August 13, 2020 • 33 mins
Tom Crea, a Leadership development coach, decorated career Army Officer, and Black Hawk helicopter pilot joins us today with some sound advice on cultivating culture.
During his time in the military, Tom was hand-selected to run the Army’s leadership development program at two Boston colleges. Today, he is a Servant Leadership ambassador, and sought-after speaker. In 2016, he authored the book Unleash your Values: How to Lead and Succeed in Business Today: A Helicopter Pilot's Spin on Developing the Leader in You.
Listen in as Tom passionately shares a plethora of stories from his days in the Army—experiences which instilled in him a deep appreciation for leadership development, which he often refers to as the “people business”.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Introduction (00:01):
Welcome to the Raise up podcast.
The only podcast focused on howyou can get a raise at work
every week.
We're dishing tips and tricksstraight from the industry
experts, CEOs, and HR directors.
So, you can finally get paidwhat you're worth.
So, buckle up buttercup, let'sbreak it down.
She's a little sassy, but a lotof fun.
(00:22):
Here's your host, AmandaLeFever.
Amanda (00:26):
Ladies and gentlemen welcome to the Raise Up Podcast.
My name is Amanda LeFever, andI'm here to help you make more
money at your job.
We are back again with a greatguest, and I'm super excited
about this conversation.
His name is Tom Crea, and he's aleadership expert, decorated
career Army officer, and BlackHawk helicopter pilot.
(00:46):
Because of his proven skills, hewas hand-selected to run the
Army's leadership developmentprogram at two Boston Colleges
where he and his teamtransformed college students
into combat leaders.
Today he's a servant leadershipambassador, an author, keynote
speaker, radio show host, andleadership development coach who
loves coaching basketball andspending time with his wife and
(01:08):
two boys.
Tom, welcome, welcome to theshow.
Tom (01:12):
Thank you so much, Amanda.
And you can add baseball to thattoo now.
Amanda (01:15):
Baseball?
That sounds awesome.
Did you start in the little,little leagues and go all the
way?
Tom (01:21):
Well, I'm coaching my sons now.
Yeah, I started, but, yeah.
Yeah.
And it's fun to live vicariouslythrough them at this point.
Amanda (01:28):
Yeah, how are they doing?
They like baseball?
Basketball?
Tom (01:31):
They're doing, they're doing pretty well.
You know, one of them is incoach pitch, and the other one
moved to kid pitch, and he's hadhis machinations, but he's
actually doing pretty well as apitcher.
So, I'm happy with that.
Amanda (01:44):
Hey, that's awesome.
I hear it's quite the investmentand involvement in baseball, is
that correct?
Is it a lot of, a lot of time,and money?
Tom (01:53):
Oh, investment of time?
Yeah.
There are sports that are much,much more expensive and you
know, fortunately we're here inPennsylvania, and we we've, we
had a hiccup where we didn't getto play a week because of the
virus and then we're back ontrack, but it was a shortened
season, and hopefully we'll beplaying in the fall.
So, yeah.
Amanda (02:12):
I'm glad that you're able to do that with them.
I'm sure it's a great bondingexperience.
Tom (02:17):
It is, it's something I know, and something I can share,
and pass on.
And I think every parent wantsto be able to do that with their
children.
Amanda (02:23):
Yeah, for sure.
So, I have a question, and itmight be random, but did you
always know you wanted to be aBlack Hawk helicopter pilot?
Tom (02:32):
No, no, I did not.
I mean, I didn't, I neverthought about the military
seriously until a guidancecounselor sent me off to
something called boys state, ifyou're familiar with that.
And I went there, and I cameback, and just things started
lining up where I applied forROTC scholarships.
And then I went to school on anROTC scholarship, and that
(02:55):
really changed my life.
And so, I always thought Iwanted to fly, and I wanted to
go in the Air Force, and the AirForce didn't want me, but the
Army wanted me, go figure.
Believe it or not, the Army hasmore aircraft than the Air
Force, and has more boats thanthe Navy, but they're much
smaller in both cases, much lessexpensive.
Yeah.
Well, cause there are a lot ofhelicopters, and there are a lot
of tiny little boats, and thatpeople don't think of not ships,
(03:18):
so it's a trivial thing.
Amanda (03:21):
Yeah, I had no idea.
So, you were hand selected torun the Army's leadership
development program, and I feellike that is huge.
What, what did you do to, how doyou position yourself to be in
that, that type of role?
Tom (03:37):
So, you know what it is, it's an issue of a career
progression, you're trying to,as an officer, you want to
command for promotion, and to beperfectly candid that wasn't the
first string, if you will.
So, the first string that has, Iwould command a line battalion,
a helicopter organization, it'sstill command, and it was good,
(04:01):
but it's not considered ashighly as commanding a line
battalion.
Whether it's infantry, armory,aviation, whatever.
So, I commanded an ROTCbattalion.
It was one of 270 at the timewhen I was doing it.
So, there are a lot of themacross the program, and I'm sure
you've seen him on differentcollege campuses.
And so, I haven't had one it wasvery unique.
It was one of two that the hostschool was less prestigious than
(04:25):
the school that was the sisterschool.
So, those two colleges were, Ihad Northeastern University, and
Boston College was moreprestigious, and then in the
Army gave more money.
So, it was awkward with mybosses on the Northeastern
campus.
And, the other school was SantaClara University who matches,
they're paired up with Stanford.
Amanda (04:45):
Nice.
That's awesome.
So, you say career progression,so you started out and what did
you do?
How did it work?
Tom (04:53):
Yeah, so, I looked at some of your previous episodes, and
the way you do things.
And so, career progression forus is you know, I remember from
almost day one where they wouldtalk about, you need to have a
10-year plan, you need to have a10-year plan.
And for us it was a little,because you know, it's an
organization, and institutionthat's been around for 200
(05:14):
years.
Everything is kind of like setin, there's not that it's set in
stone, but you can see a bunchof paths, and you can see
different ways to do things.
And so, the normal careerprogression is you go from being
a platoon leader, which is asupervisor, to being a company
commander, which would be morelike a mid-manager type of
thing.
And then to going on tobattalion command, which would
(05:35):
be more like the VP position,which I would, I would say that
that was the parallel positionthat I retired at.
I wanted to leave it on a highnote.
I enjoyed thoroughly my career.
If I were young and healthy, Iwould do it all over again.
But yeah, that's so they wantedyou to have a 10-year plan
because I didn't command mybattalion until I was at year
(05:56):
16.
So, you were thinking aboutthese things and how was I going
to get there?
And you have to not to go intogory details, but you had to,
you had to know what tracks theywere going to put you on.
And when you were going to getassigned here and there, and you
had these other differentassignments that I would call a
penance assignment because Iwasn't flying helicopter.
(06:16):
My other specialty was computerscience, but that was never my
strength.
So, that's why I called it apenance assignment, but I I'm
glad I met some great peoplewith that experience, and I
enjoyed it, but it was muchharder for me cause it wasn't my
natural thing.
Amanda (06:33):
I'm curious about the long view?
Like you had talked about that alittle bit, like your
perspective is different thanwhat's gonna get you immediate
gratification or immediaterewards, more of taking the
perspective of the long viewwhen you're looking at your
career.
Tom (06:50):
So, let's take a huge step back.
And what I mean by the long viewis in what, like you, I'm a
speaker.
And so, when I speak, one of thethings I talk about is values.
And a matter of fact, youmentioned my book,"Unleash your
Values", and I feel thateverybody needs to follow your
values because when you're doingwhat you believe to be true,
you're just going to be betterat it.
(07:11):
And not only are you going to bebetter at it.
