Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: I'm Dr. Dante Vaughn, business strategist, culture architect, guide to leaders who want more than status.
Leadership isn't just glossy headlines and perfect wins.
On Everyday Leaders Unfiltered, we bring you honest conversations about what happens behind the curtain. The real setbacks, the real pivots, real growth from culture shifts to personal mastery, from trust crises to team turnarounds. This is where leaders get raw, real, and ready.
Because a leader who's unfiltered might just become unforgettable.
Welcome to Everyday Leaders Unfiltered, where I go past leadership slogans and get into what really takes to lead.
The stakes are high. The room is watching. How do we show up as leaders? I'm really excited. I'm Dr. Dante Vaughn. I'm the host of the show, but I have a special guest, Dr. Ray Johnson, CEO and Chief Strategist of Creative Inc.
Dr. Johnson comes to us as a leadership strategist and culture architect. She's worked in private, public, and all of the above and helping organizations understand how to lead effectively, how to lead in a more mindful way. She uses a special proprietary framework she calls mindful leadership. And I can't wait to unpack this framework and really what does it mean to lead mindful in practice?
And with that being said, Dr. Ray, welcome to the show.
[00:01:49] Speaker B: Hello, Dr. Dante, thank you for the invitation. I'm really excited to be able to share with your audience.
[00:01:57] Speaker A: Yes, thank you so much. We have those listening in, those watching us.
If you see me looking down, I've prepared several notes and some questions to just make sure.
So much to unpack.
We can really deep dive into this conversation around really what it means to lead effectively. And I want to do so first in this first segment, really setting a baseline to what we call calm leadership. What is calm leadership, what it isn't, and really how it shows up within all of us as leaders. How we engage, how we interact, how we drive communication across an organization.
Especially when an organization is in conflict or they're facing challenges or in transitions or what does that look like? With that being said, I'd love to hear from your perspective to kick us off for our viewers and listeners alike. When we say calm leadership or when you say calm leadership, what does that really mean and how does it show up?
[00:03:02] Speaker B: So when I think about calm leadership, I actually think about a duck.
The duck on top of the water is just moving along. But if you were to look underneath, their little legs are. Are gone.
And a lot of times when there is pressure in organization, we tend to, for the public eye, forward facing to look like everything is under control.
As a matter of fact, old leadership, we were taught to fake it till we make it. The problem with that is it's not sustainable because if I'm exerting all the energy underneath to try to project calm, we don't actually have cone and that is going to destroy or at least best case scenario make it harder and harder each go around to be mindful in how we're leading because our focus is off of us, the people that we lead with and what the organization actually needs.
[00:04:06] Speaker A: Yeah, well said. I love the analogy. I'm a big analogy fan by the way, so I'll nerd out on on analogies that help people to really connect with your point. And I love the analogy of a duck swimming in a pond and how active their fins are moving while they appear to be at calm and just moving along accordingly.
Now oftentimes to that example, as leaders we feel a sense of burden or obligation to maintain a sense of perceived calm when in fact there's a lot happening within us and around us.
How does one balance this sense of responsibility, of remaining the optics of calm, when in fact we do have all these things going on and within us. Like what do we do with that?
[00:05:08] Speaker B: The first practical thing that I would say do is give yourself the space and the grace to process the pressure.
I'm not saying stop, fall apart, you know, give us a thesis statement of what's going on, but we need to be able to be present.
The first pillar of the mindful leadership framework is leadership presence. And in order for me to be present, I have to get out of the tension of the moment to then look at the second pillar, which is self awareness. I am a big fan of emotional intelligence, specifically the first three, and that is self awareness, self regulation and empathy. If I'm able to stop and really assess how I am doing in the moment, what I am doing in the moment, it would allow me to self regulate. And that is what we are really looking for in calm. To be in control of an uncontrollable moment by controlling ourselves.
Now this allows me to have empathy because I'm not the only one that's being affected by the situation. And as the leader, it's my responsibility to be able to guide us through what's going on to get us to the goal.
[00:06:25] Speaker A: I think that's well said.
