February 11, 2025 • 36 mins
A committed team doesn’t just happen overnight. Instead, it requires repeated rhythms and clear standards. In this episode, Rusty Fulling shares three more actions you can take to help you develop a committed team, along with practical examples of what each action can look like when you’re just getting started. Rusty is the founder and CEO of Fulling Management and Accounting, and he’s also offering a free opportunity to learn from his team if you listen to the end of the episode.
Struggling to make success in your business repeatable? Path for Growth created a free workbook and video course to help you operationalize—so you can build consistency, reduce stress, and create space for growth. Download it now at pathforgrowth.com/free-downloads.
Episode Recap:
- Today Rusty Fulling will break down 3 more actions for building a committed team (1:39)
- 3. Hold a high standard for commitment (3:52)
- How can leaders create a culture of healthy feedback? (8:44)
- What does it look like to set expectations during the hiring process? (12:22)
- 4. Create rhythms that foster commitment (16:29)
- How do you start adding rhythms? (19:22)
- How to learn more from Rusty and his team (27:48)
- 5. Be committed to something bigger than yourself (29:14)
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Resources:
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
We go through our core values one by one and then
talk about how those are appliedthrough business and how they
resonate with the candidates.And if someone like, yeah, let's
just skip through this and go tohow much does this pay? That may
not be the best fit for thecompany.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
Hey there. If you have not yet met, my name is
Alex Judd. I'm the founder ofPath for Growth, and this is the
Path for Growth podcast. Now asa business, we exist to help
impact driven leaders like youstep into who they were created
to be so that others benefit andGod is glorified. Hey, before we
jump into today's episode, Iwant you to know about a wildly
valuable resource that our teamcreated for you and the people
(00:39):
you leave.
One of the most common pieces offeedback we get on the podcast
is that you wanna be able totake notes so that you can
reference the episode later orshare it with people you are
responsible for developing. Butthere's one big problem. You're
often listening to the podcaston a run while driving, or I've
even talked to people that arelistening to us in the shower.
So that's why we startedcreating the Growth Guide. This
(01:02):
resource will distill all of thekey principles, quotes, and
action items from every singleepisode into a downloadable PDF
that you can share with yourteam.
Additionally, we're gonnainclude application questions
and additional resources foranyone that wants to go further
on the topic of the week. We areall about helping you and your
business grow in a healthy way.And we know that healthy growth
(01:25):
always involves intentionalaction. This guide exists to
help you take intentional actionon what you and your team learn
each week from the podcast. Getthe growth guide by clicking the
link that's in the show notes.
Let's go. Well, we're enteringinto part two of our series with
Rusty Foehling. Rusty has been afriend of mine for years now,
(01:45):
and he's just a business leaderthat I so respect. You know, so
often, I I think about the factthat, like, I used to be so
enamored with what I think of asflash in the pan success. People
that start big, they'regrandiose, they're flashy, but
then you look up five years inand they're nowhere to be found.
Now what I've learned is thepeople that I really respect,
the people that I really look upto, the people that I really
(02:08):
admire is those people that havebeen in business for over twenty
years consistently out addingvalue, consistently growing, and
consistently finding ways toadapt and change the way that
they serve the marketplace. Man,for me, those people are legends
that I want to learn from. Andhere's the deal, Rusty is one of
those people. This guy is apillar of our Path for Growth
(02:29):
community for impact drivenleaders and he's someone that
just has so much wisdom fromtwenty five years in business.
So what we're jumping into onthis episode is the final three
actions of the five actions forcreating a committed team.
This is such valuable contentfor us just to really remember
and reinforce, man, what is thetype of leader that I want to
be? And out of the type ofleader I want to be and the team
(02:52):
that I want to have, what arethe things that I need to do? So
here's my conversation withRusty Fulan. Well, here we go.
We're on part two of how tobuild a committed team.
And specifically, we're focusingon five actions. In episode one
with Rusty, we talked about whatit looks like to hire people
that you want to be committedto. And man, if you haven't
listened to that, it's just sohelpful to think about what are
(03:14):
your standards as a leader andthen how are you making sure
that you're instilling thosestandards into your hiring and
onboarding process? And then wetalked about being a committed
leader and the idea that, Imean, you don't attract what you
want. You attract what you are.
Rusty, I so appreciated yourperspective on what it actually
looks like to be a committedleader and then also how to
financially put yourself in aposition so that you can
(03:38):
exercise commitment. And thatreally brings us to the final
three actions. So Rusty, ifyou're game on, we'll just jump
straight into action numberthree.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
Sound good you? Absolutely. Hey, thanks for
having me back. So, yeah, we'reready to jump in.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
Yes, sir. So action three is holding a high standard
for commitment. So obviously,we're bringing people that are
committed onto the team, butthen we need to make sure that
we have a bar for commitment andthat we're holding that standard
as it relates to the team'sculture and the team's
performance. Can you speak towhy this is so important and how
(04:11):
maybe we might trip up as itrelates to holding this standard
as a leader, Rusty.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
Yeah, we talked about this a little bit in the first
session but sometimes thatstandard of commitment sometimes
becomes very personalized. It'slike, Oh, you need to be
committed to me as a leader.Instead we really need to be
focused on that vision. And Ithink if people are committed to
the vision, the vision shouldn'tbe changing. And so I think that
can be a huge misconceptionsometimes as leaders we get
(04:39):
wrapped up on our self.
But I think just stayingcommitted to that vision. One of
our internal moves was hiring aCOO. And what that did for us is
that provided some consistencyto really expand, I would say
our vision and be able to passthe torch a little bit from the
(05:02):
founder to the next level ofleaders. And so again, it's not
about the founder, but it'sabout the mission.
Speaker 2 (05:09):
Yeah. It is interesting that because it can
be a nice talking point, it'svery popular to say, this
company is bigger than me.Right? This company is bigger
than me. Sometimes I thinkthere's leaders that are saying
this company is bigger than methat their team is looking at
them with crossed arms sayingprove it.
Right? Because if it's actuallybigger than you, then why are
you the one that doeseverything? And so in so many
(05:29):
ways, hiring a COO and bringingsomeone in, number one, that's a
pretty intense investment tomake. But it's also a lot of
trust to say, hey, there'speople with skills and abilities
that are bigger than mine thatI'm going to trust to expand and
deepen the impact of thiscompany in ways that I couldn't.
(05:49):
So in so many ways, that's youexercising a level of commitment
that's really, really powerful.
The other thing that stands outto me, and I'd be interested if
you've either struggled withthis or if you've witnessed this
in others, or if you haven'tstruggled in this, how do you
keep your eye on the ball? I wasliterally just having a
conversation with a leader thatworks for a company. This was a
(06:10):
little bit of a friendconversation. It's someone that
I've known for a long time. Hejust kind of asked, Alex, can we
keep this circle of trust alittle bit?
And I said, yeah, that's great.And I don't even know his boss,
so I think it was totally finefor him to share some of this.
But he was a little bit sharingwith me that he gets so excited
because the leader that he workswith is incredibly energetic,
(06:31):
really, really effective at whathe does, and very creative. And
so he's constantly got thesevisions for what they're doing
and where they're going. And hesaid, that's why I came to work
here is because I I was reallydrawn in and captivated by this
guy's ability to cast vision.
And he said, but now that I workhere, the thing that's really
frustrating is it seems like itchanges every two weeks. And he
(06:52):
said, like, I get all excitedabout something, and then we'll
come back two weeks later. Andhe'll say, oh, no. We're not
doing that anymore. Now we'refocused on this.
Yes. And in some ways, I waslike, well, that's a great
example of not holding a highstandard of commitment for
yourself. That like, and I thinkof that Bible verse, let your
yes be yes and your no be no.Like when we say we're going to
(07:13):
do something, are we people thatfollow through and that do it?
Or are we people that areconstantly chasing squirrels and
never execute or follow throughon anything?
Anything else you'd add on thecommitment of a leader to the
vision that's being established?
Speaker 1 (07:27):
Yeah, well, and I think of too the story of Moses,
when he was doing all thejudging of all the people and
what was his father-in-law cameto him and said, What are you
doing? What are you doing?You're not gonna accomplish the
mission if you're trying to doeverything yourself. And I think
that's where finding thoseleaders, partnering with those
(07:50):
leaders that can come alongbeside you and push that mission
forward. So love your friends'creative leader, but probably
need somebody to come alongbeside to navigate some of that
creativity towards hitting theultimate goal.