So, the question I ask when I'mspeaking is it's like why do
you, why do people joinorganizations?
And you know, why do you chooseyour friends and that sort of
thing?
And the bottom line is if youthink about those answers is
because you want to be aroundpeople that are like minded that
think like you.
And as I went into the army, andthere are probably other
(07:36):
industries or companies that Icould have gone into that would
have been comparable, and Iwould have been a good fit.
But then of course, then therewould have been others that
maybe I could have survived, butI wouldn't have been a good fit,
and survive is not a good way tospend eight hours of every day
and you know, a career.
And so, what I mean by that, Imean the very first thing that I
would suggest that anybody do islook, are you in the right
(07:57):
place?
And if you're not, don't despairbecause life's too short to just
spend the rest of your life inthe wrong place, and you could
take steps to move on.
So, back to this long view.
So, if you're in the rightplace, and I did feel that I was
in the right place and I had a,I don't know if cathartic is the
(08:20):
right word, but I had anexperience that told me that
really knocked me on my heels, acouple of experiences.
And then I had an experiencethat said, wow, you're in the
right place.
This is, this is really what itwas, and those all happened
within the very first two yearsof my career.
And I said, I'm committed, I'min it for 20 years, for sure.
(08:42):
I'm going to make it a career.
So, go ahead, please ask meanother question.
Amanda (08:46):
I was going to say, do you mind like sharing what your
experiences were that kind ofsolidified that?
Tom (08:52):
No, no, I don't mind at all.
So, one of the things you'relooking for is, well, what
drives me, what's important tome?
What do I do?
You know, my passion isleadership in serving others.
I mean, I was in a leadershiprole and I honestly believe
that, you know, instead ofhaving that pyramid where you're
the person at the top, no, yougotta flip that pyramid upside
(09:13):
down.
You're the person at the bottom,because if you support the
people that are on your team,then they're going to do the
work.
They're going to get thingsdone, and they're going to,
they're going to look good.
They're going to make you lookgood.
And if you get joy out of that,then leadership is the right
thing for you.
And if you don't get joy out ofthat, then that doesn't that's
okay, because not everybody'scut out to do that.
(09:34):
Maybe you just are going to be,and we had technical experts, we
had career experts or managementexperts if you will.
So, here's what happened, youknow, I grew up, and things came
naturally to me in high school.
And then when I got to college,I was a big fish in a small
pond, and I get to college andboy did I get knocked back on my
(09:57):
heels.
And now I have to study, andlife is harder, but our ROTC was
the right place for me.
And that was my niche becausethe reason I got the
scholarship, just because Iwasn't great at academics, I
wasn't great at athletics, and Iwasn't great at the student
council, if you will, in highschool.
But I was good at all thosethings.
(10:18):
And because I was good at allthose things, that was the
combination of the Army or themilitary is looking for when
they're finding.
And that's exactly what Ientered the army in ROTC, and I
exited running ROTC.
So, it was kind of nice to startwith finishing the same spot,
but in a different chair.
Amanda (10:34):
What were those experiences that you had, that
kind of solidified that you werein the right place?
Tom (10:37):
Right, right.
Okay.
Yeah, yeah.
This is important, and this iswhat I talk about when I speak
to, because essentially, I havea story about humility that I
have another story abouthumility that I can share.
And then another story abouthumility that I can share.
So yeah, I don't, I don't, Idon't have, we don't have time
(10:57):
to do all of them, but let metry to give you the couple, the
ones that really matter.
So, I was doing, doing verywell.
You know, they rate their peers,your peers, you know, I'm in my
basic course at the infantryofficer, basic school at Fort
Benning, Georgia, which we liketo call Fort beginning, cause
that's where we started.
(11:17):
So, I'm there, and the veryfirst time we do a peer review,
I'm rated in the top third of myplatoon.
And then one day we have thisopportunity to excel, if you
will.
And so, I'll tell you thisstory.
So, it's a June 1983, FortBenning, Georgia, 90 degrees,
50% humidity, and it's fouro'clock in the afternoon.
(11:38):
And so, I positioned two poundsof water on my hips, these
canteens.
And then I hoist this 40-poundbrick chuck sack, and the
platoon leader comes to me andsays, Tom, will you carry the
machine gun?
So, now I'm one of the biggest,most fit persons in my platoon.
And I'm thinking I got this, noproblem.
So, I pick up another 23 poundsoff we go.
(11:59):
I find myself reaching for wateragain and again, I drain both
canteens.
I'm drenched with sweat at arest, stop refill, find some
shade, two-liter pushes.
How you doing Tom?
Fine time to go, as we beginanother six miles.
(12:20):
Yeah, the extra 65-pounds andthe brutal Georgia sun are
kicking its toll.
After a mile, my opportunity todrops back to check on me, want
someone else to carry the gun?
Now I don't want someone smallerthan me to suffer this.
No, I'm fine.
(12:41):
A mile later, he drops backagain or behind schedule.
You want to trade?
I got it.
I don't want my peers to thinkI'm weak.
We don't go another mile.
And he drops back a third timeand he makes me trade weapons
with one of the smallest guys inour books.
(13:03):
Yeah.
I'm frustrated, but secretly I'mrelieved.
I gladly trade 23 pounds foreight.
I have a new bounce in my step,but the first nine miles wore me
out.
I'm not a gas.
I continue to slow everyonedown.
(13:25):
We arrive late.
We fail the exercise.
It's my fault.
So, the question I asked whenI'm speaking, as I say, have you
ever done something with thebest of intentions only to let
others down?
Any thoughts?
Amanda (13:44):
Yeah, oh man.
I have plenty of thoughts.
Yes, I have.
Tom (13:49):
You don't have to share, but if you want, go ahead.
Amanda (13:52):
No, there's I can't think of a specific experience,
but I can definitely relate, notto the Georgia heat, and
carrying a heavy load.
But there've been plenty oftimes that I felt like I could
carry the load all by myself.
And I was saying this the otherday, that one is too small of a
number to really do much ofanything.
(14:12):
And so, sometimes you do have toeat some humble pie.
Tom (14:17):
So, then I continue, and I go on and I say, look, I say, I
thought I could handle it.
What was I missing?
And I said, my only excuse, andI looked directly at a woman,
you're gonna think this issexist, but there's a reason for
it.
Is it can you guess?
And I look at that woman, I say,yeah, you're right,
testosterone.
(14:38):
So yeah.
So, it's there mentally, it'sfor funny.
It's, you know, it's not yourintent, but you, when you take
on too much, you communicate alack of confidence in other
people.
And when you take on too much,you communicate a lack of trust.
Neither of those are good traitsfor somebody to do as a leader.
And so, I'm learning thesethings.
(14:58):
And so, at the end of thatexercise, I dropped from the top
third of that platoon to themiddle third.
Now I go on, we have anotherexercise.
I won't tell you that storybecause we don't have enough
time for that because I onlyhave so many stories I can
share.
But I have a similar experience,all bad.
I've written about both of thesein there in my LinkedIn, you can
find them in my profile.
And, now at the end of this, atthe end, of the course, I
(15:21):
dropped from the middle third tothe bottom third.
Now I tuck my tail between mylegs because here I am starting
great, I'm starting my career,and I'm not starting off on the
right foot.
And so, I go off, I go to flightschool.
Well, I go to flight school andyou know, and one of the things
my roommate gives me theimpression I'm reading this book
called"How to Win Friends andInfluence People." He walks in
(15:46):
and he says, why are you readingthat book?
You don't need to read that,you're going to be the boss.
And then I'm thinking, oh my, amI in the wrong place?