And as you speak on this, the importance of eq, oftentimes what I found in my practice and working with leaders, EQ is often a Skill and a competency that's not nurtured or developed. And it's one that's often tied to an expectation ambiguously.
While most don't do it, don't practice it well.
[00:07:02] Speaker B: Right.
[00:07:03] Speaker A: In your experience, how do you help leaders navigate the gaps that they may have in their own personal EQ so that they can reach a state where they can not only practice it, but begin to foster it in others around them?
[00:07:24] Speaker B: One of the things I realize is I don't disagree with you that it is something that we don't strengthen, but I want to push a little bit and I want you to join me in the push is, I think it's something that we all have and we're all capable of it, but because there's no language around it, we don't realize what it is. So therefore, whether it's weak or strong, we don't know. It's almost like if you have an injury, you don't realize how much the body relates to the part of the body that that needs to recover until you heard it.
So we don't realize that. One of the ones I always get when I'm working with my leaders is I'm not empathetic.
You are.
It is impossible for you to tell me that you have not considered how another person has looked at something because you cannot come up with an idea or judgment or response or reactiveness to a thing without considering it.
So I have considered it. It's just that how far did I allow myself to go in the consideration that then will start me, Allow me to start using that empathetic muscle and that will further support me being able to figure out who I am, why I feel that way in the moment and look at the person, not the behavior, look at the truth and not the tension.
[00:08:51] Speaker A: No, I think that's well said. And I don't. I, I concur. I think to your point, it has more to do with recognizing where one is in their level of emotional intelligence or in their capacity. And, and to your point, I think the, their, the limitations has more to do with not understanding through, to your, to your point, shared language and understanding it not as a soft skill, but as fundamental in how we navigate relationships, communication, engagement in and outside of the workplace.
This focus in nurturing the pillars to emotional intelligence, to your point, rather self awareness, self regulation, empathy, and so on.
Oftentimes those pillars to nurturing development in our EQ are often overlooked or not emphasized as an essential or core competency or skill. It's something we have to foster our development. Because waiting for it to grow organically oftentimes is not at the pace by which we need to be able to practice EQ to show up effectively, especially as leaders in our lives, personally and professionally. So I think we're generally in alignment there.
To your point, as we close out this first segment, what I think I hear you saying in the context of calm leadership is first we have to practice our own EQ so that we have a sense of awareness of what's happening in us and around us in the midst of whatever challenge, adversity, transition that we're navigating as a leader. For us to practice calm leadership, we first have to say, okay, let me take a break in understanding what's happening within me and around me and how I'm projecting that, how I'm, how I'm channeling that. And then through that exercise, we can begin to understand then how do I approach this matter? How do I start to examine root cause of the circumstances and issues around us as an organization or around me as an individual? And then where do I go from there? So I think that's important, especially in this context of mindfulness and mindful leadership. What does that really mean? Well, it starts with self exam, self examination, self awareness, and then what do I do with the reality of now and what I'm experiencing? I think that's extremely insightful for our viewers and listeners alike.
As we transition to our second segment, I want to get into more around this diagnostic conversation when we talk about root cause and understanding. Okay, I'm in this position. I have to mobilize team members in taking action.
How do I understand root cause in an effective way? I've done the examination, I've done the initial evaluation.
Where do I go from here? From a diagnostic point of view? What are the right questions I should ask? Especially as you and I have seen a lot of dysfunction happening within an organization. And I would venture to say for many of our viewers and listeners alike, that dysfunction also equates to individuals in their personal lives. And if we're going to show up as a leader, what does that really mean? To start to diagnose root cause. So we'll unpack that. Stay tuned. More to come.
Leadership isn't just glossy headlines and Perfect wins. I'm Dr. Dante Vaughn, business strategist, culture architect, guide to leaders who want more than see status on Everyday Leaders Unfiltered. We bring you honest conversations about what's happening behind the curtain, the real setbacks, real pivots, real growth from Culture shifts to personal mastery. From trust crises to team turnarounds. This is where leaders get raw, real and ready. Everyday Leaders Unfiltered Premiere soon on NOW Media Television. Because a leader who's unfiltered might just become unforgettable.