Speaker 2 (08:07):
It's so funny that you bring that up because we
literally you don't know this,but right before we podcasts
with you, we're airing a threepart series on lessons on
delegation from Exodus.
Speaker 1 (08:19):
There you go.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
And it's like, man, this plays off great on that.
We're building on that. But whatJethro says to Moses is like,
what you are doing is not good.Yes. And it's like he's holding
him to a higher standard ofcommitment.
Like, hey, if this is not aboutMoses, if it's actually about
God, then we need to allow otherpeople to get in on what God is
doing. And so being able todelegate responsibility and
(08:40):
giving other people theopportunity to commit. The other
topic that really comes up as itrelates to holding a high
standard of commitment, I think,is creating a culture of healthy
feedback. And I'd be interestedto know any thoughts or
practices you've learned as itrelates to this. But if we say,
man, this is what we want, wewant a high standard of
(09:01):
commitment, we want to beexcellent, we want to be
punctual, we want to be customeroriented, we want to make sure
we uphold these values andmissions at a relentlessly high
standard, Will there be timeswhere even the best people fall
short, deviate, or need coursecorrection?
The answer is yes. You mighthave the best team in the world
and you will need to coursecorrect. The way that you course
correct, I think, reallydetermines the trajectory of the
(09:24):
team and the trajectory of thatindividual. So anything you've
learned on effectively givingfeedback and how important it is
to offer feedback to our team.
Speaker 1 (09:33):
Yeah, and this is probably part two of our
counseling session here becausethis is an area that, oh man, I
think I've struggled with overthe years is not giving that
consistent, timely feedback whenthere's an issue that needs to
be corrected. And so I would saybuild in cadences that allow for
(09:53):
that. If it's just an awkward,Alex, I need to talk to you.
Yeah, is this good or bad versusthat's right. Hey, we meet every
week or every other week.
And so I think that consistentcommunication, respond quickly.
Boy, if there's an issue, weneed to take care of it. If
there's something good that'shappening, let's take care of
it. Let's give a shout outthere. So communicate clearly,
(10:18):
extend grace when grace isneeded.
So I think those are a couplethat, two or three that just
come to mind when you ask that.
Speaker 2 (10:27):
And I think it's helpful for me to remember what
normal is in the marketplace.Normal in the marketplace is a
bunch of companies that say,Hey, we really value feedback.
We go above and beyond toprovide clear feedback. Then
they all sit on theirresentments and harbor
bitterness with the people theywork with for years until it
finally explodes. Fact that yousay you really value clear and
(10:50):
direct feedback and that you'regoing to communicate openly
doesn't really mean anythingbecause everyone says that.
You should set thoseexpectations. But then what I
often look for is opportunitiesin onboarding to offer feedback
in a way that's really clear andreally direct and then
simultaneously with that showpeople, I still care about you.
(11:13):
You're still a great fit forthis team. I'm so proud of the
work that you're doing. This isjust part of what everyone goes
through in onboarding because insome ways, we need to
reestablish what normal is forfeedback.
And I I once had a leader thatshe told me, Alex, like, when
you've got spinach in yourteeth, do you want someone to
tell you or do you want us tojust let you sit there? And I
said, I want people to tell me.She's like, okay. Well, just so
(11:35):
you know, in your work, I'mgonna tell you when you've got
spinach in your teeth. And shesaid, it's not gonna be a big
deal and I'm not gonna publicizeit.
I'm just gonna say, hey, hey,Alex. You got a little
something. And man, when you, Ithink, set expectations that
way, it's really, really helpfulfor normalizing healthy
feedback. Yeah, I love thatexample because I think
sometimes people, yeah,
Speaker 1 (11:57):
they don't have that permission, that can be very
awkward. And so what she did, Iheard you say, she asked me,
would you like me to give youfeedback is basically what I
heard. And so that can be sohelpful. And there might be a
bigger issue if somebody saysno. I don't wanna hear your
feedback.
(12:17):
So anyway, great, I appreciatethat example.
Speaker 2 (12:21):
Well, and what you just said too really highlights
a point that you brought outwhenever we were talking about
this action is like, make sureyou're clear with people in the
hiring process about what thework environment is that they're
signing up for and what the workthat they're signing up for is
like. Can you speak to I wouldlove to know how y'all do that
(12:42):
in the hiring process. How doyou really clarify for people?
This is what it's like to workat full length so that they can
make an educated choice onwhether or not it's for them.
Speaker 1 (12:51):
Yeah, so part of our process, and again, I've learned
this from others too, is to havethem talk to people that are in
the day to day that are doingwhat they're gonna be doing. And
we also do some role plays. Soif they're a leader that has
client interaction, that'spresenting, they're gonna do
some presenting and we're gonnaget feedback on that and listen
(13:14):
for clarity and for competencyand things like that. So part of
that is, yeah, giving them reallife examples and letting them
jump in.
Speaker 2 (13:23):
That's right. It was actually the same leader that
had the feedback example that Ijust shared with you. She had a
practice in her hiring processthat I've adopted and replicated
in our business. She would havea portion of the interview
process where she would sit downwith the person for thirty
minutes. This is later in thehiring process.
(13:45):
She would sit down with thecandidate and she would say,
hey, I would just like to sharewith you the pieces of working
here that someone might considerthe worst part of working here.
Mhmm. And I like, whenever Isaid to her about this, was
like, you're gonna do what?Like, excuse me? But, it's been
so helpful because I sit downwith someone now and I say,
like, quite frankly, we workremote.
(14:06):
And there's sometimes where,like, you might go the whole day
and, like, you're on Zoom calls,or you're not on calls at all
and you're just operating as anindependent ranger. And that's
not for everyone. You need tomake sure you have community
outside of your work. And also,I have insanely high standards
as it relates to peopleexercising personal growth in
their personal lives. And we payattention to people's personal
(14:29):
life and we don't separate thetwo.
And so if you're not down forthat, you're not gonna enjoy
this. And I say, point to Jesusis one of our core values, and
we pray at the end of meetings,and we ask other people to pray
in meetings and things likethat. And so I I tell them,
like, if any of those feel likethings that you wouldn't like,
then let me save you the troubleand just tell you you're not
gonna enjoy working here. Andwhat I found is some people
(14:51):
literally say, yeah, don't thinkthis is for me. But then there
are some people that literally,they hear that list of things
that are really hard and theylook at it as like reasons why
they really want to work here.
And that's the type of person Ithink we want.
Speaker 1 (15:04):
Absolutely, yeah. And one of the steps we often use
and I may steal what you justtalked about, but we go through
our core values one by one andthen talk about how those are
applied through business and howthey resonate with the
candidate. And if some are like,yeah, let's just skip through
this and go to how much doesthis pay? That may not be the
best fit for the company.
Speaker 2 (15:26):
That's right. So understanding what your standard
is as it relates to commitmentand then making sure that people
guard that standard andregularly reinforcing that
standard. The final thing that Iwanna share with people on here
is it can be really tempting tostart compromising your
standards in seasons whereyou're successful. And when
(15:49):
things are going well, right, wewant so bad to serve the
customer, be hyper relational,be super personal, push hard
every day, be really diligentbecause we wanna be effective
and successful. And then we getsuccessful and we're like, oh,
we don't have to do thatanymore.
And it's like, oh, bad strategy.And that's why it's, I think, so
important to remember what we'recalled to is not to be
(16:09):
successful. What we're called tois to be faithful. And if we're
called to be faithful, then it'slike you're gonna bring
diligence, care for thecustomer, excellence in your
work every single day regardlessof what the cash flow report
looks like.
Speaker 1 (16:22):
Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. That no. That's a great,
great reminder, so I love it.
Speaker 2 (16:27):
Okay. Create rhythms that foster commitment. So I I
would love for you to take thelead on this one because y'all
have so many rhythms within yourteam that are just deposits. And
I think it speaks to theconsistent nature of what y'all
do of just making surecommitment is upheld as a value
for the team and not justsomething that occurs in spurts
(16:49):
and seasons. So can you walk usthrough both the rhythms that
you have and why you have them?
Speaker 1 (16:54):
Yeah. So we were a brick and mortar company for my
goodness, the first twentyyears. So 90% of 95% of our
staff come in and out every day.So we're seeing everybody. Back
into 2020, we went all virtual.