Did I choose the wrongorganization?
Let me fast forward to my firstassignment, go through flight
school.
I get to the first assignment,and now, I didn't do well as
(16:08):
well as I would've liked theflight school because instead of
getting the Blackhawktransition, I fly the older
Vietnam era, Huey helicopter.
So, they sent me off to my firstassignment and I'm at K 16 air
base, itt's now October, it's1984.
And now it seems like forever,and I finally get on the flight
schedule.
It's Dawn and a crisp fallmorning, I'm excited to fly.
(16:29):
I finished my pre-flight andupon my returned, Mr.
Welda, my instructor pilotintercepts me, he said, sir, I
smell alcohol on our S ergeantX.
Now, I guess what I need to tellyou is I'm the platoon leader.
I'm in charge of the 23 peopleof the p latoon, and I'm two
years in the Army, no realexperience.
And I have an instructor pilotand a platoon Sergeant, both of
(16:50):
them had 10 o r more years ofexperience, me less than two
years.
Now, why should they follow me?
I mean, think about that,doesn't every young manager have
that challenge?
Where now all of a suddenthey're responsible, they're in
charge, and t hey're people thatare older than them with more
experience.
Now, the question i s, is howare they g oing t o respond to
(17:11):
you?
So, let me share this story thatshaped how I would continue my
career.
So, now the problem with havingalcohol o n your breath is it
violates our 12 hour bottle t othrottle rule, which means
there's no alcohol or anyresidual effects of the alcohol
for at least 12 hours prior toflying the aircraft for working
(17:32):
with the aircraft.
And you can imagine it's asafety issue.
So, I have a problem, Sergeant Xworks for me, but I don't know
what to do.
And Mr.
Welda, knows it.
Sir, you need to take Sergeant Xin for a drug and alcohol test.
I'm thinking, oh, he lives offbase, what about his wife?
What about his family?
What about his career?
Sir, you really need to take him in.
(17:56):
So, I'm 23, it's a Saturdaymorning, and all I wanted to do
was fly.
I approached Sergent X, h e suresmells like alcohol.
I find myself taking him to thenearest medical facility, the
Army hospital in S ol, 12 milesaway.
(18:16):
So, I have to get a Jeep, nosooner that w e're on the Sol
Pusan highway, our m ash e ra,no kidding, Army Jeep breaks
down, two enlisted soldiers, andme on the side of the road.
Do you feel my pain?
Y eah.
So, we finally get help, wedrive forward, he takes h is
(18:36):
test, we return.
And I spend the rest of theweekend wondering, did I do the
right thing?
Monday morning, I'll neverforget being in my b oss, Major
Bigelow's office.
Report sir, he a sk, well, whathappened?
And then, my knees are shaking,and I'll never forget his
(18:57):
response.
He says, Tom, I'm just tickledpink, you did the right thing.
Huh?
I'm surprised you had thegumption to take a minute.
And I'm thinking, wow, maybe Idid do the right thing.
Now, despite the fact that hereports to me, I'm more
concerned about w hat mySergeant, Sergeant Watson
thinks, and you know, cause he'sthe one teaching me, training
(19:19):
me, teaching me the ropes.
And we go behind closed doors,and he s aid, s ir, I didn't
like what you did on Saturday,but you did the right thing, and
I'm going to support you.
What a relief, now threedifferent career professionals,
a c ommission officer MajorBigelow, a warrant officer, Mr.
Welda, and a noncommissionedofficer, Sergeant Watson, all
(19:40):
communicated these things to me,they said, if I was going to be
a leader in their Army, I had tolive their values.
Remember, I talked about values?
Well, in our business, thevalues has of course, so you can
imagine the Army, we have anacronym, and it's, LDRSHP:
loyalty, duty, respect, selflessservice, honor, integrity and
(20:02):
personal courage.
And so, I'm telling you allthat.
So, let's get back to, y ou know, w hat you want your
listeners.
And, you know, I said the longview, the long view is you g
otta be in the right place.
And I didn't know thatimmediately, it took a couple
years and it was thoseexperiences.
First, getting knocked down apeg, and then a peg, and then a
peg, because they were allhumbling experiences.
(20:22):
And it's, you know, if you'regoing to be in the leadership
world, or any world, it's aboutcharacter, and it's about who
you are, and people knowing whatthey can expect of you.
So, that was a very long answerto your short question.
And I don't want to run you outof time.
So, go ahead and ask me the nextquestion.
Amanda (20:40):
No, that was a great, those are great stories, and
you're doing fantastic.
So, the question that I have is,did you always know what your
values were or was thatsomething that you feel like you
cultivated in those varioussituations?
Tom (20:56):
No, I think we all go through that.
So, you know what, I'm okay withsharing this because I'm proud
of this.
In a matter of fact, what I dotoday is I work with Christian
business owners, and I grew upCatholic, and I had my doubts
about that.
I went to Catholic grade school,high school and college, which I
(21:19):
didn't know until after Iactually got on campus, cause
it's got a University of Dayton.
Doesn't sound like a Catholicschool, but it is at any rate.
So, I find myself going throughthose questions, and I stopped
going to mass in my junior year.
But the very first day I'm inthe army I am just drawn back to
the Sunday mass.
And I gotta tell you, it was myfaith that was able to get me
(21:44):
through those toughest times.
Have you ever heard that poem?
Footprints?
Oh my gosh, you got to look itup, all the listeners, and it's
the bottom line is this, it'slike either there's footprints
in the sand, and at the weakestpoints of your life, you said,
Lord, why weren't you there inthe toughest times of my life?
And he said, son, that's when Iwas carrying you.
(22:05):
Yeah.
It's, it's a fantastic poem.
And it's things like that, it'slike your faith, it's gonna
carry you through in your mostdifficult times.
And especially if you're in aleadership role, and you feel
alone, you're not alone.
There are people out there,there are people like those
three people, the Sergeant, thenoncommissioned Officer, they
(22:30):
may not want to be in theleadership role, but they're
really rooting for you to do theright thing, believe it or not.
Because they don't want to join,you don't want to join an
organization and have a terribleboss, do you?
You really want to have a goodboss, but you're going to test
them.
You're going to test them to seewhether or not they're cut out
to being a boss.
And they do, we do that in theArmy, they do it everywhere,
(22:51):
you're going to get tested, butso now it becomes an issue of
character.
Do you have the character?
So, yeah, I know yourconversation is more about
promotions.
So, let me just share this onething that I would say to you.
You know, one of the otherthings that I, we don't have
time, I don't think for anotherstory, but I tell another story
(23:11):
about what do managers most want most from their leaders?
And I would tell you that theywant you to be responsible, to
demonstrate responsibility sothat they can count on you.
Now, what are your employeeswants most, he wants you to give
them responsibility.
(23:32):
They want to be, they want toknow that you trust them, and
they can take care of things.
And it's all about, you know,everybody wants to.
There are a couple of things Isay individually, we all want to
be treated with dignity andrespect, right?
And we all want the opportunityto learn and grow.
Now, collectively, and yourteam, everybody wants their
(23:53):
contributions to matter, youwant to feel significant, and we
all want to feel like we're partof something greater than
ourselves.
So, everything I'm sharing withyou is like, okay, find what
your values are, find the rightteam, and make it the right
team.
Now, one of the things you alsoasked me, and if I'm going on,
please cut me off.
(24:13):
But the thing that I would tellyou is like, okay, so I'm trying
to learn, how do I shape mycareer?
How do I have the 10-year plan?
How do I do the right thing forthis organization that I've
joined.