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Welcome back. I'm Dr. Dante Vaughn with Everyday Leaders Unfiltered. I'm here with Dr. Ray of Creative Inc. And we've been engaging in some thoughtful dialogue around what it means to adopt calm leadership as a principle to remaining mindful in how we show up as leaders in and outside organizations. Now we're starting to shift from the conceptual understanding of calm leadership and this touching on this idea of this mindful framework, and we're getting into the more practicality of it. And one of the things that we started to unpack was seeking to understand how do we pivot from our reaction to transitional challenges, organizational delays, issues that we are tasked to help resolve? How do we transition from being reactionary and treating symptoms to addressing root cause? As we're trying to be this more mindful leader, we're trying to be more self aware of how these circumstances are influencing our own decision making and actions around us.
How do we start to unpack root cause so that we're not perpetually responding to the same issues over and over again?
Dr. Ray, can we start to unpack that when we talk about getting to root cause instead of treating symptoms as leaders? How do we do that and how does that connect to the mindful leadership framework that you have developed?
[00:15:58] Speaker B: Patterns.
We're looking for dysfunctional patterns. We want to ask ourselves or we want to pose the question, where are decisions being stuck?
You usually can see problems show up and where decisions move or don't move.
Once we're able to figure that out and we have stabilized, now it's time to be active.
We have to now get to a place where we are not just being calm, but there is clarity and consistency with leadership.
I need to make sure that I'm understanding what's happening and then make sure that it's understood. So that means we have to have hard conversations. A lot of times we don't want to have hard conversations. Sticking with the analogy that we came up with earlier with the document. When everything is moving underneath and it has the impression of being smooth on the surface, we usually don't want anything to happen that is going to destroy that picture or trip us up.
So therefore, we will keep projecting this image that allows us to only deal with the symptoms because subconsciously the symptoms mean that the diagnosis is going to become understood or realized, actualized by the people. We don't want them to be seen by now, in each place, the people is different.
However, the concept is the same.
Does that make sense?
[00:17:35] Speaker A: It's so many things that come to mind, and we were joking before the segment started that this could be its own show.
So many things come to mind when. Because I can't tell you how many times in my practice practice we've been brought into an organization, let's say in this context, by owner operators or C suite executives.
And of course, our objective as practitioners is to understand root cause so that this doesn't become a perpetual cycle. I want to work myself out of your business. I want sustainability and longevity in the best practices and the principles and in the shift or the transition that we're trying to foster. Help you foster in your organization. With that being said, while on the surface, individuals within organization project, yes, that's what we want as well.
But the minute that we say we've uncovered right below the duck, floating calmly in the lake, we've uncovered, covered these other factors, oftentimes where they're directly or indirectly tied to the very individuals that brought us in.
And yes, in momentarily, there will be disruption of the duck because we can't get after root cause without either pulling the duck out the lake.
Whatever other factors that are contributing to this will require a shift, a change. And sometimes within those individuals, considering those circumstances, and for many of our viewers, aren't always, they're often challenged with the same circumstance. Not necessarily as practitioners, but even as just internal, you know, employee to internal customer.
How should one navigate that level of potential disruption when the root cause calls for removal, movement, change of environment, change of systems and processes that are pretty dramatic in an organization,
[00:19:57] Speaker B: I usually okay, so I'm looking for the pattern, but I also like to have conversation where I'm able to hear what's not being said? I'll tell you what I mean. Whenever I see that there's any disruption in conversation or inconsistency in action, that usually means that there is unclear leadership.
And for.
Let's take just that one. If it's unclear leadership, then what does that mean? Does that mean that I'm not a good leader. I'm not doing the job that I was supposed to do. For the persons that call us in the upper level C suite, the powers that be is what I like to jokingly call them. Does this mean that I'm not running this well? Do I not know what I do?
We are so stuck in sometimes offense when the diagnosis is discovered.
That's why we work so hard to make sure that we are addressing symptoms and not really getting close to the diagnosis because we're fearful for our role in the diagnosis. But what I like to tell people is the nature of the beast. The whole point of business is to scale. That's what you want. And every time we scale, we have to show up differently.