And just like you, was like,how's this gonna work? So one of
the things we started doing isjust looking for ways we could
(17:16):
build connections outside ofjust the routine, Hey, Alex, did
you get this project done? Andthis kind of thing. And so one
of the simple things we did isjust do a quarterly lunch and
you're going, how do you do aquarterly lunch when you're
virtual? Well, you can do it.
And so sometimes we'll spend anhour playing a game over a
(17:36):
lunchtime or just getting toknow each other better. And
thinking about some of thethings that you might have done
in person experience. Anotherone we've done that, again,
we've seen from other companiesis during our weekly staff
meeting is sharing the wins.What was the win for you this
week? Or maybe how have you seenone of our core values come to
(18:00):
life this week?
And those are always fun to hearthose kinds of things. And then
each pay period, our teamsubmits their highs and lows for
the period. And, know, sometimesthose highs and lows, they'll
come to me as a leader and I'llget to go through those. And
some of those will be very,maybe personal that, you know,
they're going through somethingchallenging and quickly
(18:23):
responding to those kinds ofthings or celebrating if
somebody has something reallyneat happen in their family. And
so I think it's just part ofthose, how can you build in some
of those cadence kind of thingson a regular basis that we're
doing to just create thatconnectivity?
The last one I'll mention is wespend about thirty minutes in
(18:45):
our staff meetings just doingsome type of teaching, at
leadership teaching, and we'llbreak into small groups so you
really get more of an intimatefeel for that leadership topic
and get to talk with three orfour other people in that group.
And so we've just seen so manyneat things come out of that and
just some really neatconnections among the team.
Speaker 2 (19:08):
My assumption is that you didn't go from zero rhythms
for team investment to all ofthese rhythms because I know you
even have more than what you'retalking about right now that you
do on a recurring basis. Myguess is that you didn't choose
one day, oh, we're gonna instillsix rhythms for developing the
team. My guess is that ithappened one piece at a time.
(19:29):
And I know that we've got peoplelistening to this right now that
their team would really benefitfrom some rhythms that kind of
helps them understand and helpsthem anchor. Here's where we are
as a team, helps unify, givesthe leader the opportunity to
cast vision or speak to theindividuals on a recurring basis
so it's not left up to chance.
(19:50):
Is there any particular rhythmthat it's like, if it's a clean
slate right now and it's like,there's nothing for our team
right now that's regularly onthe calendar, Is there something
that you would say, just startwith this? Where would you
encourage people to get started?
Speaker 1 (20:02):
Yeah, such a great call out because there's so many
things that we've watched othercompanies that have done so well
and just say, oh man, we wannado that. We're not big enough or
whatever, but just pick onething. For us, one of the things
that we just have done for yearsis that small group breakout
during staff meetings. Even whenwe were in person, we did a
(20:25):
little bit of you know, aroundthat leadership topic. And so
that was a pretty, I'll say lowhanging fruit kind of thing to
add.
We would go out and do a lunchor hit a coffee shop when we
were all in person. And so we'vejust made that a little more
virtual now since we have teammembers around the country.
(20:47):
Yeah, I'd say just pick one.What would be one thing that
could move the needle for yourcompany? Just a little bit to
build some of that connectivity.
Speaker 2 (20:56):
And I love that you highlight development. I think
sometimes there's a lot ofleaders that I've spoken with
that really want a developmenttraining, especially as it
relates to leadership rhythm fortheir team. But they're
intimidated by it because theythink, oh man, I have to prepare
teaching content every week forthis team development meeting
(21:16):
and I need to make sure that I'man expert leadership teacher
that they're all listening tofor an hour every lunch. One of
the things that I know aboutyou, and it's something that you
really encourage in ourcommunity too, is like, is so
much value in the discussion.It's not one person talking at a
bunch of people, there's valuein the discussion.
So can you speak to anythingyou've learned in terms of
(21:38):
making it less a presentationand more of a discussion
whenever it comes to thesedevelopment rhythms?
Speaker 1 (21:44):
Yes, and I'm glad you pointed that out because I am
not the content driver. I am notgonna give up and give a huge
speech on some leadership topicevery single week. And so what
we've done is we've found somegreat resources. Global
Leadership Summit has someincredible resources for
leadership. Right now media isanother great resource.
(22:07):
There's tons of leadershipvideos that you can bring in for
just a small amount of moneyevery month. And we'll just show
a little clip of those andsometimes just to really cheat a
little bit further, sometimesthey'll even provide a
discussion guide. So, it's a lowlift, it really is. But the
(22:27):
benefit, like you said, is somuch in the discussion
afterwards. I'm just blown awayby some of the things that come
from our team that is like, Ohmy goodness, we just use this
little video just to prompt ourteam.
And they just, you know, it isso fun to hear. And the
discussions throughout the week,it's not just limited to the ten
or fifteen minutes during thattime.
Speaker 2 (22:48):
And I want you to address this question. What are
your expectations about whatcomes from that? So you've got
this time that you're investingto say, we're gonna watch this
video, we're gonna discuss it.What are you expecting in terms
of what comes from that time?
Speaker 1 (23:05):
Yeah, leadership development. I want everybody on
our team to become betterleaders. And so we invite the
entire team. If we had janitors,we'd have janitors there. Had
CEOs and then some, we'd havethe whole crew there.
So literally in our group, wehave bookkeepers, accountants,
CFOs, admin. And so part of it'sjust connectivity in leadership
(23:27):
development. And especially nowthat we're virtual, it just
provides to me that just again,those relationships that if we
don't make intentional time todo, that just gives some, that
just carves out that time forthem. And so when you're looking
at committedness and long termteam members, I would say that's
(23:49):
one of the highlights that Ihear from our team when they're
interviewing somebody and peoplesay, Hey, what's one of the
benefits you like for workingwith fulling? That often comes
up is that time together.
Speaker 2 (23:59):
So that's so powerful. And the reason where I
really value your answer to thatquestion is because I think so
often highly driven leaders willget excited about that, but
their expectations may be alittle bit misaligned. Maybe
their expectation is, oh, we'regonna show this video and then
out of this, I'm gonna seeeveryone's daily work
dramatically change, likeovernight. Right? And that's not
(24:24):
really what I hear you say.
I think that you can see changesfrom showing a video that's
empowering or that's energizing.But I think the way we've got to
view it is it's a deposit. Andwhenever we make a deposit, we
don't even necessarily knowwhere the return's gonna come
up. We just know it's the rightthing to do and return does
occur whenever we consistentlysow good seed. Anything else
(24:48):
you'd add to the topic ofcreating rhythms or the
practical actions people cantake in their own companies?
Speaker 1 (24:54):
Yeah, well, I think other things. I mean, we do
virtual Christmas parties thathave become legendary at this
point. I mean, like the world. Iwould say one more thing as
you're looking at thoseconnections, getting together,
if you're a virtual team, if youcan carve out some time to get
together in person, we just gettogether once a year and it
might be something we mightchange to do that more often,
(25:17):
but that once a year time, wespend some time just having fun.
We spend some time verystrategic and then we spend some
time serving in our community.
And part of that's part of ourDNA, but those three things
together, fun, strategy andserving, again, that's one of
those, when we ask people aboutsimilar highlights of the year,
(25:38):
those often also come to thetop. It's like, man, we got to
be together. And because we'vebeen together so much throughout
the year, it's like a highschool reunion getting together
again, a good high schoolreunion. And it's just so much
fun celebrating together. So I'dsay if you can build on those
times where you're celebratingthe success, even if it's a
little success, and spendingsome time serving others
(26:01):
together, that there's justsomething about that.
It takes the emphasis off you,emphasis off you as a leader,
and you get to really use theenergy to serve others.
Speaker 2 (26:12):
One of the things that that makes me think of
whenever you're talking aboutChristmas, but also when you're
talking about bringing peopletogether and the highlights of
what stand out to them, one ofthe encouragements that I've
gotten from a leadership mentorof mine that you know, Mike
Valatin. Yeah. He constantlychanted me. He's like, Alex, you
gotta be thinking creativelyabout how to bless the socks off
(26:32):
your people. Like, y'all arewinning right now as a company.
