June 9, 2025 • 45 mins
What happens when you strip emotion from complex business challenges? For Chris Davenport, it became the foundation of a reputation so powerful that competitors nicknamed him "The Wolf" and "The Cleaner" before eventually becoming his friends and clients.
Chris takes us on his remarkable journey from college entrepreneur to the visionary leader who drove 3i International to a staggering 1000% revenue growth. The transformation began with a simple laptop gift that sparked his passion for technology during the dot-com boom, leading him to trade college parties for 80-hour work weeks solving technical problems that left others stumped.
His problem-solving methodology is refreshingly straightforward yet profound: break issues down to their most basic elements and remove emotion from the equation. "Most of us are led by our emotions," Chris explains, "and emotional responses elicit emotional responses." This insight became central to his leadership approach as he implemented the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) at 3i, shifting from "Chris's way" to "3i's way" and enabling sustainable growth through structure, accountability, and clear communication.
The conversation doesn't shy away from failures and challenges—from discovering embezzlement to navigating the complexities of finding culturally aligned talent during rapid expansion. Chris's vulnerability extends to his personal growth, sharing his decade-long relationship with a coach/therapist who helps him maintain emotional intelligence and self-awareness as a leader.
Whether you're managing a startup or leading an established organization, Chris's parting wisdom resonates powerfully: "You're not managing a product line or service—you're managing people." His emphasis on quarterly strategic planning, transparent communication, and meeting people where they are emotionally offers a blueprint for leadership that drives both business results and human connection. Ready to transform your approach to problem-solving and leadership? This episode is your master class.
And if you're in the market for some quick takeaways:
- Chris learned problem-solving by working with various businesses.
- Emotional intelligence is crucial for effective leadership.
- Accountability should be approached positively, not negatively.
- Regular communication is key to team success.
- Every problem has a similar structure that can be dissected.
- Sustaining success requires regular strategic meetings.
- Leaders must provide clear direction to their teams.
- Finding the right people for the right roles is essential.
- Open and honest communication benefits both leaders and employees.
Hey leader! Thanks for listening. For more leadership communication tips, check out https://www.thecommunicativeleader.com/
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Dr. Leah OH (00:00):
Welcome to another insightful episode of the
Communicative Leader.
I'm your host, dr Leah oh, andtoday we are delighted to
welcome Chris Davenport to theshow.
Chris is a seasonedentrepreneur and a distinguished
figure in the technologyindustry, renowned for his
strategic vision andtransformative leadership.
Chris has dedicated his careerto building industry-leading
(00:22):
technology companies thatempower both employees and
clients to reach their fullestpotential.
With roots in entrepreneurshipdating back to his college days,
chris has developed areputation as a problem solver
extraordinaire.
It has earned him titles likethe wolf and the cleaner.
His extraordinary journeyincludes remarkable growth and
(00:43):
eventual sale of 3iInternational, a comprehensive
technology solutions providerwhere he listen to this, my
friends where he led the companyto a staggering 1000% revenue
increase.
I mean, just try and wrap yourmind around that.
In today's episode, we'll delveinto Chris's unique approach to
leveraging technology coachingand strategic management for
(01:07):
sustainable business success.
He'll share his expertise onthe key elements that drive
growth, the role of emotionalintelligence and leadership, and
how structure andaccountability can really help
reduce stress in businessoperations.
Whether you are an aspiringentrepreneur or a seasoned
business leader, chris'sinsights will offer valuable
(01:28):
guidance for navigating thecomplexities of today's business
landscape.
So if you are eager to learnhow to enhance your leadership
abilities and achieve thatlasting success.
This episode is brimming withpractical advice and inspiration
.
What else?
You're going to have to ignoremy voice in this episode because
I was just getting overpneumonia when Chris and I had
(01:51):
the pleasure of chatting.
All right, let's dive in andhave some fun.
Hello and welcome to theCommunicative Leader, hosted by
me, Dr .
Leah Omilion-Hodges.