The the thing around showing up differently is if I consistently showed up in this way and it worked until it didn't, then I feel as though I'm doing something wrong. The only thing we're doing is operating within the thing. And while we're operating, if it in it, if we don't intentionally stop to see how is leadership showing up? What's the presence?
Are we doing enough work or understanding an EQ to be able to handle what our role is and how we need to pivot, then we can't get to that third piece, which is what I believe that you're asking me and I want to offer to the audience and that is mindful communication.
Show up regardless of how you feel means having conversations that may not necessarily be easier you and I spoke about, but I want to share it right here about what's happening right now. In some industries where technology feels as though it's taking more precedent than the human thread, or where so many people are being asked to leave because they are no longer needed for whatever reason, and then those people that are left have to deal with everything that happened and still flow evenly. That's a quick evolution, whether it is a scene, whether it is a small revolution or a quick, I'm sorry, evolution, then we need to make sure that we are having the conversation, saying the thing, realigning expectations, restructuring how we move.
But we have to be honest with ourselves enough and confident enough to be able to say that we are what needs to be fixed, adjusted, move differently.
[00:23:03] Speaker A: I'm tracking with you. So what I hear you say is as we rack up this segment, because there's so much to unpack here,
[00:23:10] Speaker B: when
[00:23:10] Speaker A: we talk about mindful leadership, it's important for us to understand where we sit in our own self confidence and our capacity to practice enough courage to acknowledge rather itself, peers, seniors or subordinates where the root cause breakdown stems and, and, and being in a position to recognize that, hey, yeah, we own this and the importance isn't about the individual and what they did or didn't do or what I did or didn't do. This is about acknowledging the barrier for what it is, no matter where it is in an organization and connecting it to a unified vision. And that is whatever it may be, growth scale, transition, whatever it may be, connecting it to that, unified prisons, the vision. Let's not get hung up on the personal implication of this. Let's understand big picture. Is that a fair recap to what you're saying?
[00:24:20] Speaker B: That is a very fair recap. And if I can, confidence, clarity and calm, say the thing and be comfortable navigating in the thing. And that's where your calm leadership is.
That's where your calm leadership is.
[00:24:41] Speaker A: Yes, 100% agree.
Awesome. I'm loving where we're headed here. I think in the next segment, let's get into shifting from these insightful points of view around awareness, calm leadership in the context of practicing that awareness and leveraging that courage to have the difficult conversations to. How do we get to the state of execution?
You know, when we now want to connect the dots to?
Okay, we understand root cause. There's specific practices or steps we need to take. I need to mobilize individuals around the execution side of this.
And some are going to be at a, at a readiness level that is optimal and others may not be. How does one navigate driving execution around what needs to happen to get us to this better state when we have different people at a different state of readiness? Let's unpack that in the next segment. Stay tuned.
[00:25:59] Speaker B: Foreign.
[00:26:04] Speaker A: Leadership isn't just glossy headlines and Perfect wins. I'm Dr. Dante Vaughn, business strategist, culture architect, guide to leaders who want more than status. On Everyday Leaders Unfiltered, we bring you honest conversations about what's happening behind the curtain, the real setbacks, real pivots, real growth.
From culture shifts to personal mastery, from trust crises to team turnarounds, this is where leaders get raw, real and ready.
Everyday Leaders Unfiltered premiere soon on NOW Media television. Because a leader who's unfiltered might just become unforgettable.
Welcome back, everyone. I've got Dr. Ray here. We've been unpacking this. What it really means to be a mindful leader.
Leveraging Dr. Ray's mindful leadership framework. How do we navigate a level of self awareness around how we're responding to demands and challenges within our organization, to positioning ourselves in a capacity as a leader to start to understand, okay, we're facing these challenges or obstacles, we have barriers, let's understand root cause to those barriers or challenges or needs, which requires difficult conversations. Navigating those challenges through the lens of systems, processes and even leadership behavior and having those difficult conversations should lead us to action. Okay, now that we're clear and we're in alignment, because we're shooting for an objective, a goal in mind.