You wanna figure out ways tobless your people. And whether
that's bringing us all togetherin the same place or if we are
together adding a day wheretheir spouses come and join us
or, you know, thinkingfinancially, like how can we
surprise them with a gift orthings like that. Right? There's
(26:53):
multitude of different ways, andHeap really encourages
creativity in the ways that wedo that. It shouldn't just be a
check, every single time.
But always, I think most peoplethat we work with really want to
do that. They really wanna blesstheir people by bringing them
together, things like whatyou're talking about too. And
the barrier is, like, I don'tknow how much I can spend on
(27:13):
that. I don't know what isappropriate or what is right.
And the reason why is becausethey don't have the budget and
financial structures in place.
And so that's, again, why I Ijust am so grateful for Rusty
and their team in terms of thework that they do for the
customers that we serve becausethere are so many leaders that I
(27:34):
know that y'all have helpedcreate the structure and the
optics and the visibilitynecessary for leaders to be able
to say, man, I really want tobless my team, and I know
exactly how much I have to beable to work with. And so I want
to make sure we mention it againon this episode because we had
people asking about it from thelast episode. The business
(27:55):
recommendation plan is somethingthat Rusty and his team are
offering. It's available for asmall group of people that if
you are a business owner and youwant Rusty's team to look at
your bookkeeping, to look atyour records, and to say, hey,
this is a physical of yourbusiness. Here's what we'd
recommend paying attention to.
And hey, here's some things thatmight be yellow flags or red
(28:17):
flags. Y'all take advantage ofthis. The link is available in
the show notes of this episode.Rusty, anything else you want to
add about that businessrecommendation plan and what
people can expect?
Speaker 1 (28:27):
Yeah, that's great. Yeah, we normally look at things
like your last tax return, maybeif you're using something like
QuickBooks, that data andanything else that might be
pertinent to your information.It can be really helpful just to
have a third party looking overthat, giving you some
recommendations. We often findwe'll call them red flags to
(28:48):
say, hey guys, did you realizethis was going on or you're
missing out on this opportunity?And even some practices, some
best practices to put in placein that plan.
So yeah, feel free to reach outif that's something you'd be
interested in. Love to walk youthrough that. Again, we're
offering it for free for thepath for growth community during
this time.
Speaker 2 (29:07):
Awesome. Well, thanks to you and your team for
facilitating those meetings andserving people in that way. And
really that kind of also alludesto the final point as it relates
to creating a committed teambecause we said, number one, we
want to hold a high standard forcommitment. We want to create
rhythms that foster commitment.And then we want to be committed
(29:28):
to something bigger thanyourself.
This is something that you'veactually hit home on in both
episodes that we've recorded.Speak to why this is like not
like an optional thing but thisis like an essential thing
specifically if someone's animpact driven leader.
Speaker 1 (29:42):
Yes, oh my goodness. So I know when I started, man,
twenty five years ago, I wouldwatch these larger companies
doing these incredible missionthings and they go down and
serve at the homeless shelterand feed 500 people or whatever.
And they do these huge things.You're going, Hey, there's just
like two of us here and we can'tdo a whole lot. But just
(30:05):
starting with some littlerhythms, we used to go down, I
think once a month at thehomeless shelter and just get to
assist others in feeding thehomeless.
And we got to do some missiontrips. That was amazing. And put
some mission trips together.Some of our team got to go to
Honduras and do a trip. And sowe just slowly built up some
(30:27):
really fun things over theyears.
But part of that was justwatching what others are doing
and going, man, I'd love to tobe able to make an impact like
they're doing. And so for us,that's just been, it's just been
so much fun to grow in that. Andnow when our team comes into
Kansas City or wherever we meeton an annual basis, getting to
do that in person together, wealso do some virtual serve
(30:50):
events together. But I thinkthose are fun to do. In a book
that I read recently, it'scalled The Sacredness of Secular
Work by Jordan Rainer.
And it was just a really goodreminder of we don't have to be
in full time ministry to make animpact in our world. And so I
think those are the things thatagain, if we can come along
(31:12):
beside others, man, it lessensthe view on you and really opens
it up to strength is for servicekind of language.
Speaker 2 (31:22):
That's so good. We've had Jordan on this podcast, but
I wasn't aware of that book. Somaybe we need to have him back.
I think it highlights just thefact that it's like, especially
if you are a Christian, right?One of the things that we have
to be reminded of is like, I'mnot building my kingdom.
Like, I am building his kingdomand therefore, it really
behooves me to teach our teamand to remind myself we exist
(31:46):
for the people outside thesedoors and that exists in ways
that generate a profit for ourcompany, but it also exists in
ways that don't. It exists inservice and generosity. And I
love that y'all's fifth corevalue is eternal impact because
I think that highlights whatwe're talking about here.
Speaker 1 (32:05):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (32:05):
Rusty, anything else you'd add on this final point of
just being committed tosomething bigger than yourself?
Speaker 1 (32:10):
Yeah, invite others in. One of the things that we
found so amazing is our clientsactually in Kansas City and all
around the country. They love tojoin us in a lot of these
events. And so we have someclients from Brazil that lived
in Kansas City doing somebioscience work and they heard
(32:33):
what we're doing. They said,could we come along and do that
with you?
And man, for several events theykept, hey, can we do this again?
Can we do this again? So don'tafraid to invite people and
families. And it's so much funseeing some of the kids in our
community joining us in some ofthese events. And just some of
(32:54):
the stories from mom and dadsthat work on our team and just
the impact that it has made ontheir families getting to be
part of this, yeah, throughtheir work.
Speaker 2 (33:03):
That's so cool and so inspiring. I have seen leaders
that like they start to seetheir commitment waiver, they
start to see their intensity andfire for the business that
they're building waiver. Andsometimes that happens in the
later stages of life and theystart to think like, okay, maybe
now is time where I need to getout, where I need to exit the
(33:25):
business. And certainly thathappens sometimes and that's
certainly not always bad.Sometimes that's a really good
thing.
But I have seen specificleaders, instead of saying, hey,
I need to now leave thiscommitment, they actually what
they end up doing is they end upbroadening the commitment to say
like, hey, this is not the timefor me to leave. This is
actually the time for me tostart thinking bigger than just
(33:47):
what we've been thinking aboutthis business as, and let's
start thinking about, to usey'all's language, eternal
impact. And you see people hit awhole another gear when that
happens in terms of just zealand fire and passion. And so,
man, we wanna be people that arefaithfully committed and excited
about the adventure that God hasus on. And so, Rusty, really
(34:07):
value your example there.
Yeah, appreciate that. One ofthe conferences that we, Pam, my
wife, Pam and
Speaker 1 (34:13):
I attended, I think it was last year was, talked
about what do you want to betrue seven generations from now
for your family and maybe yourbusiness? And so, when you start
thinking about those long termimpacts, man, what do I need to
do today to make that to be trueseven generations from now?
Speaker 2 (34:34):
Man, it's so funny that you bring that up because
you know, one of the things thatI'm focusing a lot on right now
as a topic and as a theme islong game leadership. This has
been a phrase that has been onmy heart for a long time, and
I'm so pumped because it'sreally kind of the theme of our
community or a reoccurring themeof our community for the course
of the next year. And then it'sgonna culminate with an in
(34:57):
person experience that we'rehosting in Austin in 2025 for 45
leaders. As of the recording ofthis podcast, we're 60% sold
out, which is just absolutelyawesome. It's going to be such
an incredible crew of leaders.
But one of the things that I'mconstantly being confronted with
as we start to work on what thematerial for that experience is
looking like is, man, long gamecan always get longer. Like when
(35:20):
I wrote long game leadership isgonna be the theme, I was like,
oh, we're helping people thinkabout fifty years, like their
exit strategy, things like that.And now it's like, you start
talking about seven generations.It's like, golly. What's so wild
is when you start to broadenyour vision about what matters
and the uniquely powerful butalso incredibly small role that
we get to play in what actuallylasts, it's so, so, so exciting
(35:44):
to think about.
So I'm pumped that you and Pamare gonna be there with us in
Austin, Rusty. And if y'all arelistening to this podcast and
are, interested in joining us inAustin in October, The link to
the long game leadership page isin the show notes of this
episode. Feel free to reach outto your team if you've got any
questions about what thoseexperiences are like. The final
thing that I wanna remind peopleof is just, I mean, the
(36:07):
incredible offer that is thebusiness recommendation plan. I
hope y'all take advantage ofthat from Rusty and his team
because that's going to give yousome really, really practical
optics and advice on where yourfinances are today and what you
could potentially do to bothcreate stability in your
organization but also set yourorganization up to really thrive
moving forward.
