative to do a little bit more researching and looking over your stuff. And I found your TED Talk and was so thrilled to see a number of similarities in some of the insights that you were sharing on the stage and what honestly is within some of the Staying Coachable content. In that you you mentioned the idea that one of the most important traits you can have to grow yourself is willingness. And that’s one of the things that that kind of wise mentor shares with the father in the son. And, and she basically says you know, listen to if you sincerely want to know what it means to be coachable. Being coachable is really two things. And those two things are A, do you want to be better? And B, are you willing to change?
Now, when I’m in an audience situation, and you ask, okay, raise your hand, if you want to be better. Every person in the audience raises their hand we all want to be better. And then you ask the second question. All right, raise your hand if you’re willing to change. And you’ll be surprised to learn that there are far fewer hands that stay up. And I think that that’s just human nature. That view again, that idea of change is something that has taken on a negative connotation. But it’s our willingness to change coupled with that follows that desire to be better. That really gives us the opportunity to get involved in the process. And the process isn’t about telling somebody, it’s about asking the right questions in the right sequence to let them discover and digest that path.
Nicole: Yeah. Oh, I love what you’re saying. Yeah. So the coach asked the questions to the person can do self discovery. And then when they do that, it’s like, it’s the coachee’s idea. And they’re more bought in to the change, right. More willing, and I’ll just throw this in. You’ve probably heard it before, if you’re a loyal listener here. But I’m going to tell you the best little book other than Sean’s book, you should buy both. But the book that that I read, it’s a little old book called How to Get Everything You Would Ever Want. Right? And it’s by Mike Hernacki. And in his book, he talks about his definition of willingness. Oh, my gosh, Sean, I love it so much. It’s doing what needs to be done without reservation, refusal or judgment.
Oh, I love that definition. Yeah. And the thing is, is don’t forget Sean’s first question. You know, you know, do you want to get better? So, you know, this idea of doing something without refusal, reservation, or judgment isn’t about willy nilly? No, you you’ve already said, yes, I want to do better. And now you got to get the reservation, the refusal on the judgment out the way okay. So really huge stuff. Okay. So there’s, there’s a series of questions that you can ask to help people get more in touch with how they can get better and why they would want to follow through why they wouldn’t want to carry through. Okay, anything else about kind of that first step you want to make clear or share with us before we move on to step two?
Sean: Well yeah, actually, to clarify, you we’re just opening the door with what does it mean to be coachable? To want to be better and to be willing to change. Because, ultimately, that willingness to change is what the four questions actually provide. And so once you open that door of willingness to change, there’s four things that are going to actually be the catalyst for someone to really be coachable. And, and I actually learned this as a coach, because I was, as I said, at first, not really effective, as a leader.
In that I wasn’t great about getting some of my athletes to change what were really bad habits and what sometimes were not benefiting our team. Whether it’s a shooting technique, or the way that they were closing out or how they were talking, or whatever we were doing in terms of those tactics and techniques. In terms of basketball was the same thing that you see in leaders of organizations across the the industries, they’re wanting to develop their people they’re wanting to whether it’s a merger or acquisition or the adoption of something, you’re going to see resistance, if you tell somebody, hey, we’ve got to without there being some type of understanding or walking them through this process.
And I think that for people to really want to change, whether it be that internal shift in mindset that allows an external change to occur. I think the first question you have to ask is one that was also in your TED Talk, oddly enough. And the first most important question you need to ask is, what specifically do you want? What do you want? Because it’s that desire, that is going to define the purpose and the hunger that’s going to drive those efforts that are going to follow.
Nicole: Right. And as you saw in my TED talk, you know, the thing that grieves me a lot of the times people like they know. It’s almost like they know, Sean, that they shouldn’t be complacent that they should get committed to something, which is you know, right on the cover of this book. And then you say, well, gosh, what is it that you really want? And I really feel for folks, it grieves me, because people are like, I don’t know. I don’t know.
Sean: I think the most powerful advice I’ve heard and I wish I could recall where I heard it. But it was basically, you know, you can’t steer a parked car. And even if you’re climbing the wrong mountain, you can choose a different mountain. But if you’re out and climbing, you’re far better than the person that’s still on the couch. And I think that, that idea of what we want, I think if we give ourselves a destination, and some type of desire that we’re seeking, and we ultimately decide, you know what, that’s really not for me.