My friends call me Dr OH.
I'm a professor ofcommunication and a leadership
communication expert.
I'm the communicative leader.
We're working to make your worklife what you want it to be.
(02:13):
So, Chris, welcome to thecommunicative leader.
We're so excited to have you onthe show and to kick things off
.
I was hoping you could sharewith our listeners a little bit
of your entrepreneurial journey,so how you transitioned from
founding your first company incollege to becoming a prominent
(02:36):
business expert in thetechnology sector.
Chris Davenport (02:39):
Hi, leah, it's great to be here with you today.
That's such an interestingquestion.
It brings back a ton ofmemories and emotions.
I would have to say it startedout while I was in college, like
you said, and it was really atthe boon of dot-com and the
(03:03):
internet was taking off late 90sand I was going in as to be a
pre-med major Big change, right,yeah, totally changed course
and so I had a kind ofinflection point moment where I
got a laptop for graduation formy parents and I just fell in
(03:27):
love with technology and thatreally got my interest peaked in
that area and I started workingjust odd jobs for businesses
that didn't know what to do whenthey would get viruses or need
computer setup, and I juststarted that way by word of
(03:50):
mouth.
So while I felt like at times Iwas missing out with my college
friends, they were out partying.
I traded the temporary rewardsfor long-term gain and so I was,
you know, between school andwork.
I was doing about 80 hours aweek and it just I got so
(04:12):
obsessed with it and it becamevery fun solving problems and
helping others through whateverthey were facing.
You know that was causing thempain in their business, and I
did that for many years, youknow, continued college.
(04:32):
But after college I continuedto do this and, still through
word of mouth, just got a.
You know a large amount ofbusinesses that I would work for
Even started working forcompetitors in the space that
did what I did but neededexpertise that they did not have
, and so it just turned into acompany.
(04:57):
It became more than I could doon my own and along the way I
started learning from theseindividuals that I was working
for, these CEOs, these businessowners, these executives, that I
would watch them as I wasworking, run their business and
do their planning and talk abouttheir numbers.
(05:19):
And I just learned.
I listened to every second ofthat and that's really what
turned me into an entrepreneur.
Dr. Leah OH (05:28):
Yeah, there's so much from that story.
I love that you leaned into theshift when you realized this is
where my passion is, because myday job I'm a professor, so I
see so many you're like, well,I'm just going to finish and
maybe I'll like it at some point.
It's like, probably not, it'snot piquing your interest now.
(05:50):
And then, two, when you saidthat even your competitors were
seeking you out, that's when youknow you're doing something
like beyond right, right, whenthey're like, oh gosh, I've got
to swallow my pride, but I needyour help, I need your expertise
.
So that's a really, reallygreat story and thank you for
(06:11):
sharing that journey with us.
Chris Davenport (06:12):
Sure.
Dr. Leah OH (06:13):
And I think that sets us up nicely for your
problem solving expertise, and Iknow that you've been referred
to as the wolf and the cleanerbecause you have this
adaptability to resolve complexbusiness issues.
So how did you develop thisreputation, chris, and what are
some core principles that guideyour approach to problem solving
(06:34):
?
Chris Davenport (06:36):
But I love this question because problem
solving and helping people isreally my passion.
That's what I love to do and Iactually, you know, talking
about working for competitors.
I got those nicknames from someof my competitors and they
(06:56):
turned into being great friendsalong the way, so you know.
So I would get called in andthere was a IT company in San
Antonio, texas, where I grew up,so sometimes I'd take work
there as well.
(07:19):
Nicholas, he's from Sweden, sohe's got an accent and he's a
funny guy, so he's the one thatcoined the name the Wolf or the
Cleaner.
He had a team.
He was a few years ahead of mein building out his company.
I still was a one-man show atthis point and they called me in
(07:42):
to get them out of a jam.
They had a server that was down.
You know, a hundred employeescouldn't work and it had been
that way for a few days.