And the question that I wouldask you is, you know, before you
go and ask, like, you know, Ifeel like I deserve a raise or
whatever the case is.
The question I would ask you isthis, well, what did you do?
(24:36):
Why do you feel you deserve araise?
So, one of the great things thatwe learned in the Army as part
of this whole leadershipdevelopment, and you know, just
imagine, if you're the leaderand you're trying to grow a
plant from a seed, you got tonurture it, you've got to give
it the soil and all the things,and you get the whole metaphor.
But if you have a boss that sayis not doing that, and so you're
(24:57):
concerned about, well, I want myannual evaluation, or however
your performance reports aredone in whatever organization
you are in.
The way we did it was annually,and so they taught us to now, if
we're going to do it this way,so the annual report is written
in pen, if you will.
And then we're going to do thesequarterly appraisals.
(25:17):
You're required to do it for thejunior officers, the people
who've been in less than 10years, because they need to cut
their teeth, learn to do thisthe right way.
And then we have somethingcalled Footlocker counseling,
which may be foreign to you.
But you got to imagine back tothe old World War II Army
barracks, where you have theseFootlockers at the end of the
bunks, and you have two peoplesitting there talking and
chatting, and it's a veryinformal conversation.
(25:40):
So, if I were to share with youhow that goes, is essentially
is, okay, when you're leadingsomebody you're trying to grow
and nurture that person, thatseed.
You don't just have theconversation annually with that
person, you have theconversation on an ongoing
basis, and you sit down and youhave these informal, how's it
going Amanda?
Is everything okay?
(26:01):
What can I help you with, thatsort of thing?
And then, you know, after a fewmonths, and you do this four
times a year, you say, okay,Amanda, you know, at the very
beginning of this exercise, wesat down and we said, here are
your roles and responsibilities,and you said, these were your
objectives.
This is what you thought, andyou and I had a conversation,
one-on-one where let's say,assume I'm your boss, I agree
(26:25):
with you, or I didn't agree withyou, and I suggested, what about
this too?
And we came to mutual agreement,and those were your goals, and
then we're going to assess in 12months whether or not you
achieve those goals.
But along the way, my goal is tohelp you be successful, and if I
don't help you becomesuccessful, I'm not being a
servant leader, like philosophythat I like to talk about, and I
(26:50):
failed you.
And if I failed you, then I'mnot going to be successful.
And you know, a lot of when Italked to you about that
inverted pyramid, you know, ifyou view leadership as I'm going
to help the people on my team todo their job, you know, first of
course, you got to go throughthe process of learning a lot of
those things, and earning theirtrust and confidence along the
way.
(27:10):
Then, okay, well now I'm goingto help you learn and grow.
Well, let's just say you don'thave a boss who does that.
Then you need to take thisprocess that I just described,
and you need to go to thebosses, hey, you know, I'd like
to sit, can we have coffee justyou and me?
I want to have an hour of yourtime, and I want to say, hey,
you know, this is what I thinkI'm supposed to do, and these
(27:30):
are my objectives, what do youthink?
And you've got to work that outwith them.
And then you say, you know, doyou mind if we do this every
quarter, between now, every 90days?
And then if that person's still,you can't get them out of their
shell, then you've got to havethose informal conversations and
you gotta be the one toinitiate, but you know what,
that's a person who takesresponsibility.
(27:52):
If you don't have that boss andyou do those things, you know,
they may not admit it if they'resay narcissistic or
passive-aggressive or whatever,but they're going to appreciate
that you're on their team.
Amanda (28:07):
Absolutely, and it will set you apart too, I feel like.
That you're like you had said,taking responsibility for your
position and how you'recontributing, and that you're
hoping to contribute more.
So, I think that's a really goodpoint that some people don't
have bosses that are servantleaders, it seems like.
Tom (28:29):
We can describe it as a moral leader or ethical leader
but to me, it's kind of all thesame genre.
It's like people who are lookingafter people, and because it's a
people business, andeverything's about relationships
in a people business.
Amanda (28:44):
That's true.
I think that's something thatsometimes we miss too, is that a
lot of this is aboutrelationships, and not always
about numbers.
That if we improve therelationships, that the numbers
would improve as well.
Tom (28:56):
Well, you know, I want to know something, you just hit on
something that because I'm sopassionate, that's how I met
your husband.
And that's how I think you and Imet because of your husband.
I'm so committed to this as theright way to treat people.
And it not only is it the rightway to treat people, guess what
the best companies in the worldhave been had to have the
greatest profits are becausethey have people who are servant
(29:18):
leader mentality.
And that's how I found Travis.
And, you know, he shared afantastic story and I'm going to
write about him someday, but I'mnot there yet.
I just started my series lastTuesday.
And I published an article lastTuesday, and I published another
article this yesterday onLinkedIn.
And I plan to do this weeklyuntil I exhaust these.
And then I'm probably going togo out and reach out to other
(29:39):
people who think like thisbecause it's a philosophy.
I don't like to call it a styleit's a philosophy that's long
overdue and the more we havepeople who are believing like
that, it's going to be a betterteam.
It's going to be a bettercommunity, and it's going to be
a better world.
And that's important to me.
Amanda (29:59):
Absolutely.
I love that.
So, how can people connect withyou?
Is LinkedIn really the bestplace to do that?
Tom (30:05):
Yeah, I'm on LinkedIn quite often.
I am not the greatest with mycell phone, but let's just say
that's the only place you'regoing to find me on my cell
phone cause I can't seem tofigure out, or I don't know that
Facebook is the right place forme just because my orientation
is very professional, it's aboutleadership.
So, my leadership profile, it'snot Tom Crea, it's at Thomas
(30:30):
Crea, and then you would findme.
And of course, if you'reinterested in, you'd like to
hear more, absolutely reach outto me.
I'm open to anybody exceptmostly solicitors, and at least
still connect with them.
But then when I find out theirsolicitors, I'm not as
interested.
But, yeah, and the other thing Iwould tell you is I'm on
Twitter, I'm on Facebook and I'mon YouTube.
(30:50):
And there, my handle is@BlackHawkthehelicopterspeaks.
But Thomas Crea on LinkedIn isthe best way to find me and
reach out to me, connect withme.
Amanda (31:03):
Nice.
So, I'll put all of those thingsin the show notes, and I'll also
put a link for your book.
Where can people get your book?
Tom (31:10):
It's on Amazon?
Yeah, you've got the name andyou'll put the link, so that's
great.
Amanda (31:17):
Absolutely.
So, we'll do all that.
So, I really appreciate youbeing on the show Tom, it has
been an exceptionalconversation.
I feel like a lot of goldnuggets, to be honest with all
of your humility and experience.
Tom (31:30):
Well, let me share you with one last thing.
Here's why I honestly believe Iam a product of the best
leadership development culturein the world.
And if you think about it, ifyou think about if you're
whether or not you're Christianor not, if you happen to know
the parable of the talents, youcan find and read about it, but
that parable talks about theamount of talents you've been
(31:53):
given and what you're going tobe expected at the end of the
rainbow.
And so, since I was given thesetalents and I was blessed to
have learned leadership in theArmy, I feel obligated to share
as much of this as possible withthe world.
Amanda (32:05):
That's awesome.
And I think that I don't know,I'm really inspired by that.
I knew that the Army had greatleadership development, but I
didn't understand how robust itwas.
So, this has been reallyenlightening as well.
So, thank you so much for beingon the show.
Tom (32:22):
It's my pleasure.
Yeah.
Amanda (32:25):
All right.
Well, we will talk to you guysagain soon.
Bye
Outtro (32:33):
Thanks for listening to the Raise up Podcast.
