Southern Cross Leadership Solutions

01/11/2022

Top 5 responsibilities of a CEO?

Ask one and the answers range from the technical – board administration and support – to the conceptual – lead the org’s short- and long-term strategies – to the more holistic – build an ideal organizational culture.

Ask my friend Mike Kelly, CEO of TeamOnUP, and it’s definitely the latter.

Definitely top 3. Hell, maybe Number 1.

Peter Drucker, management guru extraordinaire, once said, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.”

We agree but want to take it one step further.

𝗖𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘀 𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗬𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗳𝗮𝘀𝘁.

We sat down with Anne Gardner, CEO of Cape Fear REALTORS®, and learned what it takes to build an interdependent and collaborative team from behind the desk in the proverbial corner office.

Here’s what she had to say when discussing shared commitment.

“That’s where you get into the energy and the dynamism. Because it is a joy, you are excited, hold me back from getting to this workplace every day! What mountain are we gonna go take on today? That’s when it all clicks. When you know that the person next to you is just as committed to the wild, crazy idea that you’ve brought into the building that day, then it’s fun!”

Check out the Episode 1 of Building Better Teams - media channels and link in the comments.

01/04/2022

Well, I tried something last year. 🥳

Something way out of my comfort zone. 😬

It was also a jump onto a moving bandwagon long after it has left the station.

It’s so 2021… 🤷‍♂️

But who cares?

2022 is full of changes to come for me and my family.

There’s more to come, but I'll start here! 👇

What set out to be a series of conversations between myself, my friend Jody Fletcher, and local leaders, a series that didn’t have a title and wasn’t intended to be podcast (a running joke through four episodes), turned into something more. 🤯

I had questions about team building problems and solutions and wanted to ask those ‘in the know’ – the ones who experience and deal with it routinely.

Then I thought, ‘What the hell, I might as well record them.’

I reached out to the gurus at Signal Fire Media Company and here we are.

The Building Better Teams Podcast and YouTube series.

Check out the first episode - media channels and link in the comments.

12/16/2021

I attended a masterclass in leadership this week. 💪

It was live, in-person. 👏 It was casual. 😎 It was free. 💰

𝗜𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝟰𝟱 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝘂𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗜’𝘃𝗲 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗲.

Best part...

It was delivered by my good friend Robert Von Rens.

The context?

I observed Rob’s morning standup with his team and it’s what right looks like on days that end in “y.”

Team leaders are responsible for training, setting strategy, and monitoring progress toward goals.

They have strong communication, problem-solving, organizational, and delegation skills.

They coach and develop their teammates from a source of genuine caring.

Meetings are a forum for team leaders to accomplish all the above.

But only if done right.

Rob does his right!

If you struggle getting your team engaged in meetings and excited to crush their goals, DM me.

Don’t bother Rob.

He’s busy innovating, building an empire, and generally making sh*t happen!

But I’ll give you the goods from someone that would have signed a contract to work for him on the spot!

Oh, and good team leaders make good teammates! Just ask Matt Mylott and Evan Anderson.


𝘗𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘰 𝘊𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘵: 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘐𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘔𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 – 𝘔𝘢𝘵𝘵 𝘔𝘺𝘭𝘰𝘵𝘵

12/04/2021

No football this weekend for the Gators, but we can take this lesson into the weekend ready to implement next week! 👊 💥

👇

de·ter·mi·na·tion | /dəˌtərməˈnāSH(ə)n/ | noun

1. firmness of purpose; resoluteness.

This is Dameon Pierce.

University of Florida Senior. Running Back. Florida Gators.

And this is what determination resembles.

During the Sunshine State Showdown against the Florida State Seminoles last weekend, Dameon had his helmet ripped off by an FSU defender during an attempted tackle.

Instead of stopping as the play was whistled dead, Dameon pushed his way into the endzone.

Unfortunately, an unbeknownst to him and generally little-known rule warranted a penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct for continuing play without a helmet.

A few snaps later, he walked into endzone untouched.

is about staying focused on a goal.

As long as you have a goal, you can create paths to that goal, moving ever closer to the success you want.

Determination keeps you moving forward.

Towards your endzone.

Be like Dameon.

11/10/2021

𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬: The gift that keeps on giving...

You know it's the 🎉🎂Marine Corps Birthday🎂🎉 when your phone starts blowing up at 12:01am on November 10th. 😎

Stay classy and keep raiding, you Birthday Ball(less) bunch of Magnificent Bastards!

⬆️ (𝘋𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘳: 𝘎𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘯𝘦𝘶𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘮 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵.)

𝗛𝗮𝗽𝗽𝘆 𝟮𝟰𝟲𝘁𝗵 𝗕𝗶𝗿𝘁𝗵𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗽𝘀!

11/09/2021

👇 These words from Coach Josh Greco! 👇

"People spend a lifetime trying to get their own s**t together!"

"So how can we even talk about high-performance teams?"

"It's hard enough to identify the effort required of individuals to improve their own state."

"Where do we even start to talk about how to turn a group of people/employees/teammates into a high-performance team?!"

🧠

These are great questions!