So take advantage of that offer.The link is in the show notes.
(36:29):
Rusty, I'm so grateful for yourinput and investment in these
two episodes. I hope that all ofyou took something that you can
value and that you take actionon this moving forward. You all
know this.
We're rooting for you. Prayingfor you. Remember, my strength
is not for me. Your strength isnot for you. Our strength is for
service.
Let's go. Let's go. Let's go.
We go through our core values one by one and then
talk about how those are appliedthrough business and how they
resonate with the candidates.And if someone like, yeah, let's
just skip through this and go tohow much does this pay? That may
not be the best fit for thecompany.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
Hey there. If you have not yet met, my name is
Alex Judd. I'm the founder ofPath for Growth, and this is the
Path for Growth podcast. Now asa business, we exist to help
impact driven leaders like youstep into who they were created
to be so that others benefit andGod is glorified. Hey, before we
jump into today's episode, Iwant you to know about a wildly
valuable resource that our teamcreated for you and the people
(00:39):
you leave.
One of the most common pieces offeedback we get on the podcast
is that you wanna be able totake notes so that you can
reference the episode later orshare it with people you are
responsible for developing. Butthere's one big problem. You're
often listening to the podcaston a run while driving, or I've
even talked to people that arelistening to us in the shower.
So that's why we startedcreating the Growth Guide. This
(01:02):
resource will distill all of thekey principles, quotes, and
action items from every singleepisode into a downloadable PDF
that you can share with yourteam.
Additionally, we're gonnainclude application questions
and additional resources foranyone that wants to go further
on the topic of the week. We areall about helping you and your
business grow in a healthy way.And we know that healthy growth
(01:25):
always involves intentionalaction. This guide exists to
help you take intentional actionon what you and your team learn
each week from the podcast. Getthe growth guide by clicking the
link that's in the show notes.
Let's go. Well, we're enteringinto part two of our series with
Rusty Foehling. Rusty has been afriend of mine for years now,
(01:45):
and he's just a business leaderthat I so respect. You know, so
often, I I think about the factthat, like, I used to be so
enamored with what I think of asflash in the pan success. People
that start big, they'regrandiose, they're flashy, but
then you look up five years inand they're nowhere to be found.
Now what I've learned is thepeople that I really respect,
the people that I really look upto, the people that I really
(02:08):
admire is those people that havebeen in business for over twenty
years consistently out addingvalue, consistently growing, and
consistently finding ways toadapt and change the way that
they serve the marketplace. Man,for me, those people are legends
that I want to learn from. Andhere's the deal, Rusty is one of
those people. This guy is apillar of our Path for Growth
(02:29):
community for impact drivenleaders and he's someone that
just has so much wisdom fromtwenty five years in business.
So what we're jumping into onthis episode is the final three
actions of the five actions forcreating a committed team.
This is such valuable contentfor us just to really remember
and reinforce, man, what is thetype of leader that I want to
be? And out of the type ofleader I want to be and the team
(02:52):
that I want to have, what arethe things that I need to do? So
here's my conversation withRusty Fulan. Well, here we go.
We're on part two of how tobuild a committed team.
And specifically, we're focusingon five actions. In episode one
with Rusty, we talked about whatit looks like to hire people
that you want to be committedto. And man, if you haven't
listened to that, it's just sohelpful to think about what are
(03:14):
your standards as a leader andthen how are you making sure
that you're instilling thosestandards into your hiring and
onboarding process? And then wetalked about being a committed
leader and the idea that, Imean, you don't attract what you
want. You attract what you are.
Rusty, I so appreciated yourperspective on what it actually
looks like to be a committedleader and then also how to
financially put yourself in aposition so that you can
(03:38):
exercise commitment. And thatreally brings us to the final
three actions. So Rusty, ifyou're game on, we'll just jump
straight into action numberthree.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
Sound good you? Absolutely. Hey, thanks for
having me back. So, yeah, we'reready to jump in.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
Yes, sir. So action three is holding a high standard
for commitment. So obviously,we're bringing people that are
committed onto the team, butthen we need to make sure that
we have a bar for commitment andthat we're holding that standard
as it relates to the team'sculture and the team's
performance. Can you speak towhy this is so important and how
(04:11):
maybe we might trip up as itrelates to holding this standard
as a leader, Rusty.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
Yeah, we talked about this a little bit in the first
session but sometimes thatstandard of commitment sometimes
becomes very personalized. It'slike, Oh, you need to be
committed to me as a leader.Instead we really need to be
focused on that vision. And Ithink if people are committed to
the vision, the vision shouldn'tbe changing. And so I think that
can be a huge misconceptionsometimes as leaders we get
(04:39):
wrapped up on our self.
But I think just stayingcommitted to that vision. One of
our internal moves was hiring aCOO. And what that did for us is
that provided some consistencyto really expand, I would say
our vision and be able to passthe torch a little bit from the
(05:02):
founder to the next level ofleaders. And so again, it's not
about the founder, but it'sabout the mission.
Speaker 2 (05:09):
Yeah. It is interesting that because it can
be a nice talking point, it'svery popular to say, this
company is bigger than me.Right? This company is bigger
than me. Sometimes I thinkthere's leaders that are saying
this company is bigger than methat their team is looking at
them with crossed arms sayingprove it.
Right? Because if it's actuallybigger than you, then why are
you the one that doeseverything? And so in so many
(05:29):
ways, hiring a COO and bringingsomeone in, number one, that's a
pretty intense investment tomake. But it's also a lot of
trust to say, hey, there'speople with skills and abilities
that are bigger than mine thatI'm going to trust to expand and
deepen the impact of thiscompany in ways that I couldn't.
(05:49):
So in so many ways, that's youexercising a level of commitment
that's really, really powerful.
The other thing that stands outto me, and I'd be interested if
you've either struggled withthis or if you've witnessed this
in others, or if you haven'tstruggled in this, how do you
keep your eye on the ball? I wasliterally just having a
conversation with a leader thatworks for a company. This was a
(06:10):
little bit of a friendconversation. It's someone that
I've known for a long time. Hejust kind of asked, Alex, can we
keep this circle of trust alittle bit?
And I said, yeah, that's great.And I don't even know his boss,
so I think it was totally finefor him to share some of this.
But he was a little bit sharingwith me that he gets so excited
because the leader that he workswith is incredibly energetic,
(06:31):
really, really effective at whathe does, and very creative. And
so he's constantly got thesevisions for what they're doing
and where they're going. And hesaid, that's why I came to work
here is because I I was reallydrawn in and captivated by this
guy's ability to cast vision.
And he said, but now that I workhere, the thing that's really
frustrating is it seems like itchanges every two weeks. And he
(06:52):
said, like, I get all excitedabout something, and then we'll
come back two weeks later. Andhe'll say, oh, no. We're not
doing that anymore. Now we'refocused on this.
Yes. And in some ways, I waslike, well, that's a great
example of not holding a highstandard of commitment for
yourself. That like, and I thinkof that Bible verse, let your
yes be yes and your no be no.Like when we say we're going to
(07:13):
do something, are we people thatfollow through and that do it?
Or are we people that areconstantly chasing squirrels and
never execute or follow throughon anything?
Anything else you'd add on thecommitment of a leader to the
vision that's being established?
Speaker 1 (07:27):
Yeah, well, and I think of too the story of Moses,
when he was doing all thejudging of all the people and
what was his father-in-law cameto him and said, What are you
doing? What are you doing?You're not gonna accomplish the
mission if you're trying to doeverything yourself. And I think
that's where finding thoseleaders, partnering with those
(07:50):
leaders that can come alongbeside you and push that mission
forward. So love your friends'creative leader, but probably
need somebody to come alongbeside to navigate some of that
creativity towards hitting theultimate goal.
Speaker 2 (08:07):
It's so funny that you bring that up because we
literally you don't know this,but right before we podcasts
with you, we're airing a threepart series on lessons on
delegation from Exodus.
Speaker 1 (08:19):
There you go.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
And it's like, man, this plays off great on that.
We're building on that. But whatJethro says to Moses is like,
what you are doing is not good.Yes. And it's like he's holding
him to a higher standard ofcommitment.