If you want a raise, head towww.
RaiseUpPodcast.com and downloadour step by step roadmap where
we've taken all the expertadvice we've collected, and put
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Before you join us again, makesure to subscribe, share it with
(32:54):
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You can click the share button,take a screenshot, and share it
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See you again soon.
Welcome to the Raise up podcast.
The only podcast focused on howyou can get a raise at work
every week.
We're dishing tips and tricksstraight from the industry
experts, CEOs, and HR directors.
So, you can finally get paidwhat you're worth.
So, buckle up buttercup, let'sbreak it down.
She's a little sassy, but a lotof fun.
(00:22):
Here's your host, AmandaLeFever.
Amanda (00:26):
Ladies and gentlemen welcome to the Raise Up Podcast.
My name is Amanda LeFever, andI'm here to help you make more
money at your job.
We are back again with a greatguest, and I'm super excited
about this conversation.
His name is Tom Crea, and he's aleadership expert, decorated
career Army officer, and BlackHawk helicopter pilot.
(00:46):
Because of his proven skills, hewas hand-selected to run the
Army's leadership developmentprogram at two Boston Colleges
where he and his teamtransformed college students
into combat leaders.
Today he's a servant leadershipambassador, an author, keynote
speaker, radio show host, andleadership development coach who
loves coaching basketball andspending time with his wife and
(01:08):
two boys.
Tom, welcome, welcome to theshow.
Tom (01:12):
Thank you so much, Amanda.
And you can add baseball to thattoo now.
Amanda (01:15):
Baseball?
That sounds awesome.
Did you start in the little,little leagues and go all the
way?
Tom (01:21):
Well, I'm coaching my sons now.
Yeah, I started, but, yeah.
Yeah.
And it's fun to live vicariouslythrough them at this point.
Amanda (01:28):
Yeah, how are they doing?
They like baseball?
Basketball?
Tom (01:31):
They're doing, they're doing pretty well.
You know, one of them is incoach pitch, and the other one
moved to kid pitch, and he's hadhis machinations, but he's
actually doing pretty well as apitcher.
So, I'm happy with that.
Amanda (01:44):
Hey, that's awesome.
I hear it's quite the investmentand involvement in baseball, is
that correct?
Is it a lot of, a lot of time,and money?
Tom (01:53):
Oh, investment of time?
Yeah.
There are sports that are much,much more expensive and you
know, fortunately we're here inPennsylvania, and we we've, we
had a hiccup where we didn't getto play a week because of the
virus and then we're back ontrack, but it was a shortened
season, and hopefully we'll beplaying in the fall.
So, yeah.
Amanda (02:12):
I'm glad that you're able to do that with them.
I'm sure it's a great bondingexperience.
Tom (02:17):
It is, it's something I know, and something I can share,
and pass on.
And I think every parent wantsto be able to do that with their
children.
Amanda (02:23):
Yeah, for sure.
So, I have a question, and itmight be random, but did you
always know you wanted to be aBlack Hawk helicopter pilot?
Tom (02:32):
No, no, I did not.
I mean, I didn't, I neverthought about the military
seriously until a guidancecounselor sent me off to
something called boys state, ifyou're familiar with that.
And I went there, and I cameback, and just things started
lining up where I applied forROTC scholarships.
And then I went to school on anROTC scholarship, and that
(02:55):
really changed my life.
And so, I always thought Iwanted to fly, and I wanted to
go in the Air Force, and the AirForce didn't want me, but the
Army wanted me, go figure.
Believe it or not, the Army hasmore aircraft than the Air
Force, and has more boats thanthe Navy, but they're much
smaller in both cases, much lessexpensive.
Yeah.
Well, cause there are a lot ofhelicopters, and there are a lot
of tiny little boats, and thatpeople don't think of not ships,
(03:18):
so it's a trivial thing.
Amanda (03:21):
Yeah, I had no idea.
So, you were hand selected torun the Army's leadership
development program, and I feellike that is huge.
What, what did you do to, how doyou position yourself to be in
that, that type of role?
Tom (03:37):
So, you know what it is, it's an issue of a career
progression, you're trying to,as an officer, you want to
command for promotion, and to beperfectly candid that wasn't the
first string, if you will.
So, the first string that has, Iwould command a line battalion,
a helicopter organization, it'sstill command, and it was good,
(04:01):
but it's not considered ashighly as commanding a line
battalion.
Whether it's infantry, armory,aviation, whatever.
So, I commanded an ROTCbattalion.
It was one of 270 at the timewhen I was doing it.
So, there are a lot of themacross the program, and I'm sure
you've seen him on differentcollege campuses.
And so, I haven't had one it wasvery unique.
It was one of two that the hostschool was less prestigious than
(04:25):
the school that was the sisterschool.
So, those two colleges were, Ihad Northeastern University, and
Boston College was moreprestigious, and then in the
Army gave more money.
So, it was awkward with mybosses on the Northeastern
campus.
And, the other school was SantaClara University who matches,
they're paired up with Stanford.
Amanda (04:45):
Nice.
That's awesome.
So, you say career progression,so you started out and what did
you do?
How did it work?
Tom (04:53):
Yeah, so, I looked at some of your previous episodes, and
the way you do things.
And so, career progression forus is you know, I remember from
almost day one where they wouldtalk about, you need to have a
10-year plan, you need to have a10-year plan.
And for us it was a little,because you know, it's an
organization, and institutionthat's been around for 200
(05:14):
years.
Everything is kind of like setin, there's not that it's set in
stone, but you can see a bunchof paths, and you can see
different ways to do things.
And so, the normal careerprogression is you go from being
a platoon leader, which is asupervisor, to being a company
commander, which would be morelike a mid-manager type of
thing.
And then to going on tobattalion command, which would
(05:35):
be more like the VP position,which I would, I would say that
that was the parallel positionthat I retired at.
I wanted to leave it on a highnote.
I enjoyed thoroughly my career.
If I were young and healthy, Iwould do it all over again.
But yeah, that's so they wantedyou to have a 10-year plan
because I didn't command mybattalion until I was at year
(05:56):
16.
So, you were thinking aboutthese things and how was I going
to get there?
And you have to not to go intogory details, but you had to,
you had to know what tracks theywere going to put you on.
And when you were going to getassigned here and there, and you
had these other differentassignments that I would call a
penance assignment because Iwasn't flying helicopter.
(06:16):
My other specialty was computerscience, but that was never my
strength.
So, that's why I called it apenance assignment, but I I'm
glad I met some great peoplewith that experience, and I
enjoyed it, but it was muchharder for me cause it wasn't my
natural thing.
Amanda (06:33):
I'm curious about the long view?
Like you had talked about that alittle bit, like your
perspective is different thanwhat's gonna get you immediate
gratification or immediaterewards, more of taking the
perspective of the long viewwhen you're looking at your
career.
Tom (06:50):
So, let's take a huge step back.
And what I mean by the long viewis in what, like you, I'm a
speaker.
And so, when I speak, one of thethings I talk about is values.
And a matter of fact, youmentioned my book,"Unleash your
Values", and I feel thateverybody needs to follow your
values because when you're doingwhat you believe to be true,
you're just going to be betterat it.
(07:11):
And not only are you going to bebetter at it.
So, the question I ask when I'mspeaking is it's like why do
you, why do people joinorganizations?
And you know, why do you chooseyour friends and that sort of
thing?
And the bottom line is if youthink about those answers is
because you want to be aroundpeople that are like minded that
think like you.
And as I went into the army, andthere are probably other
(07:36):
industries or companies that Icould have gone into that would
have been comparable, and Iwould have been a good fit.