And if you know anything aboutstatistics, if a typical company
, if they're down for seven days, their chance of bankruptcy is
very high, and so it was dire.
(08:02):
And so I got in there and Iprobably worked about 30 minutes
to an hour and had them back upand did that repeated results
like that for them, and so hegave me that nickname and he'd
asked me the same question youdid how do you, what do you do?
And I try and share myknowledge, and it's really not
(08:27):
even the knowledge I go intothis stuff, sometimes never
touching the technology before,and so it's not necessarily
about knowing the systems, and Ithink that's a hang up that a
lot of people have, and this issome advice that don't let that
scare you If you've never seenit.
(08:47):
Every problem has the samemakeup or the same architecture,
and so what I do is I start bydissecting it down to the most
basic parts that you can, and Ithink a lot of times people are
glazed over by what they'reseeing, but what they're seeing
(09:11):
is just a symptom or a set ofsymptoms from the real problem.
It's much like your car oh, itdoesn't start.
Well, it's not the car that yousee that's not starting, it's
something inside, you know thestarter or the battery or
something else is causing that.
So that's the first thing I do,and then the next thing I do is
(09:36):
when I come into these problems, even today with leadership
teams, and whether it's tech ornot, people are so focused on
the emotion that they're feelingat that moment in time and
that's what's driving them.
Their fear of something iswhat's driving them versus
(09:57):
seeing what the problem is, tosolve it.
They're afraid in the momentand their fear is they're
overcome with that fear andthat's preventing them from
seeing what the problem is.
Because that's what we'rehumans we act on fear sometimes,
and so I.
The second thing I do, inaddition to simplifying it as
(10:20):
much as possible, the secondthing I do is to take the
emotion out of it as much aspossible.
The second thing I do is to takethe emotion out of it, and so,
typically, I have an advantage,and this is what I used to tell
these people hey, I have anadvantage fresh set of eyes, I
just walked in here.
I have no, I have no stakes inthe game here, you know.
(10:41):
And so when they would feel badwhen I'd solve it in 30 minutes
, I'm like, hey, you've been atthis for days.
They would feel bad when I'dsolve it in 30 minutes, I'm like
, hey, you've been at this fordays, you know, and you're
probably tired, you're probablyworried, you're going to lose
your job or get fired or youknow whatever.
The worst thing, thecatastrophe is in their head.
That's what they're worriedabout.
So dissect it down to the mostbasic elements, even if you
(11:02):
think you already have done that, go deeper and then tell the
emotion to pause while you'reusing your brain cycles to solve
the problem.
Dr. Leah OH (11:15):
Yes, that is so helpful.
I was even thinking that's likethe principles I'm using to
help a fourth grader learn somemore advanced math than they
have done in the past?
What do we know?
Let's strip this down.
Chris Davenport (11:28):
I have a fourth grader and I can relate to that
.
Dr. Leah OH (11:31):
Yes, exactly yeah.
But you're right.
Especially in organizations,when our livelihood is tied to
this and our reputation and allof those motions, we can see how
we can let them easily take thedriver's seat if we're not
telling them nope, you're notneeded here, You're not helping
right now.
Chris Davenport (11:52):
That's right, that's right.
Dr. Leah OH (11:54):
So let's look at your transformation, or your
transformative leadershipapproach.
So we know, with you at thehelm, 3i International
experienced a significantrevenue boost, so I was hoping
you could discuss some of thesekey strategies that you
implemented to drive thismassive growth and what are some
other lessons that otherentrepreneurs could take away
(12:16):
from your experience is.
Chris Davenport (12:24):
We built an incredible team, but it didn't
really start out that way.
I think you can grow a companyto a certain point on your own
drive and your own sweat equity,but at some point it gets too
big to where you cannot hold onto every element of everything
(12:46):
that's going on.
So I think when I started outsome growing areas for me, some
growth that happened when westarted 3i.
I had a handle on everycustomer, every problem, and I
would catch the guys and girls.