Like, hey, if this is not aboutMoses, if it's actually about
God, then we need to allow otherpeople to get in on what God is
doing. And so being able todelegate responsibility and
(08:40):
giving other people theopportunity to commit. The other
topic that really comes up as itrelates to holding a high
standard of commitment, I think,is creating a culture of healthy
feedback. And I'd be interestedto know any thoughts or
practices you've learned as itrelates to this. But if we say,
man, this is what we want, wewant a high standard of
(09:01):
commitment, we want to beexcellent, we want to be
punctual, we want to be customeroriented, we want to make sure
we uphold these values andmissions at a relentlessly high
standard, Will there be timeswhere even the best people fall
short, deviate, or need coursecorrection?
The answer is yes. You mighthave the best team in the world
and you will need to coursecorrect. The way that you course
correct, I think, reallydetermines the trajectory of the
(09:24):
team and the trajectory of thatindividual. So anything you've
learned on effectively givingfeedback and how important it is
to offer feedback to our team.
Speaker 1 (09:33):
Yeah, and this is probably part two of our
counseling session here becausethis is an area that, oh man, I
think I've struggled with overthe years is not giving that
consistent, timely feedback whenthere's an issue that needs to
be corrected. And so I would saybuild in cadences that allow for
(09:53):
that. If it's just an awkward,Alex, I need to talk to you.
Yeah, is this good or bad versusthat's right. Hey, we meet every
week or every other week.
And so I think that consistentcommunication, respond quickly.
Boy, if there's an issue, weneed to take care of it. If
there's something good that'shappening, let's take care of
it. Let's give a shout outthere. So communicate clearly,
(10:18):
extend grace when grace isneeded.
So I think those are a couplethat, two or three that just
come to mind when you ask that.
Speaker 2 (10:27):
And I think it's helpful for me to remember what
normal is in the marketplace.Normal in the marketplace is a
bunch of companies that say,Hey, we really value feedback.
We go above and beyond toprovide clear feedback. Then
they all sit on theirresentments and harbor
bitterness with the people theywork with for years until it
finally explodes. Fact that yousay you really value clear and
(10:50):
direct feedback and that you'regoing to communicate openly
doesn't really mean anythingbecause everyone says that.
You should set thoseexpectations. But then what I
often look for is opportunitiesin onboarding to offer feedback
in a way that's really clear andreally direct and then
simultaneously with that showpeople, I still care about you.
(11:13):
You're still a great fit forthis team. I'm so proud of the
work that you're doing. This isjust part of what everyone goes
through in onboarding because insome ways, we need to
reestablish what normal is forfeedback.
And I I once had a leader thatshe told me, Alex, like, when
you've got spinach in yourteeth, do you want someone to
tell you or do you want us tojust let you sit there? And I
said, I want people to tell me.She's like, okay. Well, just so
(11:35):
you know, in your work, I'mgonna tell you when you've got
spinach in your teeth. And shesaid, it's not gonna be a big
deal and I'm not gonna publicizeit.
I'm just gonna say, hey, hey,Alex. You got a little
something. And man, when you, Ithink, set expectations that
way, it's really, really helpfulfor normalizing healthy
feedback. Yeah, I love thatexample because I think
sometimes people, yeah,
Speaker 1 (11:57):
they don't have that permission, that can be very
awkward. And so what she did, Iheard you say, she asked me,
would you like me to give youfeedback is basically what I
heard. And so that can be sohelpful. And there might be a
bigger issue if somebody saysno. I don't wanna hear your
feedback.
(12:17):
So anyway, great, I appreciatethat example.
Speaker 2 (12:21):
Well, and what you just said too really highlights
a point that you brought outwhenever we were talking about
this action is like, make sureyou're clear with people in the
hiring process about what thework environment is that they're
signing up for and what the workthat they're signing up for is
like. Can you speak to I wouldlove to know how y'all do that
(12:42):
in the hiring process. How doyou really clarify for people?
This is what it's like to workat full length so that they can
make an educated choice onwhether or not it's for them.
Speaker 1 (12:51):
Yeah, so part of our process, and again, I've learned
this from others too, is to havethem talk to people that are in
the day to day that are doingwhat they're gonna be doing. And
we also do some role plays. Soif they're a leader that has
client interaction, that'spresenting, they're gonna do
some presenting and we're gonnaget feedback on that and listen
(13:14):
for clarity and for competencyand things like that. So part of
that is, yeah, giving them reallife examples and letting them
jump in.
Speaker 2 (13:23):
That's right. It was actually the same leader that
had the feedback example that Ijust shared with you. She had a
practice in her hiring processthat I've adopted and replicated
in our business. She would havea portion of the interview
process where she would sit downwith the person for thirty
minutes. This is later in thehiring process.
(13:45):
She would sit down with thecandidate and she would say,
hey, I would just like to sharewith you the pieces of working
here that someone might considerthe worst part of working here.
Mhmm. And I like, whenever Isaid to her about this, was
like, you're gonna do what?Like, excuse me? But, it's been
so helpful because I sit downwith someone now and I say,
like, quite frankly, we workremote.
(14:06):
And there's sometimes where,like, you might go the whole day
and, like, you're on Zoom calls,or you're not on calls at all
and you're just operating as anindependent ranger. And that's
not for everyone. You need tomake sure you have community
outside of your work. And also,I have insanely high standards
as it relates to peopleexercising personal growth in
their personal lives. And we payattention to people's personal
(14:29):
life and we don't separate thetwo.
And so if you're not down forthat, you're not gonna enjoy
this. And I say, point to Jesusis one of our core values, and
we pray at the end of meetings,and we ask other people to pray
in meetings and things likethat. And so I I tell them,
like, if any of those feel likethings that you wouldn't like,
then let me save you the troubleand just tell you you're not
gonna enjoy working here. Andwhat I found is some people
(14:51):
literally say, yeah, don't thinkthis is for me. But then there
are some people that literally,they hear that list of things
that are really hard and theylook at it as like reasons why
they really want to work here.
And that's the type of person Ithink we want.
Speaker 1 (15:04):
Absolutely, yeah. And one of the steps we often use
and I may steal what you justtalked about, but we go through
our core values one by one andthen talk about how those are
applied through business and howthey resonate with the
candidate. And if some are like,yeah, let's just skip through
this and go to how much doesthis pay? That may not be the
best fit for the company.
Speaker 2 (15:26):
That's right. So understanding what your standard
is as it relates to commitmentand then making sure that people
guard that standard andregularly reinforcing that
standard. The final thing that Iwanna share with people on here
is it can be really tempting tostart compromising your
standards in seasons whereyou're successful. And when
(15:49):
things are going well, right, wewant so bad to serve the
customer, be hyper relational,be super personal, push hard
every day, be really diligentbecause we wanna be effective
and successful. And then we getsuccessful and we're like, oh,
we don't have to do thatanymore.
And it's like, oh, bad strategy.And that's why it's, I think, so
important to remember what we'recalled to is not to be
(16:09):
successful. What we're called tois to be faithful. And if we're
called to be faithful, then it'slike you're gonna bring
diligence, care for thecustomer, excellence in your
work every single day regardlessof what the cash flow report
looks like.
Speaker 1 (16:22):
Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. That no. That's a great,
great reminder, so I love it.
Speaker 2 (16:27):
Okay. Create rhythms that foster commitment. So I I
would love for you to take thelead on this one because y'all
have so many rhythms within yourteam that are just deposits. And
I think it speaks to theconsistent nature of what y'all
do of just making surecommitment is upheld as a value
for the team and not justsomething that occurs in spurts
(16:49):
and seasons. So can you walk usthrough both the rhythms that
you have and why you have them?
Speaker 1 (16:54):
Yeah. So we were a brick and mortar company for my
goodness, the first twentyyears. So 90% of 95% of our
staff come in and out every day.So we're seeing everybody. Back
into 2020, we went all virtual.
And just like you, was like,how's this gonna work? So one of
the things we started doing isjust looking for ways we could
(17:16):
build connections outside ofjust the routine, Hey, Alex, did
you get this project done? Andthis kind of thing. And so one
of the simple things we did isjust do a quarterly lunch and
you're going, how do you do aquarterly lunch when you're
virtual? Well, you can do it.