But then of course, then therewould have been others that
maybe I could have survived, butI wouldn't have been a good fit,
and survive is not a good way tospend eight hours of every day
and you know, a career.
And so, what I mean by that, Imean the very first thing that I
would suggest that anybody do islook, are you in the right
(07:57):
place?
And if you're not, don't despairbecause life's too short to just
spend the rest of your life inthe wrong place, and you could
take steps to move on.
So, back to this long view.
So, if you're in the rightplace, and I did feel that I was
in the right place and I had a,I don't know if cathartic is the
(08:20):
right word, but I had anexperience that told me that
really knocked me on my heels, acouple of experiences.
And then I had an experiencethat said, wow, you're in the
right place.
This is, this is really what itwas, and those all happened
within the very first two yearsof my career.
And I said, I'm committed, I'min it for 20 years, for sure.
(08:42):
I'm going to make it a career.
So, go ahead, please ask meanother question.
Amanda (08:46):
I was going to say, do you mind like sharing what your
experiences were that kind ofsolidified that?
Tom (08:52):
No, no, I don't mind at all.
So, one of the things you'relooking for is, well, what
drives me, what's important tome?
What do I do?
You know, my passion isleadership in serving others.
I mean, I was in a leadershiprole and I honestly believe
that, you know, instead ofhaving that pyramid where you're
the person at the top, no, yougotta flip that pyramid upside
(09:13):
down.
You're the person at the bottom,because if you support the
people that are on your team,then they're going to do the
work.
They're going to get thingsdone, and they're going to,
they're going to look good.
They're going to make you lookgood.
And if you get joy out of that,then leadership is the right
thing for you.
And if you don't get joy out ofthat, then that doesn't that's
okay, because not everybody'scut out to do that.
(09:34):
Maybe you just are going to be,and we had technical experts, we
had career experts or managementexperts if you will.
So, here's what happened, youknow, I grew up, and things came
naturally to me in high school.
And then when I got to college,I was a big fish in a small
pond, and I get to college andboy did I get knocked back on my
(09:57):
heels.
And now I have to study, andlife is harder, but our ROTC was
the right place for me.
And that was my niche becausethe reason I got the
scholarship, just because Iwasn't great at academics, I
wasn't great at athletics, and Iwasn't great at the student
council, if you will, in highschool.
But I was good at all thosethings.
(10:18):
And because I was good at allthose things, that was the
combination of the Army or themilitary is looking for when
they're finding.
And that's exactly what Ientered the army in ROTC, and I
exited running ROTC.
So, it was kind of nice to startwith finishing the same spot,
but in a different chair.
Amanda (10:34):
What were those experiences that you had, that
kind of solidified that you werein the right place?
Tom (10:37):
Right, right.
Okay.
Yeah, yeah.
This is important, and this iswhat I talk about when I speak
to, because essentially, I havea story about humility that I
have another story abouthumility that I can share.
And then another story abouthumility that I can share.
So yeah, I don't, I don't, Idon't have, we don't have time
(10:57):
to do all of them, but let metry to give you the couple, the
ones that really matter.
So, I was doing, doing verywell.
You know, they rate their peers,your peers, you know, I'm in my
basic course at the infantryofficer, basic school at Fort
Benning, Georgia, which we liketo call Fort beginning, cause
that's where we started.
(11:17):
So, I'm there, and the veryfirst time we do a peer review,
I'm rated in the top third of myplatoon.
And then one day we have thisopportunity to excel, if you
will.
And so, I'll tell you thisstory.
So, it's a June 1983, FortBenning, Georgia, 90 degrees,
50% humidity, and it's fouro'clock in the afternoon.
(11:38):
And so, I positioned two poundsof water on my hips, these
canteens.
And then I hoist this 40-poundbrick chuck sack, and the
platoon leader comes to me andsays, Tom, will you carry the
machine gun?
So, now I'm one of the biggest,most fit persons in my platoon.
And I'm thinking I got this, noproblem.
So, I pick up another 23 poundsoff we go.
(11:59):
I find myself reaching for wateragain and again, I drain both
canteens.
I'm drenched with sweat at arest, stop refill, find some
shade, two-liter pushes.
How you doing Tom?
Fine time to go, as we beginanother six miles.
(12:20):
Yeah, the extra 65-pounds andthe brutal Georgia sun are
kicking its toll.
After a mile, my opportunity todrops back to check on me, want
someone else to carry the gun?
Now I don't want someone smallerthan me to suffer this.
No, I'm fine.
(12:41):
A mile later, he drops backagain or behind schedule.
You want to trade?
I got it.
I don't want my peers to thinkI'm weak.
We don't go another mile.
And he drops back a third timeand he makes me trade weapons
with one of the smallest guys inour books.
(13:03):
Yeah.
I'm frustrated, but secretly I'mrelieved.
I gladly trade 23 pounds foreight.
I have a new bounce in my step,but the first nine miles wore me
out.
I'm not a gas.
I continue to slow everyonedown.
(13:25):
We arrive late.
We fail the exercise.
It's my fault.
So, the question I asked whenI'm speaking, as I say, have you
ever done something with thebest of intentions only to let
others down?
Any thoughts?
Amanda (13:44):
Yeah, oh man.
I have plenty of thoughts.
Yes, I have.
Tom (13:49):
You don't have to share, but if you want, go ahead.
Amanda (13:52):
No, there's I can't think of a specific experience,
but I can definitely relate, notto the Georgia heat, and
carrying a heavy load.
But there've been plenty oftimes that I felt like I could
carry the load all by myself.
And I was saying this the otherday, that one is too small of a
number to really do much ofanything.
(14:12):
And so, sometimes you do have toeat some humble pie.
Tom (14:17):
So, then I continue, and I go on and I say, look, I say, I
thought I could handle it.
What was I missing?
And I said, my only excuse, andI looked directly at a woman,
you're gonna think this issexist, but there's a reason for
it.
Is it can you guess?
And I look at that woman, I say,yeah, you're right,
testosterone.
(14:38):
So yeah.
So, it's there mentally, it'sfor funny.
It's, you know, it's not yourintent, but you, when you take
on too much, you communicate alack of confidence in other
people.
And when you take on too much,you communicate a lack of trust.
Neither of those are good traitsfor somebody to do as a leader.
And so, I'm learning thesethings.
(14:58):
And so, at the end of thatexercise, I dropped from the top
third of that platoon to themiddle third.
Now I go on, we have anotherexercise.
I won't tell you that storybecause we don't have enough
time for that because I onlyhave so many stories I can
share.
But I have a similar experience,all bad.
I've written about both of thesein there in my LinkedIn, you can
find them in my profile.
And, now at the end of this, atthe end, of the course, I
(15:21):
dropped from the middle third tothe bottom third.
Now I tuck my tail between mylegs because here I am starting
great, I'm starting my career,and I'm not starting off on the
right foot.
And so, I go off, I go to flightschool.
Well, I go to flight school andyou know, and one of the things
my roommate gives me theimpression I'm reading this book
called"How to Win Friends andInfluence People." He walks in
(15:46):
and he says, why are you readingthat book?
You don't need to read that,you're going to be the boss.
And then I'm thinking, oh my, amI in the wrong place?
Did I choose the wrongorganization?
Let me fast forward to my firstassignment, go through flight
school.
I get to the first assignment,and now, I didn't do well as
(16:08):
well as I would've liked theflight school because instead of
getting the Blackhawktransition, I fly the older
Vietnam era, Huey helicopter.
So, they sent me off to my firstassignment and I'm at K 16 air
base, itt's now October, it's1984.