Well, then we’ve created some momentum for creative pride and some of the things we might have accomplished along the way to where we made that decision. And we can steer the car, but we’ve created momentum that we can feel pride and progress in. And that’s going to then fuel our choice for what that next mountain might be. But certainly the idea of what is important, what is it that you specifically want? Where do you want to be? Who is it you’re trying to impress? What does success look like? That’s the most important question that you can ask yourself.
Nicole: Hmm, I couldn’t agree more. Because it starts to help you get your GPS in place and figure out where to put your time, your money, your energy, which are your resources. Fantastic. Yeah. And so I’ve got a couple of tools, I’ll just say, you know, if you need a tool to get you started, I’ve got a couple that will help you figure out what you really want. One is creating a mission statement for work in life. It’s a tool from one of Lori Beth Jones books that I have, I can send you the PDF, I would love to help you with that.
And then another one that I have is called the radiance of your life. And this can just kind of help you kind of look at you know, you know, where where do I make an impact, you know, and then I throw this one out there, too. Another one’s called unique ability by Dan Sullivan at Strategic Coach. So reach out to me at Nicole@vibrantculture.com. Reach out to Sean and we will get you some tools in your toolbox to help you figure out what you really want. Okay, that is step one. I agree it creates momentum. All right, so tell me about question number two.
Sean: Question number two is the one that actually leads to question number three, obviously, but it’s very important. And it’s something that with with a player, for example, they’ve got to want something and have the destination in mind for there to be any purpose to give effort whatsoever. And so that idea of identifying a destination is important. What is that that you want to accomplish? Or to achieve? The second question is all about honesty. And if the first question is about hunger, Nicole, the second question is, are you being honest with yourself about where you presently are? Where are you now? That’s the second question.
What are the numbers that you need to acknowledge that measure your present performance? You know, what are the obstacles that exist right now? What is your current situation in terms of the results that you’ve been getting? But where are you now is unbelievably important. Because here’s what the second question does. If my first question is, where do I want to be? What is it that I want? And I’ve established here’s where I want to be. And the second question. After I’ve looked through those kinds of filters, where you sometimes want to explain away and excuse results, or performance, if we’re really honest about here are numbers. And this is bare bones.
Sincerely what I am and who I am and how I’m doing now. Once you identify that gap, it’s the gap between where we want to be and where we are, that gives people the initiative internally to want to seek some assistance. Because if the first question is, what do you want? And if the second question is, where are you now? Then the third question naturally is, who’s going to help you to get there? Because what so many people who aren’t coachable, don’t want to acknowledge is that by being uncoachable by not accepting or appreciating, or applying the advice of mentors who have been down the path that you want to walk, you’re only getting better your own way. And I had so many athletes that wanted to get better.
But they wanted to get better their own way, instead of taking the advice of somebody that had had success and had been an expert in teaching it for years to people who had achieved far more success. And so that idea of not just what you want, but not just where you are. But seeing that gap and letting the gap lead to the third question which deals completely with humility. So you go from hunger. What do you want? To honesty. Where are you? To that third question, which deals completely with establishing of humility. What is the weakness that you need to admit? And who is a mentor that you can find and learn from so you can really appreciate and apply advice that would help?
Nicole: I love that. I love that. And you know, the thing is, Sean, is that sometimes we can’t ask for help from people because we don’t have the right humility. I think sometimes when you’re looking around you don’t think, you know, maybe your ego’s engaged or something you think like, you know, well, how can how can Sean help me? You know, like, what makes him so fantastic? You know, why could Nicole Greer help me? How could my coach help me on my basketball team? But but the thing is that the minute you ask for help you position yourself in a place where you become a learner. You know, and I mean, that gap is full of learning that just needs to happen. So what are you doing holding up the learning, let’s get on with the learning. You know, if Sean gives you one nugget, hold the ball like this, or do this in your business, and you do it. Usually, it’s these these small habits we put in place that become huge leverage to move the needle on getting that gap filled in.
Sean: Oh, goodness, you know, this is so at the heart of the successes that I see with team leaders in their organizations. And the results they get when they begin to apply things is whether it was me as a young coach, or so many young leaders today, I think that the major obstacle in front of us is if you watch the Scooby Doo episode that you have, the thing comes off and they realize, oh, it’s me. You know, I think that idea of, we’re oftentimes our own worst obstacle. That idea of ego and being in our own way is such an issue with people and, and that shift towards humility.