And so sometimes we'll spend anhour playing a game over a
(17:36):
lunchtime or just getting toknow each other better. And
thinking about some of thethings that you might have done
in person experience. Anotherone we've done that, again,
we've seen from other companiesis during our weekly staff
meeting is sharing the wins.What was the win for you this
week? Or maybe how have you seenone of our core values come to
(18:00):
life this week?
And those are always fun to hearthose kinds of things. And then
each pay period, our teamsubmits their highs and lows for
the period. And, know, sometimesthose highs and lows, they'll
come to me as a leader and I'llget to go through those. And
some of those will be very,maybe personal that, you know,
they're going through somethingchallenging and quickly
(18:23):
responding to those kinds ofthings or celebrating if
somebody has something reallyneat happen in their family. And
so I think it's just part ofthose, how can you build in some
of those cadence kind of thingson a regular basis that we're
doing to just create thatconnectivity?
The last one I'll mention is wespend about thirty minutes in
(18:45):
our staff meetings just doingsome type of teaching, at
leadership teaching, and we'llbreak into small groups so you
really get more of an intimatefeel for that leadership topic
and get to talk with three orfour other people in that group.
And so we've just seen so manyneat things come out of that and
just some really neatconnections among the team.
Speaker 2 (19:08):
My assumption is that you didn't go from zero rhythms
for team investment to all ofthese rhythms because I know you
even have more than what you'retalking about right now that you
do on a recurring basis. Myguess is that you didn't choose
one day, oh, we're gonna instillsix rhythms for developing the
team. My guess is that ithappened one piece at a time.
(19:29):
And I know that we've got peoplelistening to this right now that
their team would really benefitfrom some rhythms that kind of
helps them understand and helpsthem anchor. Here's where we are
as a team, helps unify, givesthe leader the opportunity to
cast vision or speak to theindividuals on a recurring basis
so it's not left up to chance.
(19:50):
Is there any particular rhythmthat it's like, if it's a clean
slate right now and it's like,there's nothing for our team
right now that's regularly onthe calendar, Is there something
that you would say, just startwith this? Where would you
encourage people to get started?
Speaker 1 (20:02):
Yeah, such a great call out because there's so many
things that we've watched othercompanies that have done so well
and just say, oh man, we wannado that. We're not big enough or
whatever, but just pick onething. For us, one of the things
that we just have done for yearsis that small group breakout
during staff meetings. Even whenwe were in person, we did a
(20:25):
little bit of you know, aroundthat leadership topic. And so
that was a pretty, I'll say lowhanging fruit kind of thing to
add.
We would go out and do a lunchor hit a coffee shop when we
were all in person. And so we'vejust made that a little more
virtual now since we have teammembers around the country.
(20:47):
Yeah, I'd say just pick one.What would be one thing that
could move the needle for yourcompany? Just a little bit to
build some of that connectivity.
Speaker 2 (20:56):
And I love that you highlight development. I think
sometimes there's a lot ofleaders that I've spoken with
that really want a developmenttraining, especially as it
relates to leadership rhythm fortheir team. But they're
intimidated by it because theythink, oh man, I have to prepare
teaching content every week forthis team development meeting
(21:16):
and I need to make sure that I'man expert leadership teacher
that they're all listening tofor an hour every lunch. One of
the things that I know aboutyou, and it's something that you
really encourage in ourcommunity too, is like, is so
much value in the discussion.It's not one person talking at a
bunch of people, there's valuein the discussion.
So can you speak to anythingyou've learned in terms of
(21:38):
making it less a presentationand more of a discussion
whenever it comes to thesedevelopment rhythms?
Speaker 1 (21:44):
Yes, and I'm glad you pointed that out because I am
not the content driver. I am notgonna give up and give a huge
speech on some leadership topicevery single week. And so what
we've done is we've found somegreat resources. Global
Leadership Summit has someincredible resources for
leadership. Right now media isanother great resource.
(22:07):
There's tons of leadershipvideos that you can bring in for
just a small amount of moneyevery month. And we'll just show
a little clip of those andsometimes just to really cheat a
little bit further, sometimesthey'll even provide a
discussion guide. So, it's a lowlift, it really is. But the
(22:27):
benefit, like you said, is somuch in the discussion
afterwards. I'm just blown awayby some of the things that come
from our team that is like, Ohmy goodness, we just use this
little video just to prompt ourteam.
And they just, you know, it isso fun to hear. And the
discussions throughout the week,it's not just limited to the ten
or fifteen minutes during thattime.
Speaker 2 (22:48):
And I want you to address this question. What are
your expectations about whatcomes from that? So you've got
this time that you're investingto say, we're gonna watch this
video, we're gonna discuss it.What are you expecting in terms
of what comes from that time?
Speaker 1 (23:05):
Yeah, leadership development. I want everybody on
our team to become betterleaders. And so we invite the
entire team. If we had janitors,we'd have janitors there. Had
CEOs and then some, we'd havethe whole crew there.
So literally in our group, wehave bookkeepers, accountants,
CFOs, admin. And so part of it'sjust connectivity in leadership
(23:27):
development. And especially nowthat we're virtual, it just
provides to me that just again,those relationships that if we
don't make intentional time todo, that just gives some, that
just carves out that time forthem. And so when you're looking
at committedness and long termteam members, I would say that's
(23:49):
one of the highlights that Ihear from our team when they're
interviewing somebody and peoplesay, Hey, what's one of the
benefits you like for workingwith fulling? That often comes
up is that time together.
Speaker 2 (23:59):
So that's so powerful. And the reason where I
really value your answer to thatquestion is because I think so
often highly driven leaders willget excited about that, but
their expectations may be alittle bit misaligned. Maybe
their expectation is, oh, we'regonna show this video and then
out of this, I'm gonna seeeveryone's daily work
dramatically change, likeovernight. Right? And that's not
(24:24):
really what I hear you say.
I think that you can see changesfrom showing a video that's
empowering or that's energizing.But I think the way we've got to
view it is it's a deposit. Andwhenever we make a deposit, we
don't even necessarily knowwhere the return's gonna come
up. We just know it's the rightthing to do and return does
occur whenever we consistentlysow good seed. Anything else
(24:48):
you'd add to the topic ofcreating rhythms or the
practical actions people cantake in their own companies?
Speaker 1 (24:54):
Yeah, well, I think other things. I mean, we do
virtual Christmas parties thathave become legendary at this
point. I mean, like the world. Iwould say one more thing as
you're looking at thoseconnections, getting together,
if you're a virtual team, if youcan carve out some time to get
together in person, we just gettogether once a year and it
might be something we mightchange to do that more often,
(25:17):
but that once a year time, wespend some time just having fun.
We spend some time verystrategic and then we spend some
time serving in our community.
And part of that's part of ourDNA, but those three things
together, fun, strategy andserving, again, that's one of
those, when we ask people aboutsimilar highlights of the year,
(25:38):
those often also come to thetop. It's like, man, we got to
be together. And because we'vebeen together so much throughout
the year, it's like a highschool reunion getting together
again, a good high schoolreunion. And it's just so much
fun celebrating together. So I'dsay if you can build on those
times where you're celebratingthe success, even if it's a
little success, and spendingsome time serving others
(26:01):
together, that there's justsomething about that.
It takes the emphasis off you,emphasis off you as a leader,
and you get to really use theenergy to serve others.
Speaker 2 (26:12):
One of the things that that makes me think of
whenever you're talking aboutChristmas, but also when you're
talking about bringing peopletogether and the highlights of
what stand out to them, one ofthe encouragements that I've
gotten from a leadership mentorof mine that you know, Mike
Valatin. Yeah. He constantlychanted me. He's like, Alex, you
gotta be thinking creativelyabout how to bless the socks off
(26:32):
your people. Like, y'all arewinning right now as a company.
You wanna figure out ways tobless your people. And whether
that's bringing us all togetherin the same place or if we are
together adding a day wheretheir spouses come and join us
or, you know, thinkingfinancially, like how can we
surprise them with a gift orthings like that. Right? There's
(26:53):
multitude of different ways, andHeap really encourages
creativity in the ways that wedo that. It shouldn't just be a
check, every single time.
But always, I think most peoplethat we work with really want to
do that. They really wanna blesstheir people by bringing them
together, things like whatyou're talking about too. And
the barrier is, like, I don'tknow how much I can spend on
(27:13):
that. I don't know what isappropriate or what is right.
And the reason why is becausethey don't have the budget and
financial structures in place.