And now it seems like forever,and I finally get on the flight
schedule.
It's Dawn and a crisp fallmorning, I'm excited to fly.
(16:29):
I finished my pre-flight andupon my returned, Mr.
Welda, my instructor pilotintercepts me, he said, sir, I
smell alcohol on our S ergeantX.
Now, I guess what I need to tellyou is I'm the platoon leader.
I'm in charge of the 23 peopleof the p latoon, and I'm two
years in the Army, no realexperience.
And I have an instructor pilotand a platoon Sergeant, both of
(16:50):
them had 10 o r more years ofexperience, me less than two
years.
Now, why should they follow me?
I mean, think about that,doesn't every young manager have
that challenge?
Where now all of a suddenthey're responsible, they're in
charge, and t hey're people thatare older than them with more
experience.
Now, the question i s, is howare they g oing t o respond to
(17:11):
you?
So, let me share this story thatshaped how I would continue my
career.
So, now the problem with havingalcohol o n your breath is it
violates our 12 hour bottle t othrottle rule, which means
there's no alcohol or anyresidual effects of the alcohol
for at least 12 hours prior toflying the aircraft for working
(17:32):
with the aircraft.
And you can imagine it's asafety issue.
So, I have a problem, Sergeant Xworks for me, but I don't know
what to do.
And Mr.
Welda, knows it.
Sir, you need to take Sergeant Xin for a drug and alcohol test.
I'm thinking, oh, he lives offbase, what about his wife?
What about his family?
What about his career?
Sir, you really need to take him in.
(17:56):
So, I'm 23, it's a Saturdaymorning, and all I wanted to do
was fly.
I approached Sergent X, h e suresmells like alcohol.
I find myself taking him to thenearest medical facility, the
Army hospital in S ol, 12 milesaway.
(18:16):
So, I have to get a Jeep, nosooner that w e're on the Sol
Pusan highway, our m ash e ra,no kidding, Army Jeep breaks
down, two enlisted soldiers, andme on the side of the road.
Do you feel my pain?
Y eah.
So, we finally get help, wedrive forward, he takes h is
(18:36):
test, we return.
And I spend the rest of theweekend wondering, did I do the
right thing?
Monday morning, I'll neverforget being in my b oss, Major
Bigelow's office.
Report sir, he a sk, well, whathappened?
And then, my knees are shaking,and I'll never forget his
(18:57):
response.
He says, Tom, I'm just tickledpink, you did the right thing.
Huh?
I'm surprised you had thegumption to take a minute.
And I'm thinking, wow, maybe Idid do the right thing.
Now, despite the fact that hereports to me, I'm more
concerned about w hat mySergeant, Sergeant Watson
thinks, and you know, cause he'sthe one teaching me, training
(19:19):
me, teaching me the ropes.
And we go behind closed doors,and he s aid, s ir, I didn't
like what you did on Saturday,but you did the right thing, and
I'm going to support you.
What a relief, now threedifferent career professionals,
a c ommission officer MajorBigelow, a warrant officer, Mr.
Welda, and a noncommissionedofficer, Sergeant Watson, all
(19:40):
communicated these things to me,they said, if I was going to be
a leader in their Army, I had tolive their values.
Remember, I talked about values?
Well, in our business, thevalues has of course, so you can
imagine the Army, we have anacronym, and it's, LDRSHP:
loyalty, duty, respect, selflessservice, honor, integrity and
(20:02):
personal courage.
And so, I'm telling you allthat.
So, let's get back to, y ou know, w hat you want your
listeners.
And, you know, I said the longview, the long view is you g
otta be in the right place.
And I didn't know thatimmediately, it took a couple
years and it was thoseexperiences.
First, getting knocked down apeg, and then a peg, and then a
peg, because they were allhumbling experiences.
(20:22):
And it's, you know, if you'regoing to be in the leadership
world, or any world, it's aboutcharacter, and it's about who
you are, and people knowing whatthey can expect of you.
So, that was a very long answerto your short question.
And I don't want to run you outof time.
So, go ahead and ask me the nextquestion.
Amanda (20:40):
No, that was a great, those are great stories, and
you're doing fantastic.
So, the question that I have is,did you always know what your
values were or was thatsomething that you feel like you
cultivated in those varioussituations?
Tom (20:56):
No, I think we all go through that.
So, you know what, I'm okay withsharing this because I'm proud
of this.
In a matter of fact, what I dotoday is I work with Christian
business owners, and I grew upCatholic, and I had my doubts
about that.
I went to Catholic grade school,high school and college, which I
(21:19):
didn't know until after Iactually got on campus, cause
it's got a University of Dayton.
Doesn't sound like a Catholicschool, but it is at any rate.
So, I find myself going throughthose questions, and I stopped
going to mass in my junior year.
But the very first day I'm inthe army I am just drawn back to
the Sunday mass.
And I gotta tell you, it was myfaith that was able to get me
(21:44):
through those toughest times.
Have you ever heard that poem?
Footprints?
Oh my gosh, you got to look itup, all the listeners, and it's
the bottom line is this, it'slike either there's footprints
in the sand, and at the weakestpoints of your life, you said,
Lord, why weren't you there inthe toughest times of my life?
And he said, son, that's when Iwas carrying you.
(22:05):
Yeah.
It's, it's a fantastic poem.
And it's things like that, it'slike your faith, it's gonna
carry you through in your mostdifficult times.
And especially if you're in aleadership role, and you feel
alone, you're not alone.
There are people out there,there are people like those
three people, the Sergeant, thenoncommissioned Officer, they
(22:30):
may not want to be in theleadership role, but they're
really rooting for you to do theright thing, believe it or not.
Because they don't want to join,you don't want to join an
organization and have a terribleboss, do you?
You really want to have a goodboss, but you're going to test
them.
You're going to test them to seewhether or not they're cut out
to being a boss.
And they do, we do that in theArmy, they do it everywhere,
(22:51):
you're going to get tested, butso now it becomes an issue of
character.
Do you have the character?
So, yeah, I know yourconversation is more about
promotions.
So, let me just share this onething that I would say to you.
You know, one of the otherthings that I, we don't have
time, I don't think for anotherstory, but I tell another story
(23:11):
about what do managers most want most from their leaders?
And I would tell you that theywant you to be responsible, to
demonstrate responsibility sothat they can count on you.
Now, what are your employeeswants most, he wants you to give
them responsibility.
(23:32):
They want to be, they want toknow that you trust them, and
they can take care of things.
And it's all about, you know,everybody wants to.
There are a couple of things Isay individually, we all want to
be treated with dignity andrespect, right?
And we all want the opportunityto learn and grow.
Now, collectively, and yourteam, everybody wants their
(23:53):
contributions to matter, youwant to feel significant, and we
all want to feel like we're partof something greater than
ourselves.
So, everything I'm sharing withyou is like, okay, find what
your values are, find the rightteam, and make it the right
team.
Now, one of the things you alsoasked me, and if I'm going on,
please cut me off.
(24:13):
But the thing that I would tellyou is like, okay, so I'm trying
to learn, how do I shape mycareer?
How do I have the 10-year plan?
How do I do the right thing forthis organization that I've
joined.
And the question that I wouldask you is, you know, before you
go and ask, like, you know, Ifeel like I deserve a raise or
whatever the case is.
The question I would ask you isthis, well, what did you do?
(24:36):
Why do you feel you deserve araise?
So, one of the great things thatwe learned in the Army as part
of this whole leadershipdevelopment, and you know, just
imagine, if you're the leaderand you're trying to grow a
plant from a seed, you got tonurture it, you've got to give
it the soil and all the things,and you get the whole metaphor.