I’ll share with with groups sometimes, Nicole, you know that I thought when I was a young coach, I thought I was going into that very first head coaching job, having had some success as assistant, I thought I was going in with confidence. Turns out, I was just arrogant, because I wanted to do my things. And I wasn’t still a learner, I was still a young guy. And I certainly didn’t know it all. But I went in with that assurance. And if confidence is knowing you can help. Arrogance is thinking you don’t need help. And I think that sometimes as leaders, we get caught up being arrogant and holding on to a big old bucket of ego. Instead of letting go of that ego and recognizing if confidence is thinking that you can help.
And if arrogance is thinking you don’t need help, then humility is being willing to accept help. And what so many leaders and teammates find when they become humble when they learn to ask questions when they admit mistakes, when they ask for assistance or advice. That simple act of reaching out for help, doesn’t just grow them as a leader. But even more importantly, sometimes among organizations remote and in person, it actually begins to build connections and relationships across divisions, where once I’ve asked for help, that opens the door invites other people to do the exact same thing.
Nicole: Yeah, exactly. And I got this thought running through my mind has come around twice. And my master coach told me if something comes around twice, you should share it. So I want to backtrack just a minute here. You know, the first question is, you know, what’s your desire? What do you really want? Where do you want to go? You know, one time, somebody said to me, well, I know how you how you figure that out, is you looked at the person who’s doing this some work in the world you admire. Or you’ve thought to yourself, oh, I would love to do that. Now, if you think about it, you would give, and figured out who that person was, you know, like, oh, my gosh, this person is doing the amazing work in the world that I would like to be doing. Okay?
And you identify, you’re like, that’s what I want. I want to do this work in the world. Now you you would give a ton of money to have a moment to sit and talk with them, say, how did you do it? How did you get across the gap? How did you figure out how to do that, right? And you wouldn’t have any problem with having enough humility to like, quote, unquote, sit at their feet and learn from them. And then I think, wow, sometimes we’ve got people right there around us who’ve been so successful. And they, they’ve got some things figured out, they’ve got wisdom, and we don’t take advantage. And they’re, you know, they’re doing the work that we would love to be doing.
So having that humility to go there and ask for the help that you need is absolutely essential. Because if you can pick somebody, you know, I want to learn to play golf. So I want to talk with Tiger Woods or whatever, you’d love to sit down have dinner with Tiger Woods. But then you know, you’ve got somebody who’s kind of more normal in your life, like your basketball coach, you’re your friend, you know, but you don’t take his advice. I mean, what is that about? You know, so humility is huge. And so go go back through your three H’s for me real quick, because I don’t want anybody to miss those. I think they’re really good.
Sean: Yeah, happy to go back and summarize. So the first three steps of being coachable and we get to the fourth in a moment, the first obviously is that idea of hunger. What do you want? Where do you want to be, who are you trying to impress? The second being honesty? Sorry, that’s puppy dog Franklin, who’s just shaking himself crazy. Waking up.
Nicole: Hello, Franklin, good to hear you.
Sean: So the second question would deal with honesty and looking in a clear mirror, where are you presently? What are the numbers that you’re getting? And then what is your current performance without excuse or explanation? The third thing is once you’ve identified that gap between where you are and where you want to be. The third question is all about humility. And that is, what weakness do you need to admit? Who is it that you need to appreciate more, and who can be a mentor that’s already been where you want to go? So I think those are three pretty powerful questions.
And again, the importance of humility, I think, can’t be overstated. And one of the examples that I’ll share in a conference circumstance or even in a training is, I’ll have a mug and I’ll pour into it. And the reality is that you can’t pour into a mug that’s already full of assumptions or ego or whatever else, it just makes a mess. And it’s the same way for us as people, you can’t pour into a full cup. So our job is to not be arrogant, to not feel like you know, we don’t need help, but to continually be that unfull cup who recognizes the need and the benefit of others pouring into us.
Nicole: Yeah, 100%. Okay. I love your analogy of the cup. Yeah. And so, you know, some of you have heard this before, you got to empty yourself, you know, so, so you can refill. And I will tell you part of that ego thing is there some kind of poor thinking or some weird belief system. You know, nobody can help me I, you know, I’m a maverick, I got to do it myself. So we could get into a whole dialogue around proper thinking. But like, you really got to have a growth mindset. That is absolutely for sure. Alright, so so we’ve got, you know, this thing about I need to be humble. Alright. So, you know, what’s the fourth question? What’s the fourth question, I need to ask myself?