And so that's, again, why I Ijust am so grateful for Rusty
and their team in terms of thework that they do for the
customers that we serve becausethere are so many leaders that I
(27:34):
know that y'all have helpedcreate the structure and the
optics and the visibilitynecessary for leaders to be able
to say, man, I really want tobless my team, and I know
exactly how much I have to beable to work with. And so I want
to make sure we mention it againon this episode because we had
people asking about it from thelast episode. The business
(27:55):
recommendation plan is somethingthat Rusty and his team are
offering. It's available for asmall group of people that if
you are a business owner and youwant Rusty's team to look at
your bookkeeping, to look atyour records, and to say, hey,
this is a physical of yourbusiness. Here's what we'd
recommend paying attention to.
And hey, here's some things thatmight be yellow flags or red
(28:17):
flags. Y'all take advantage ofthis. The link is available in
the show notes of this episode.Rusty, anything else you want to
add about that businessrecommendation plan and what
people can expect?
Speaker 1 (28:27):
Yeah, that's great. Yeah, we normally look at things
like your last tax return, maybeif you're using something like
QuickBooks, that data andanything else that might be
pertinent to your information.It can be really helpful just to
have a third party looking overthat, giving you some
recommendations. We often findwe'll call them red flags to
(28:48):
say, hey guys, did you realizethis was going on or you're
missing out on this opportunity?And even some practices, some
best practices to put in placein that plan.
So yeah, feel free to reach outif that's something you'd be
interested in. Love to walk youthrough that. Again, we're
offering it for free for thepath for growth community during
this time.
Speaker 2 (29:07):
Awesome. Well, thanks to you and your team for
facilitating those meetings andserving people in that way. And
really that kind of also alludesto the final point as it relates
to creating a committed teambecause we said, number one, we
want to hold a high standard forcommitment. We want to create
rhythms that foster commitment.And then we want to be committed
(29:28):
to something bigger thanyourself.
This is something that you'veactually hit home on in both
episodes that we've recorded.Speak to why this is like not
like an optional thing but thisis like an essential thing
specifically if someone's animpact driven leader.
Speaker 1 (29:42):
Yes, oh my goodness. So I know when I started, man,
twenty five years ago, I wouldwatch these larger companies
doing these incredible missionthings and they go down and
serve at the homeless shelterand feed 500 people or whatever.
And they do these huge things.You're going, Hey, there's just
like two of us here and we can'tdo a whole lot. But just
(30:05):
starting with some littlerhythms, we used to go down, I
think once a month at thehomeless shelter and just get to
assist others in feeding thehomeless.
And we got to do some missiontrips. That was amazing. And put
some mission trips together.Some of our team got to go to
Honduras and do a trip. And sowe just slowly built up some
(30:27):
really fun things over theyears.
But part of that was justwatching what others are doing
and going, man, I'd love to tobe able to make an impact like
they're doing. And so for us,that's just been, it's just been
so much fun to grow in that. Andnow when our team comes into
Kansas City or wherever we meeton an annual basis, getting to
do that in person together, wealso do some virtual serve
(30:50):
events together. But I thinkthose are fun to do. In a book
that I read recently, it'scalled The Sacredness of Secular
Work by Jordan Rainer.
And it was just a really goodreminder of we don't have to be
in full time ministry to make animpact in our world. And so I
think those are the things thatagain, if we can come along
(31:12):
beside others, man, it lessensthe view on you and really opens
it up to strength is for servicekind of language.
Speaker 2 (31:22):
That's so good. We've had Jordan on this podcast, but
I wasn't aware of that book. Somaybe we need to have him back.
I think it highlights just thefact that it's like, especially
if you are a Christian, right?One of the things that we have
to be reminded of is like, I'mnot building my kingdom.
Like, I am building his kingdomand therefore, it really
behooves me to teach our teamand to remind myself we exist
(31:46):
for the people outside thesedoors and that exists in ways
that generate a profit for ourcompany, but it also exists in
ways that don't. It exists inservice and generosity. And I
love that y'all's fifth corevalue is eternal impact because
I think that highlights whatwe're talking about here.
Speaker 1 (32:05):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (32:05):
Rusty, anything else you'd add on this final point of
just being committed tosomething bigger than yourself?
Speaker 1 (32:10):
Yeah, invite others in. One of the things that we
found so amazing is our clientsactually in Kansas City and all
around the country. They love tojoin us in a lot of these
events. And so we have someclients from Brazil that lived
in Kansas City doing somebioscience work and they heard
(32:33):
what we're doing. They said,could we come along and do that
with you?
And man, for several events theykept, hey, can we do this again?
Can we do this again? So don'tafraid to invite people and
families. And it's so much funseeing some of the kids in our
community joining us in some ofthese events. And just some of
(32:54):
the stories from mom and dadsthat work on our team and just
the impact that it has made ontheir families getting to be
part of this, yeah, throughtheir work.
Speaker 2 (33:03):
That's so cool and so inspiring. I have seen leaders
that like they start to seetheir commitment waiver, they
start to see their intensity andfire for the business that
they're building waiver. Andsometimes that happens in the
later stages of life and theystart to think like, okay, maybe
now is time where I need to getout, where I need to exit the
(33:25):
business. And certainly thathappens sometimes and that's
certainly not always bad.Sometimes that's a really good
thing.
But I have seen specificleaders, instead of saying, hey,
I need to now leave thiscommitment, they actually what
they end up doing is they end upbroadening the commitment to say
like, hey, this is not the timefor me to leave. This is
actually the time for me tostart thinking bigger than just
(33:47):
what we've been thinking aboutthis business as, and let's
start thinking about, to usey'all's language, eternal
impact. And you see people hit awhole another gear when that
happens in terms of just zealand fire and passion. And so,
man, we wanna be people that arefaithfully committed and excited
about the adventure that God hasus on. And so, Rusty, really
(34:07):
value your example there.
Yeah, appreciate that. One ofthe conferences that we, Pam, my
wife, Pam and
Speaker 1 (34:13):
I attended, I think it was last year was, talked
about what do you want to betrue seven generations from now
for your family and maybe yourbusiness? And so, when you start
thinking about those long termimpacts, man, what do I need to
do today to make that to be trueseven generations from now?
Speaker 2 (34:34):
Man, it's so funny that you bring that up because
you know, one of the things thatI'm focusing a lot on right now
as a topic and as a theme islong game leadership. This has
been a phrase that has been onmy heart for a long time, and
I'm so pumped because it'sreally kind of the theme of our
community or a reoccurring themeof our community for the course
of the next year. And then it'sgonna culminate with an in
(34:57):
person experience that we'rehosting in Austin in 2025 for 45
leaders. As of the recording ofthis podcast, we're 60% sold
out, which is just absolutelyawesome. It's going to be such
an incredible crew of leaders.
But one of the things that I'mconstantly being confronted with
as we start to work on what thematerial for that experience is
looking like is, man, long gamecan always get longer. Like when
(35:20):
I wrote long game leadership isgonna be the theme, I was like,
oh, we're helping people thinkabout fifty years, like their
exit strategy, things like that.And now it's like, you start
talking about seven generations.It's like, golly. What's so wild
is when you start to broadenyour vision about what matters
and the uniquely powerful butalso incredibly small role that
we get to play in what actuallylasts, it's so, so, so exciting
(35:44):
to think about.
So I'm pumped that you and Pamare gonna be there with us in
Austin, Rusty. And if y'all arelistening to this podcast and
are, interested in joining us inAustin in October, The link to
the long game leadership page isin the show notes of this
episode. Feel free to reach outto your team if you've got any
questions about what thoseexperiences are like. The final
thing that I wanna remind peopleof is just, I mean, the
(36:07):
incredible offer that is thebusiness recommendation plan. I
hope y'all take advantage ofthat from Rusty and his team
because that's going to give yousome really, really practical
optics and advice on where yourfinances are today and what you
could potentially do to bothcreate stability in your
organization but also set yourorganization up to really thrive
moving forward.
So take advantage of that offer.The link is in the show notes.
(36:29):
Rusty, I'm so grateful for yourinput and investment in these
two episodes. I hope that all ofyou took something that you can
value and that you take actionon this moving forward. You all
know this.
We're rooting for you. Prayingfor you. Remember, my strength
is not for me. Your strength isnot for you. Our strength is for
service.
Let's go. Let's go. Let's go.
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