But if you have a boss that sayis not doing that, and so you're
(24:57):
concerned about, well, I want myannual evaluation, or however
your performance reports aredone in whatever organization
you are in.
The way we did it was annually,and so they taught us to now, if
we're going to do it this way,so the annual report is written
in pen, if you will.
And then we're going to do thesequarterly appraisals.
(25:17):
You're required to do it for thejunior officers, the people
who've been in less than 10years, because they need to cut
their teeth, learn to do thisthe right way.
And then we have somethingcalled Footlocker counseling,
which may be foreign to you.
But you got to imagine back tothe old World War II Army
barracks, where you have theseFootlockers at the end of the
bunks, and you have two peoplesitting there talking and
chatting, and it's a veryinformal conversation.
(25:40):
So, if I were to share with youhow that goes, is essentially
is, okay, when you're leadingsomebody you're trying to grow
and nurture that person, thatseed.
You don't just have theconversation annually with that
person, you have theconversation on an ongoing
basis, and you sit down and youhave these informal, how's it
going Amanda?
Is everything okay?
(26:01):
What can I help you with, thatsort of thing?
And then, you know, after a fewmonths, and you do this four
times a year, you say, okay,Amanda, you know, at the very
beginning of this exercise, wesat down and we said, here are
your roles and responsibilities,and you said, these were your
objectives.
This is what you thought, andyou and I had a conversation,
one-on-one where let's say,assume I'm your boss, I agree
(26:25):
with you, or I didn't agree withyou, and I suggested, what about
this too?
And we came to mutual agreement,and those were your goals, and
then we're going to assess in 12months whether or not you
achieve those goals.
But along the way, my goal is tohelp you be successful, and if I
don't help you becomesuccessful, I'm not being a
servant leader, like philosophythat I like to talk about, and I
(26:50):
failed you.
And if I failed you, then I'mnot going to be successful.
And you know, a lot of when Italked to you about that
inverted pyramid, you know, ifyou view leadership as I'm going
to help the people on my team todo their job, you know, first of
course, you got to go throughthe process of learning a lot of
those things, and earning theirtrust and confidence along the
way.
(27:10):
Then, okay, well now I'm goingto help you learn and grow.
Well, let's just say you don'thave a boss who does that.
Then you need to take thisprocess that I just described,
and you need to go to thebosses, hey, you know, I'd like
to sit, can we have coffee justyou and me?
I want to have an hour of yourtime, and I want to say, hey,
you know, this is what I thinkI'm supposed to do, and these
(27:30):
are my objectives, what do youthink?
And you've got to work that outwith them.
And then you say, you know, doyou mind if we do this every
quarter, between now, every 90days?
And then if that person's still,you can't get them out of their
shell, then you've got to havethose informal conversations and
you gotta be the one toinitiate, but you know what,
that's a person who takesresponsibility.
(27:52):
If you don't have that boss andyou do those things, you know,
they may not admit it if they'resay narcissistic or
passive-aggressive or whatever,but they're going to appreciate
that you're on their team.
Amanda (28:07):
Absolutely, and it will set you apart too, I feel like.
That you're like you had said,taking responsibility for your
position and how you'recontributing, and that you're
hoping to contribute more.
So, I think that's a really goodpoint that some people don't
have bosses that are servantleaders, it seems like.
Tom (28:29):
We can describe it as a moral leader or ethical leader
but to me, it's kind of all thesame genre.
It's like people who are lookingafter people, and because it's a
people business, andeverything's about relationships
in a people business.
Amanda (28:44):
That's true.
I think that's something thatsometimes we miss too, is that a
lot of this is aboutrelationships, and not always
about numbers.
That if we improve therelationships, that the numbers
would improve as well.
Tom (28:56):
Well, you know, I want to know something, you just hit on
something that because I'm sopassionate, that's how I met
your husband.
And that's how I think you and Imet because of your husband.
I'm so committed to this as theright way to treat people.
And it not only is it the rightway to treat people, guess what
the best companies in the worldhave been had to have the
greatest profits are becausethey have people who are servant
(29:18):
leader mentality.
And that's how I found Travis.
And, you know, he shared afantastic story and I'm going to
write about him someday, but I'mnot there yet.
I just started my series lastTuesday.
And I published an article lastTuesday, and I published another
article this yesterday onLinkedIn.
And I plan to do this weeklyuntil I exhaust these.
And then I'm probably going togo out and reach out to other
(29:39):
people who think like thisbecause it's a philosophy.
I don't like to call it a styleit's a philosophy that's long
overdue and the more we havepeople who are believing like
that, it's going to be a betterteam.
It's going to be a bettercommunity, and it's going to be
a better world.
And that's important to me.
Amanda (29:59):
Absolutely.
I love that.
So, how can people connect withyou?
Is LinkedIn really the bestplace to do that?
Tom (30:05):
Yeah, I'm on LinkedIn quite often.
I am not the greatest with mycell phone, but let's just say
that's the only place you'regoing to find me on my cell
phone cause I can't seem tofigure out, or I don't know that
Facebook is the right place forme just because my orientation
is very professional, it's aboutleadership.
So, my leadership profile, it'snot Tom Crea, it's at Thomas
(30:30):
Crea, and then you would findme.
And of course, if you'reinterested in, you'd like to
hear more, absolutely reach outto me.
I'm open to anybody exceptmostly solicitors, and at least
still connect with them.
But then when I find out theirsolicitors, I'm not as
interested.
But, yeah, and the other thing Iwould tell you is I'm on
Twitter, I'm on Facebook and I'mon YouTube.
(30:50):
And there, my handle is@BlackHawkthehelicopterspeaks.
But Thomas Crea on LinkedIn isthe best way to find me and
reach out to me, connect withme.
Amanda (31:03):
Nice.
So, I'll put all of those thingsin the show notes, and I'll also
put a link for your book.
Where can people get your book?
Tom (31:10):
It's on Amazon?
Yeah, you've got the name andyou'll put the link, so that's
great.
Amanda (31:17):
Absolutely.
So, we'll do all that.
So, I really appreciate youbeing on the show Tom, it has
been an exceptionalconversation.
I feel like a lot of goldnuggets, to be honest with all
of your humility and experience.
Tom (31:30):
Well, let me share you with one last thing.
Here's why I honestly believe Iam a product of the best
leadership development culturein the world.
And if you think about it, ifyou think about if you're
whether or not you're Christianor not, if you happen to know
the parable of the talents, youcan find and read about it, but
that parable talks about theamount of talents you've been
(31:53):
given and what you're going tobe expected at the end of the
rainbow.
And so, since I was given thesetalents and I was blessed to
have learned leadership in theArmy, I feel obligated to share
as much of this as possible withthe world.
Amanda (32:05):
That's awesome.
And I think that I don't know,I'm really inspired by that.
I knew that the Army had greatleadership development, but I
didn't understand how robust itwas.
So, this has been reallyenlightening as well.
So, thank you so much for beingon the show.
Tom (32:22):
It's my pleasure.
Yeah.
Amanda (32:25):
All right.
Well, we will talk to you guysagain soon.
Bye
Outtro (32:33):
Thanks for listening to the Raise up Podcast.
If you want a raise, head towww.
RaiseUpPodcast.com and downloadour step by step roadmap where
we've taken all the expertadvice we've collected, and put
it into a simple PDF eBookcalled, you guessed it, How to
ask for a raise.
Before you join us again, makesure to subscribe, share it with
(32:54):
your friends.
You can click the share button,take a screenshot, and share it
on your social stories and tag@AmandaLeFever.
See you again soon.
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