Sean: All the insights in the world, all the valuable intellectual nuggets and wisdom in the world are completely worthless. They’re just like the paint in my basement? Because it’s not applied anywhere. If it’s not applied somewhere, that is not really useful. And so I think that the most important thing we can do after those first three questions, if you sincerely answered them, is to recognize the next step is to establish habits about what are you going to do differently? And not just what are you going to add to that to do list? What are those small steps that you need to take every day to ensure that you’re moving towards that destination? But what are the habits that you’re going to let go of what are those distractions that you’re going to stop giving into you?
And then how are you going to acknowledge your progress, as you do maintain a commitment to those habits over time? So I think that that’s the ongoing part of staying coachable is absolutely keep your eye on, you know, what you’re hungry for and what you want. Absolutely continue to acknowledge that clear mirror and where you are and what your numbers are. Absolutely continue to stay humble, and recognize that there is going to always be a weakness that we need to admit. There’s always going to be valuable mentors available to help us down the path we’re walking. But most importantly, we need to continue to take consistent action. And that’s what commitment is. Habits are external evidence of an internal commitment.
Nicole: Okay, that bears repeating say one more time for me. I know your Franklin wants to love on his daddy right now. But Sean, repeat that to us one more time. What you just said.
Sean: Absolutely. Habits are an external evidence of an internal commitment. And I think that what we do each day is evidence of the commitments we’ve made to ourselves and to our future and to our team.
Nicole: Oh, that’s so great. And I’ve mentioned like on my show before that, my coaching methodology, the it’s SHINE. It’s self-assessment, habit work, integrity work, next right step work, and energy work. And so, Sean, if you’ll humor me, I want to share something that was given to me. You talked about, you know, who can mentor you who can help you. One of my mentors is a woman named Ann Starrette. And she gave me this because she loved me. Now, don’t miss this. If I didn’t have the humility when she handed this to me and said, I want you to read this. I want you to hang this up, you know, where you can read it every day. And this was early on when I was first trying to figure out what do I really want you know, she was definitely challenging me around my gaps. And so she talked to me about the the value of habit work. So just listen to this for a second.
I think I don’t know if you’ve ever heard this, but this is so good. I’ll send it to if you want it, Sean. And anybody else that wants it, I’ll send it to you. But it’s, it’s called habit. And it reads like in a first person. So it says, I am your constant companion, I am your greatest helper or heaviest burden. I will push you onward or drag you down to failure. I am completely at your command. hHalf the things you do, you might as well turn them over to me, and I will be able to do them quickly and correctly. I am easily managed, you must merely be firm with me. Show me exactly how you want something done and after a few lessons, I’ll do it automatically.
I am the servant of all great men and women, and alas, of all the failures as well. Those who are great, I have made great and those who are failures, I have made failures. I’m not a machine, though, I work with the precision of a machine plus the intelligence of a man or a woman. You may run me for profit or run me for ruin, it makes no difference to me. Take me train me, be firm with me. And I will place the world at your feet. Be easy with me, and I will destroy you. I am habit. Isn’t that good, Sean?
Sean: I have been such a fan of that. You’re gonna laugh Nicole. But I remember putting that in my players’, basketball team notebooks, probably eight or 10 years in a row when I was a head coach. That would be part of our motivational stuff. We’d go through, we bring in speakers, and we’d have new things we’d go through in terms of you just personal development, not athletic development. You know, making better teammates to become a better team. And we would always go through and talk about the importance of habit. And that was one of the things that was part of their notebooks. And I am so grateful for you to have read that to remind me because sometimes we need to actually eat our own cooking, right?
Nicole: Oh, absolutely. And I will tell you the part about where it’s like you get to choose, you know, you get to choose between your good habits and your bad habits. And you know, sometimes when I speak in front of a group, Sean, I will kind of set up the audience a little bit, I’ll be like, how many of you have a really great habit that serves your life? And you know, people are like, oh, you know, they’ll make fun. They’re like, oh, I brush my teeth, I floss, I take a run, you know, and so people, you know, they understand where you could have it is and then I’ll say how many of you have a bad habit.
And like all these hands go up. It’s almost like, I’ve got them, I’ve got them. And it’s like, why you know what is up with humans, that we know we’ve got bad ones, and we we can’t get them turned around. I mean, it’s it’s really a huge place to do some serious coaching. So I think habit work is absolutely essential. So go back through for me, I want you to start at the beginning, again, do the H’s and the questions and build him for me because I want to leave everybody kind of with the full picture. So do a little recap for us, we can get our heads wrapped around that we might be on our treadmill or driving down the road right now. So help us get it straight.