How do we drive execution? And that's what this segment is about. How do we shift from insight to execution around what it means to be a mindful leader? Dr. Ray, you still with me?
[00:28:11] Speaker B: I'm actually just excited about it because I love talking about it. But one of the things that I think we need to to do in leadership is be able to provide psychological safety.
What does psychological safety look like in the corporate world?
Well, being able to define ownership.
We understand that the powers that be, our C suite, that there is a level of ownership there. We understand that in the middle, where the leaders are, that there is execution or implementation there. So there is a level of ownership, but that can sometimes get lost when it's given to those with boots on the ground, when it's given to our teams and our staff. And without a place of understanding ownership roles and responsibilities, then we're just doing.
And what that looks like is, I need this to happen.
You have the skill to make it happen, so we'll do it. But if anything comes up outside of that, oops, oh nos, conflict, anything, then it gets passed back up because we haven't let them know that once this hits you, you have ownership over it sometimes because at the top, it's a little hard for us to let go and trust the very systems that we put in place place because we may be performance driven or policy driven or resource driven. So again, our focus is on the end result and not enough on systems, process and procedures. We need to make sure that there's clarity in execution. Not only do you know what you own and how far that ownership takes you, but now you understand what it should look like when it's passed back. So if you look at this almost like a visual, you have your C suite, suite, your executives here, you have your leadership in the middle, and you have your team here at the bottom, boots on the ground. What happens a lot of time is in the middle is where the culture is made or where it's broken or built. And if I'm feeling this pressure as a leader to perform, but all the other systems are not in place. I'm being crushed. So there also has to be alignment language, leadership language that goes with this execution, that goes with this ability to see what I own, what I'm responsible for.
So the way to fix it, in my opinion and what we do is we stabilize culture faster when everyone knows where they are in it and what they are expected to do.
[00:30:58] Speaker A: Yeah, I completely agree.
I wrote a book a couple of years ago from Culture to Culture with one of my business partners and it's a systematic view on how to define, implement, measure and improve organizational culture. And within that system, we speak on an aspect of what you're talking about. We have to all understand through language and foundational practice what it means for the organization to show up in a certain way, how we engage, how we interact, what drives our decision making. We have to have unilateral alignment around what that is.
And once we have a shared or common language around it, we can better mobilize around objectives, outcomes.
I that makes complete sense to me. To your point as we talk about. Yes, go ahead.
[00:32:03] Speaker B: I'm sorry.
No, my apologies. I was asked if I could interject for a moment because I just thought about what we're talking about is organizational truth.
Organizational truth is in the mission, vision and core values of the organization.
It is who we say we are and how we're going to do the thing we say we're going to do for our community and clientele and what we look like doing it.
And if we can start there, believe it or not, uncovering everything we need to uncover will be easier. And then empowering those to do what it is we need something to do is is actually a no brainer. It is something that we would be able to flow in easily.
So that that was what came up for me when you were sharing is organizational truth. That's where.
[00:33:04] Speaker A: That's right.
That's right. No, I completely agree. And when we talk about truths, I think it's important for our viewers to understand truth, not through the lens of window dressing, commercial outlook, marketing campaign truths in the context of what is truly required for us to realize our desired purpose, vision, mission, in order for us to drive strategy accordingly.
And I've always said I don't have a prescription for what you think your core value should be. That should inform your leadership behaviors across your organization, you know, or we can help you connect with what is truly required for your organization to operate and realize that vision effectively.
Truly understanding and recognizing the truth around how a business operates is an important step to your point in that process.
The truth shall, shall set us all free. Right? And oftentimes that's part of the battle is helping people lean into the truth about oneself as a leader, about what has driven this organization to get to the point that they are and what's going to be required, required to get them to where they need to be. And in our next segment, as we, as we talk about the leadership truths behind what's required for people to lean into this more mindful leadership as a practice, I want to unpack what can our viewers and listeners alike apply today, tomorrow, next week that helps them get closer to that truth? Truth in self, truth in organization, where the breakdowns rest from a root cause standpoint, the work that's required to get them to where they need to be to have the conversations and to drive the appropriate execution. I want to talk about it through that lens, some morsels of actionable steps that individuals can take. Tune in to our next segment where we'll close out with unpacking those truths.