If they fell, if somethinghappened, I would be there to
(13:08):
help them, boost them back up,and I didn't always have to help
them.
They were great, very smart,capable people, but sometimes
they would get stuck and thatended up not working as we
scaled.
We scaled beyond that and westarted to see problems because
(13:31):
I wasn't letting go properly.
So one thing I did was Istarted to document how we did
things and how the three-eye waywas done, how we did things and
how the how the three eye waywas done, and then started
letting go and and giving thesethings to people to own
themselves.
(13:51):
Yeah, and it did it fixeverything?
No, uh, but I.
But we went further andimplemented something called EOS
, which stands for excuse mereal quick, sorry.
So we went further andimplemented something called EOS
(14:12):
that stands for EntrepreneurialOperating System, and that's
what I do today.
So I'm an implementer now.
I fell in love with it so muchthat I started doing it for
others, to help them.
Because it was sotransformative for 3i, and what
(14:32):
it did was it took the focus offof the company being me and me
being the company.
The company started having itsown structure, its own set of
rules, its own vision on whereit was going and how it was
going to get there.
And once people saw, oh, thisisn't Chris, this is 3i
(14:53):
International.
Dr. Leah OH (14:54):
Yeah.
Chris Davenport (14:56):
Then we started hiring additional people as we
grew.
Yeah, and instead of here's theChris way.
Dr. Leah OH (15:02):
Yeah, here's the 3 way it was.
Chris Davenport (15:03):
Here's the three-eye way.
Dr. Leah OH (15:05):
Yeah.
Chris Davenport (15:06):
And within that we had accountability and
structure and really justcommunicated on a regular basis
with our people.
The management all had the sameanswer, Whether or not there
(15:27):
was dissension in the planningroom we left and it was the way,
and that's what we really usedto transform the company there.
Dr. Leah OH (15:35):
Yeah, and what a recipe for success.
These like guiding principleswhere we're all, like you said,
even if there's dissension whenwe're discussing it, we're a
united front and that empoweringpeople.
Chris Davenport (15:46):
Yes.
Dr. Leah OH (15:47):
You know, you hire smart people for a reason so
that we can give them thoseguiding principles and let them
shine.
Chris Davenport (15:55):
And Leah.
There's so much fun in seeingsomeone even seeing some of the
people that came through 3i andgrew and there's one guy, his
name's Jay.
He ended up starting his ownrecruiting company and he's
killing it and it's just awesometo see.
If you let go and you letpeople do what they need to do,
(16:19):
magic can happen, not only forthe company but for themselves.
Dr. Leah OH (16:23):
Yeah, yeah, what a gift.
Chris Davenport (16:26):
Yeah.
Dr. Leah OH (16:27):
Right, because a lot of times when we think about
work, we are not thinking aboutit as a gift, right?
A lot of employees, so thatreally is incredible.
So my follow-up question tothat you kind of already hinted
at some of these challenges, butI know that when you have this
impressive scale up of 3iInternational, what were some of
the challenges?
But I know that when you havethis impressive scale up of 3i
International, what were some ofthe most challenging aspects of
(16:49):
the growth process?
And then how did you look atthose obstacles and turn them
into opportunities?
Chris Davenport (16:57):
That's another question that spawns a bunch of
different feelings.
A bunch of different feelingsand I think you know, if there
weren't problems, we wouldn'tseek solutions, right, so we
would have never found EOS, wewouldn't have let go.
These people wouldn't have beenmade more, you know, through
(17:19):
that.
So some of this stuff is goingto sound horrible that we went
through, but it was good in theend.
Yeah, one thing as we wereimplementing EOS, we were
wondering for a while why wewere making money.
We were bringing money in, butwe just didn't know where it was
(17:42):
going.
And I feel like I had a partnerand him and I we were looking
at the bank accounts, we werewatching and through that
process, it uncovered something.
We found out our CFO wasembezzling money from us.
Dr. Leah OH (18:01):
Oh, wow.