Sean: And I would I would love for them to obviously pick up a copy of the book and the application guide to be able to share that with their teams. Because ultimately, I think there’s obviously so much more we can’t get into you know today in the midst of just a short talk. But those four steps I think are so important for leaders to understand. And I really hope that with or without the book, that they’ll consider implementing that into the one on one conversations they’re having with their team, and the one on zero conversations they’re having with themselves.
Where they look in the mirror and they sincerely consider answering as honestly and thoughtfully and you thoroughly as they can these questions because it really does have a profound effect upon their individual growth and development, and their willingness to change. And their being an example for people around them. So here are the four steps. First is hunger. What specifically do you want? The next is honesty, looking at a mirror, where are you now? What are those numbers you need to acknowledge? What is your current performance without excuse? The third step, obviously, is once you’ve identified the gap between those two places, is humility. What’s the weakness you need to admit and who’s a mentor that you can identify to learn from and appreciate?
And then the fourth, after you’ve picked up some of those nuggets after you learn from somebody is what’s the action you’re taking? Because nothing changes unless first action? And so what are those habits that you’ll do differently? Not just what you’ll add, but even more importantly, sometimes what are the distractions that you’re actually going to stop committing to and then how can you acknowledge your process along the path that you’re walking along the way to maintain the progress. And to really, you know, appreciate and reward yourself for the things that you are doing to move towards that goal.
Nicole: Fantastic. Yeah. So if you are stuck, and you are frustrated with yourself, it seems like these four questions could really get you on the way. And if you things like feel like things have gotten a little bit too comfortable, I think for you, maybe for your team, you’re noticing that, you know, maybe there’s a little stagnancy, I gotta tell you, this whole COVID thing that we’re still all struggling with, can really put people in a place of complacency. So I think, you know, diving into this idea of getting coachable and looking for a place to grow and get better, is absolutely huge.
Because as Sean says, complacency can be poisonous, and really, really mess with your culture. And what are we trying to do, folks? We’re trying to build a vibrant culture. All right. So I want to I want to ask my last question. I typically ask this last question, I bet you there is somebody who is listening, a special listener. What’s one more little nugget you would put or leave them with at the end of our talk today. It’s been such a delight to be with you, Sean, you’ve got an ingenious way you’re looking at this, I love it.
Sean: Oh, I appreciate it’s always a pleasure, obviously, to spend the time with you and and to share with your audience. And I think that you’re the one thing that made me a better coach and a better father, and a better husband and a better leader, was when I moved from thinking I had to know it all. And being that command to control leader because I was probably less comfortable with myself and my own abilities and experience. And so I was probably far more controlling than I needed to be.
And when I made that shift, and began to ask questions, and to be curious about the people I was leading, including myself, and began to ask those questions that opened up doors, not just of improvement and growth and ambition, that also created far more meaningful and deeper connections. And I think that that’s something that in the midst of whether it’s an in person team or a remote team, you know, the idea of staying sincerely curious, and asking questions, and helping people to discover things about themselves and to create internal mindset shifts, before you actually demand something externally, is so incredibly important.
Nicole: Absolutely. Oh, it’s been such a delight to be with you. Now. Hey, everybody, I want to point you in the right direction, if you want to get a hold of Sean, he is on LinkedIn. It’s s e a n is how you spell his first name, and then glaze g l a z e. So look for him on LinkedIn. And also his website is greatresultsteambuilding.net. And you can reach out to him and give them your phone number. If they want to just hang up, pick up the phone right now and get a hold of you. What number would they call?
Sean: Yes. 770-861-6840. I’m more than happy to answer a text or pick up the phone and have a conversation. On the website, whether it’s seanglaze.net, or greatresultsteambuilding, I would love to be able to be a resource for you as a leader or as a teammate. And I know that again, whether it’s me or Nicole, if we can be of service to your team, we’d be thrilled to do so.
Nicole: Absolutely. Okay. All right, Franklin, I love you too. Tell daddy, you need to walk around the block. Alright, it’s good to be with everybody. We’ll see you next time back here where we’re gonna learn about leadership. We’re going to learn about teamwork. We’re going to learn about character, willingness, habit building all sorts of great things and how to be coachable. This is Nicole Greer on the Build a Vibrant Culture podcast. Thanks for tuning in.
Voiceover: Ready to build your vibrant culture? Bring Nicole Greer to speak to your leadership team, conference or organization to help them with her strategies, systems and smarts to increase clarity, accountability, energy and results. Your organization will get lit from within. Email Nicole@nicolegreer.com. And be sure to check out Nicole’s TEDx talk at nicolegreer.com.