I have some of the answers!

But one thing I know for certain is that we are better together.

At. Damn. Near. Everything!

𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗮 𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀.

What does it look like when everyone is bought in to a common mission?

What's the difference between unengaged and disengaged?

How do we know a team is "high-performing"... and what sort of things can a high-performing team produce that are even greater than what one individual is capable of?

Join Josh and Coach Nick Davies from ProAdvisor Coach , and me on this episode of to find out!



https://loom.ly/OLkSHfk

Garret has a great conversation around building badass teams with ProAdvisor Coaches Josh Greco and Nick Davies.On this episode of Garret Lays ...

09/11/2021

This is the image. 👇

The image I watched unfold on live television.

The image that made me realize there was something out there bigger than me.

The image that drove me to return to service.

The image that changed the next 20 years of my life.

The image that meant similar things to so many others.

Never forget.

#911

08/30/2021

2022’s Work on Wilmington Day is in good hands! ✊

How do I know?
I only had to yell approximately 43 times during our 3.5ish hours together. 😜

I’m good with that.

Having to reel people in is much better than the awkward silence I’ve dealt with before.

Silence is typical of volun-told cohorts.

Not this year’s Leadership Wilmington.

✅ This cohort 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙨 to be here!
✅ This cohort 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙨 to be successful!
✅ This cohort 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙨 to do great things for the community!
✅ This cohort 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙨 to learn!

In fact, they’re eager for it.

And I’m eager to assist where I can.
It’s only just getting started.

Disclaimer: No knife-hands were used, and no participants were harmed during training. 😎

08/27/2021

Who’s excited? 🤷‍♂️

👉This guy! 👈

Why?

Because I was invited by Laura Brogdon-Primavera and the Wilmington Chamber of Commerce to present today at the opening retreat for this year’s Leadership Wilmington cohort.

I get to talk all-things teams (𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘚 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯) 😉 to 36 of our community’s best and brightest.

What are we going to talk about?

Here’s a hint! 🤫

We’re going to talk about…

I guess you’ll need one of these folders to find out the rest. 😉

DM me and I’ll finish that sentence.

06/11/2021

Know who the most common person is that others want to be around?

Still thinking about it?

I’ll give you a hint.

Look in the mirror.

Yep. You got it.💥

People like other people who are like themselves.

This goes for leaders as well which can cause some serious issues when it comes to building their teams.

𝑾𝒉𝒚?

Because teams that have members who are a lot like each other lack depth in –

❌ Expertise,
❌ Decision-making
❌ Objectivity.

Teams must be a mix of the right –

✅ Talents
✅ Strengths
✅ Competencies
✅ Skills.

This a tenet of . 💯

Can’t say this about your team?

𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠.

Learn more here - https://bit.ly/3pmhKag

06/08/2021

Do you believe in your team? 🤷‍♂‍

Like, 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 believe in them. 🤘

If not, you are doing them a disservice.

And you are doing yourself a disservice!

As a leader, the degree to which you believe in your people and communicate that belief to them plays a tremendous role.

✅ In unlocking their potential.
✅ In getting the most from them.
✅ And, by proxy, getting the most from your team.

Known as the 𝐏𝐲𝐠𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐄𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭, the power of positive expectations is real.

Unfortunately, so is the averse.

Failing to show genuine belief or worse, unconsciously offering negative bias also plays a tremendous role.

❌ In destroying that person’s potential.
❌ In destroying any chance of getting the most from them.
❌ And, by proxy, destroying any chance of getting the most from your team.

Believe in your team. 🙏

It’s easy. All you need to do is follow these three rules.

1️⃣ 𝐂𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐚 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞.How are you treating each member of your team? Do you show favoritism? Are certain members receiving less of your time and attention than others? Ask yourself these questions and, if the answer is yes to any of them, rethink what you’re doing and how you’re doing it.

2️⃣ 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤.Honest, substantive, helpful feedback. When you are invested in your people, you are willing to walk with them through failures and challenges. These walks are full of teachable moments when done correctly spur powerful growth. How do you respond to setbacks?

3️⃣ 𝐀𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐤𝐞𝐲. But it must be the right attitude. Belief must be genuine. Belief must be a value you hold near and dear. More so, your team must believe this to be true. If you treat it like a box to check, they will know it. And they will approach things in the same manner.

06/07/2021

Interested in a program that provides an 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐲-𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 in leadership development for your company's frontline supervisors, middle managers, and senior leaders?

Sure.

You can wing it. 🤙

Or you can ensure success by providing professional development for your people. 🎯

Adamant that your project manager has their PMP? 💪

Uncompromising that your HR manager be competent in the profession’s body of knowledge via SHRM or HRCI? 👊

Think about this.

Do you want to have your teeth cleaned by someone who stayed at a Holiday Inn Express the night before??? 😲

Didn’t think so.

We're talking 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 based on a determination of eligibility and an assessment of 𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞.

Don’t wing it.

Want to know more about the Resilience-Building Leader Program series of certification?

DM me and let’s talk!

To learn more, click here -https://bit.ly/3pmhKag