Chris Davenport (18:04):
And a large sum of money, and had we not gone
through pain and implemented asystem, we would have never
found out, potentially, maybeanother way.
God works in strange ways, somaybe he would have brought us
something.
(18:25):
But within six months of juststarting the process, we found
that out and that was one thingthat was very challenging and it
was a growth challenge becausewe were growing.
Yeah, outside, looking in, youshould have had checks and
(18:45):
balances, you should have hadthis, but we grew so rapidly, we
didn't really know what wedidn't have, that we needed yet.
So the cart before the horse.
Dr. Leah OH (18:57):
Yeah, yeah.
Chris Davenport (19:00):
I would say another thing was it was just
difficult sometimes to find theright people, and I think in
startup culture you hire people.
When you start, you hire peoplethat are evangelical about you
as a person, and so I foundthose people and I was, in turn,
(19:23):
evangelical about them.
I found those people and and Iwas, in turn, evangelical about
them.
And at some point it gets toobig to do that with everyone.
And then you start to findpeople and you think they're the
right people, but they don'tfit their the core values.
They don't mesh well with therest of the team because they're
not there for the same reasonsthose initial people were there
(19:46):
for.
And so finding the right peopleis tough, and how we worked
through that was using EOS.
You implement, you define yourcore values and your core
purpose and you communicate thatwith the people and you use
(20:07):
that when you're attractingtalent and you also use it to
repel talent that may not fit,that may have a better home
somewhere, and so while we weregoing through that, we
outsourced certain things untilwe could augment.
We augmented it withoutsourcing until we could
figure out how to.
We augmented it withoutsourcing until we could figure
out how to build it internallywith the right people, and that
(20:29):
really was the kind of the finalstraw to break us through to
rapid growth there.
Dr. Leah OH (20:39):
Yeah, yeah.
I really love when you startedoff by saying without these
problems, we wouldn't have foundthese solutions, right, and so
it's a nice way.
You know, no one is like whatobstacle do I get to face today?
But being able to look and saywe could get creative here and
we're going to have to getcreative here, so I think that's
(20:59):
a really great way of oflooking at it.
And two, I appreciate how,instead of trying to shove that
square peg into the round hole,how do we outsource these roles,
these needs, until we have theright fit?
Chris Davenport (21:17):
That's right, that's right.
Dr. Leah OH (21:18):
Because you can do so much damage to a culture
where we're forcing people whodon't want to be there and
aren't great fits to be there.
Chris Davenport (21:29):
Yes, just not worth it.
It's not and we went throughpain with that.
We had one individual.
He would show up to the officedrunk after lunch and killed the
culture for a while lunch andkilled the culture for a while.
Dr. Leah OH (21:52):
And we eradicated that and and found someone that
fit and uh it's, it was nightand day, yeah, so so you've
talked a lot about um, eos andnow you're helping others, and
so I know that you have a greattrack record of successfully
coaching CEOs, other businessleaders, and what do you think
are the most crucial elements ofan effective coaching or
(22:14):
mentoring relationship?
Chris Davenport (22:18):
I think that every relationship, especially
in coaching and mentoring, everyrelationship, even outside of
that, really you have to startwith honesty and openness,
because if you're holding backsomething or if you're trying to
be something or someone you'renot.
(22:39):
And I'm not talking aboutaspiring to be someone, that's
okay, but just having a facade,that's not real, it slows down
the process or it just makes theprocess just not even start.
So you have to be open andhonest with each other, open and
(23:08):
honest with each other.
And so a lot of people don'treally, you know.
A lot of people say, oh great,you're a coach, you know.
And they kind of laugh aboutthat, thinking, well, you know,
how do you do that?
And I tell them well, 25 yearsof building businesses and you
know, working with thousands ofpeople, you can't just go get a
take a class of people.
(23:28):
You can't just go take a class,get a certificate.
You can get the knowledge, butthe expertise comes from living
it and figuring out, seeing insomeone if they're not being
open or not being honest.