Leadership isn't just glossy headlines and Perfect wins. I'm Dr. Dante Vaughn, business strategist, culture architect, guide to leaders who want more than status. On Everyday Leaders Unfiltered, we bring you honest conversations about what's happening behind the curtain, real setbacks, real pivots, real growth from culture shifts to personal mastery, from trust crises to team turnarounds. This is where leaders get raw, real and ready.
Everyday Leaders Unfiltered. Premiere soon on NOW Media Television because a leader who's unfiltered might just become unforgettable.
Thank you all for tuning in. Dr. Ray We've been having some very insightful and compelling discussion around mindful leadership through the lens of what it means to take steps to understand self, to adopt the courage and nurture the EQ necessary to do so, and then to have those more difficult conversations in order to get to root cause and then to build action plans around what's necessary to, to get us to a unified objective. And in doing so, it requires mobilization to drive execution. And there are things that we've discussed around, okay, that mobilization will require getting to the truth, the truth to what's contributing to our barriers, the truth to what's going to be required, the investments, the changes necessary, all those things require us to take some important steps. And for this segment, I want to leave our listeners and viewers with some more immediate, actionable things that they can all take with them to begin to become a more mindful leader.
But before we get into the details of that, for everyone who wants to learn more from you and about this mindful leadership framework and the work that you've done, tell me where to follow you to connect with you and your organization. Creative Inc.
[00:38:25] Speaker B: Yes. Thank you.
So to connect with me, please follow me on LinkedIn.
Engage in conversation with me there the normal URL LinkedIn.com in Creative Inc. LLC. K R E A T I V E I N K llc.
You can actually find me on all of my social media platforms through Creative Inc. LLC. But I'll be transparent, I'm more active on LinkedIn than I am on the others with articles, tidbits, two minute resets.
But there is a survey that is available to individuals to fill out whether, when they want to find out where they are in mindfulness as well as how they fit with cultural alignment. And you can do that on my website. That's www.creativeinc.com. remember the K's K R E A T I V E I N K thank you, Dr.
[00:39:29] Speaker A: Darling. Love it. Love it. Yeah, you bet.
I'm excited for our viewers and listeners to check you out and further the dialogue.
With that being said, as we transition to practical steps that individuals can take to begin to apply the principles we spoke about or any other nuances around becoming a more mindful leader, where does one go from here? We're talking about things that may become easier for us to kind of talk about as practitioners. But where does a leader go? Where do they start?
[00:40:09] Speaker B: Start with the fact that you know something is inaccurate.
We look for patterns regularly.
Some of us are more sensitive to patterns than others, but we know what feels like it's operating correctly. Whether someone says they're satisfied with it or not. We, we can feel the friction, lean into the friction, stop overlooking it, figure out what it is, where it's coming from, and start with your yourself. Where do I fit in this?
Am I pushing back on it? Am I leaning into it? What do I offer it? And then once you have that, it's going to give you the clarity that you need to start having some conversations. Now remember, it's not just what you say, but it's what you say, how you say it, when you say it, and who you say it to.
So before you just start having conversations, because that's an easy way of just, that's the easy way of making things worse, what I want you to do is I want you to think about those four things. Identify the people that need to have the conversation with and that can forward it and then get to a place where now we know what's wrong and how it's wrong, how do we make it right? And that's where the human side of mindfulness comes from. This will now allow us to start to align. Align to what? The mission, the vision, and the core values. When it comes to cultural alignment, I always go back there because that's the truth that the company should have been founded on. So now that I know what it is that we say we offer and how we're going to go about doing it, we now know what we look like in doing it. As a leader, how does my area help to forward that vision and then leadership statement? What is it that I offer? I also like to give the staff an opportunity to explain if they're able to do that, what it looks like and if they haven't been able to do it. Why? Because then it also allows me to dig deeper. Because sometimes when there is something to diagnose, we don't want to ignore the fact that it affects different areas different way and different people different way. So that could be the thing that we need to focus on. But now we also have to take in consideration how it has fragmented everything else.