And sometimes they're not doingit to lie, they're having
problems being honest withthemselves.
And so a good coachingrelationship is someone a coach
(23:49):
that will tell you just as minedoes.
I have a coach as well.
If I'm not being honest withmyself or if I'm not being open,
just calling it out and notbeing afraid of doing that, and
we call it entering the danger.
Just getting it out there andsay hey, leah, I'm noticing that
(24:10):
you're quiet today, you know,is everything okay.
It could just be giving youspace, giving you space to say
something when you maybe you'rein the room and you feel like
you don't have the space to beopen or honest, giving you that
doorway to go through and beinga good facilitator, so pausing
(24:33):
everyone else.
So if John let's say John'sover here, to my right, he's
trying to talk over you, and hey, john, hold on a second.
Lee is trying to say something.
Yeah, and hey, John, hold on asecond.
Dr. Leah OH (24:45):
Leah's trying to say something and so doing those
things is crucial to having agood coaching relationship.
Yeah, and actually I'm going toskip ahead to a question about
emotional intelligence, becauseyou're already right in there.
Chris Davenport (24:59):
Okay.
Dr. Leah OH (25:03):
So you know that it is central to your mentoring
style, obviously, so why do youthink you know in all of your
experience, chris?
So how do you see emotionalintelligence as being vital for
business leaders and how do yousee a transforming leadership so
people are actually reallyeffective and conveying what
they want, and not just kind ofthe old command and control
(25:25):
style?
Chris Davenport (25:29):
This was one of my favorite questions so far.
I think that this is somethingthat's overlooked, because I
think in our society we want tothink we have it all figured out
, like everyone else does online, but but we don't, and that's
okay.
And then the second thing isthat's okay that we don't, yeah.
(25:52):
And so with regards toemotional intelligence, like I
said in the problem solving,most of us are led by our
emotions, and so it makes ittough to manage, because
emotional responses elicitemotional responses, and so then
(26:15):
you end up with these scenarioswhere people are at each other
emotionally and sometimes theyjust even they forget the
problem.
that's going on yeah, and so andthis happens in the session
room sometimes too, and ithappened in my past businesses
where people, would you know,get upset with each other and uh
(26:39):
, and I think it's crucial, whenyou boil down every company,
every company you're managing,you're not managing a product
line, you're not managing aservice, you're managing people.
(27:01):
Yeah, when you're managingpeople, you have to have, as a
leader, have to work, do someinternal work on yourself to
have that emotional intelligence, to not react to the emotion
and then also give people grace.
You know, like I said before,none of us have it figured out.
You know, we're all ondifferent scales and different
(27:25):
places and we have to meet eachother.
Where, as a leader, you have tomeet the people where they are
at at that moment in time.
And I've done a lot of work onI've probably had a coach slash
therapist for 10 years- yeah.
(27:46):
And I see her every other weekand sometimes there's nothing to
talk about.
Dr. Leah OH (27:52):
Yeah.
Chris Davenport (27:53):
But that helps me with my blind side.
Issues with emotionalintelligence issues, yeah, and I
hate to even call them issuesbecause it's just, you know,
yeah, just being a person.
Dr. Leah OH (28:04):
Yeah, it's just, you know.
Yeah, just being a person.
Chris Davenport (28:05):
Yeah, it's part of our makeup and so I think it
can transform our effectivenessas leaders.
Because if people see us, andeven if it's the individual
that's coming at us with emotion, and we are steadfast at
maintaining our emotion andrespond to them with kindness
(28:32):
not necessarily niceness, butbeing kind to them and not
snapping back at them, butproviding them a solution, Maybe
that solution is hey, let'stake a 10-minute break and come
back to this.
Or it could be hey, I think I'msensing that you're upset right
now.
Do you want to go deeper?
(28:53):
Just give him again, give himthe door to go through, and then
that typically helps a ton whenyou approach people like that.
Dr. Leah OH (29:05):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, you're right, and it makes me
think.