This is actually very practical. It's simple to apply. But we've got to start with that honest decision that on this conversation with ourselves about what's happening in the culture.
[00:42:45] Speaker A: Yeah, No, I love that in its practicality, we all wake up and can reflect on.
And let me preface this statement with all that we speak on, on everyday leaders, unfiltered, with all of our guests, I truly believe are applicable in our lives, personally and professionally.
To that extent, when we wake up, whether it's personal or professional, and we reflect on the constraints, the challenges, the abnormalities that we know are important to address, but we put them off, we normalize them, because the optics look pretty good.
And I think it's important for us to acknowledge that sometimes being the duck that appears calm and floating in the lake, despite what's happening underwater, what comes to that, the acknowledgment of it, knowing that others perceive us a certain way, all of that brings a sense of an often false sense of stability and confidence.
But at the honest, truthful depth of reflection required and all that we're speaking to, we know that I really should get after this.
And I think it's important to.
And I think what you're saying and what I want to encourage our viewers to really lean into as you talk about these, leaning into Constraints is that step is what's required to get you beyond where you are personally or professionally. No matter how the calm makes you feel in the moment, stepping into that constraint, understanding our contribution to where we are and those around us and what's required or potentially required to get to root cause is important in that journey.
With that being said, Dr. Ray, one of the other things that comes to mind when we talk about the practicality of it how does one take those steps when they don't always feel empowered to do so organizationally or even personally? Are there any perspectives or insights you can share for those who simply don't feel empowered to take those necessary steps even when they know it's necessary?
[00:45:42] Speaker B: Yes, and I'm glad you mentioned that.
In recent conversations I was asked, who do I show up as?
We will mix the two.
Who am I showing up as and how do I show up? They're actually two different things.
The beauty of building eq, the beauty of not ignoring the agitation or the frustration in the environment is really getting to know who I am as an individual.
And I love the fact that you're talking about the well balanced person.
I'm a professional, I do have a personal life and then there's some other characteristics that, or other categories that I can also adorn.
But Rachelle Johnson is.
And when I show up in my personal life, you see that. When you show up, When I show up in my professional life, you see that. When I show up in ministry, you see that. When I show up in relationships, you see that.
But how I navigate it depends on the environment.
But I first have to be comfortable with myself.
So if you have, if you've missed anything we said today, but go back and watch it just to make sure you get it. But if you've missed anything we said today, hold on to this.
When you get up tomorrow, feet firmly planted on the ground, who are you?
And then as you start to dress that.
What does that look like? As I navigate what I have to go through and then do that. Because honestly, to me that clarity is where the confidence comes, comes from the ability to stand in it. Because this is who I am and I can stand firmly in who I am. It's not who I always have been, it's not who I always will be. But it won't be so different that I have to pretend that everything is okay when it's not, because that's just not sustainable. Not only will systems crash under that, but my loves, you will as well.
Who are you?
[00:48:00] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, I love that I love that. As as as a closing statement. Thank you so much Dr. Ray.
I truly appreciate you and the work that you do.
So for our listeners and viewers, please be sure to check Dr. Ray out.
Check out Creative Inc.
And like like Dr. Ray shared. Rewind it if you if you need to recap on any of the points raised.
Dr. Ray, today you really helped stripped down. When we talk about the efficacy of leadership, right, we're regulating oneself under pressure, diagnosing the culture, honestly, building an execution cadence that becomes mobilizing, empowering. It doesn't just crush people, but it repairs the trust that's necessary across an organization by leaning into the truths. And the truth begins with something self. You know, who are we when we wake up in the morning, reflect on who we are because ultimately, rather we ignore it or not. Those truths are what's informing every step that we take from the moment we wake up to the moment we close our eyes. With that being said to everyone watching, please understand, leadership isn't proven when things are smooth, when things appear to be calm on the surface. It's proving in the moment that we pause, that we choose clarity, that we move forward with greater intentionality.
With that being said, I'm Dr. Dante Vaughn with Everyday Leaders Unfiltered. Until next time.