A lot of times people are likewhat is the one communication
tip?
I'm like tone, not what you say, but how you say it.
And it made me think of youremotional responses.
Illicit emotional responses,Same message, but if we can
remove that emotion, a lot ofpeople are going to be all ears
(29:26):
to it.
Might not like it, but they'renot going to push back so much.
But when you come with anemotion that tone high, it's
usually met with an equal orlarger response yes.
Chris Davenport (29:38):
Yes, that's right.
Dr. Leah OH (29:39):
Equal or larger, for sure, yes yes, are larger
for sure, yes, yes.
So my next question and I thinkthis is a really important one
with everything that's going onthese days in organizations, but
the core of it I'm looking tosee how you bring in
accountability and structure tohelp reduce, in a way, stress
(30:01):
and enhance productivity.
So when we integrateaccountability and structure in
organizations, how have you seenthis in turn, with time, help
to streamline operations and toreally make the workplace one
that we are producing more, butalso we're feeling better about
(30:24):
it because of the structuredaccountability.
What does that look like?
Chris Davenport (30:29):
What we did and what I help my teams do as well
.
So we did the same thing at 3iand we didn't do this from the
start, but we did this as welearned and because in the
beginning we used to manage byhey, you got this, you know what
you're doing and the peoplewere evangelical about us as the
(30:53):
leaders.
They did it, but that doesn'twork.
Scaling a structure, a businessstructure, to where each team
had a defined leader or managerthat led the team and managed
(31:13):
them and held them accountable,and you know how?
I think in the old days ofbusiness, a lot of business
owners were and I think there'sstill business owners that are
afraid to share numbers.
You know, and um, and they dida survey actually on this that
(31:34):
showed that the employees alwaysthink you're making more than
you're actually making.
So just share the numbers.
Dr. Leah OH (31:43):
Yeah.
Chris Davenport (31:44):
And and something that drives
accountability is just beingopen about the numbers and
numbers from a standpoint ofwhat the person, the team member
, is supposed to be doing inorder to make the company see
success in their role.
Order to make the company seesuccess in their role, and being
(32:11):
good about being clear withthose numbers and what they mean
and how they can attain themand how they can get there.
All of us need different,varying amounts of data.
I don't need a lot to getstarted, but some of my team
members have needed a lot.
So you have to show them, youhave to paint them a picture of
what it looks like.
What does success look like?
(32:34):
And then, on a weekly basis,reviewing these numbers in a
meeting to show them hey, you'reon track, awesome.
Hey, I see you're off track.
Let's talk about that.
What happened?
Do you need support?
Making sure you're giving them,as the leader, you're giving
them the capacity, time, thenecessary tools whether it be
(33:00):
technology or instruction ortraining to be successful.
And then, lastly, sometimes thepeople are just not a fit for
the seat.
So not putting someone in aseat, that's really not.
You know, like, say, you putsomeone in a sales role and they
don't like to talk to peoplethat's never going to work.
(33:22):
And you're stressing them out.
They're not gonna produce.
It's slowing the company downand so that's really what
reduces stress is making sureyou have the right person in the
right seat.
Yeah, then you, you're holdingthem accountable, not, you know,
with a stick, but more with acarrot.
(33:45):
So to speak yes yep, and thenwhen they're off communicating,
don't let it fester to the pointto where everybody's upset and
they have no idea what'shappened.
They're shocked that theirnumbers are off because you
didn't talk to them for threemonths.
Yeah, you know.
Dr. Leah OH (34:08):
Yeah, I really like that, that idea, that you're
right.
I think employees just tend tothink organizations are just
raking in so much money and whenwe're transparent about that
too, I think there's an elementof empowerment, where an
employee can see how they areneeded and what they're doing is
helping that bottom line andthere might be ways they can
(34:30):
help increase it.
Chris Davenport (34:32):
Yes.
Dr. Leah OH (34:33):
So, yeah that's really powerful.
Chris Davenport (34:36):
They love that.
They love all of us.
We all love having a purposeand feeling needed and important
.
Accountability can be an uglyword to some people, but it's
really about having your placeand making a difference in
(34:58):
whatever you're doing.
Dr. Leah OH (35:00):
Yes, yeah, yeah.
And it's funny you say I loveaccountability, like a blanket
comfort word for me.
Chris Davenport (35:10):
Yes, I'm the same way.
I need something to do to helpExactly so, chris.
Dr. Leah OH (35:19):
Let's think about sustainable success, and you
know that you're mentoring thesebusiness leaders and how do you
set them up, so you're not onlyhelping them achieve growth now
, but how do you sustain itlong-term?
And have you found, are therekey ingredients for maintaining
that momentum, especially whenbusiness environments are so
(35:42):
dynamic?
Chris Davenport (35:45):
I think sustainable success, in my
experience, comes from something.
It's going to sound simple, butI'll get deeper, deeper into it
.
It's it really comes down toyour meeting cadence as an
organization, and what I mean bythat.
It's similar to if you decideyou're going to get healthy and
(36:10):
you know you go get groceriesand you get all the health food
and then you do it for a day ortwo and then you stop doing it.
So you planned once and thenyou expected it to have a result
forever.
And sometimes business ownersand leaders do the same thing.
They say, okay, we've got it,it's good, now let's just keep
(36:34):
going.
But things change, peoplechange, the marketplace changes.
So what I find that creates asustainable success is, yes,
continuing to do what you'redoing and holding people
accountable and communicating,but leaving the business behind
(36:58):
every 90 days to go have ameeting together with the
leadership team to work on thebusiness instead of in the
business, and the viewpoint isso different from it's much like
when you're in an airplaneyou're looking down, yes, and I
always think it's cool.
When you fly're in an airplane,you're looking down, and I
always think it's cool when youfly over your own neighborhood
and you're like hey, that's myhouse, you know, and it's just a
(37:20):
cool feeling because it'ssomething you don't see very
often.
I think it's completelydifferent Maybe three times
that's happened to me.
And so, as a business leader andthe leadership team, you know
you're handling problems, you'reproblem solvers.
That's what you do all day.
(37:41):
Yeah, and it's fun.
But when you're in the thicketsolving problems, you know
somebody's got to go up abovethe forest to look and see which
direction that we need to go toget to town.
And so meeting every 90 dayshas been a cadence that works
(38:04):
very well.
And getting out of the business, getting everyone's mind out of
those problems oh, you know howare we going to make payroll.
And you know what about thiscustomer that's mad at us?
Just leave that behind andthink big for a day and really
(38:25):
plan and then execute on thatplan and then do it again in 90
days and keep doing it, andthat's what sustains success and
continues growth.
Dr. Leah OH (38:38):
Yeah, I really love that.
I was thinking about it forlike a personal check-ins too.
Chris Davenport (38:45):
Yes.
Dr. Leah OH (38:45):
Like where you are as a leader, as a human, as a
parent, whatever role you wantto focus on.
So 90 days, like if somethingyou know you've dipped a toe off
your path, 90 days you canstill correct course correct.
But yeah, what a powerful idea,chris.
Chris Davenport (39:04):
Yeah, and that's gold, what you said right
there.
Taking it to the personal level, I have had a few leaders say,
hey, can I use this personally?
And we actually have built aplan for that that they can take
home and it's called the FamilyVTO and it's a way to organize
(39:24):
your family.
The goals and maybe a goal isto take one of ours this year is
to take a ski trip in December.
Dr. Leah OH (39:32):
Yeah.
Chris Davenport (39:33):
So we're saving points for that.
Dr. Leah OH (39:36):
Yeah, exactly.
Chris Davenport (39:38):
Yep.
Dr. Leah OH (39:40):
So, chris, I have two final questions for you, and
these are.
They work well together.
This is the way we end all ofour episodes of the
Communicative Leader.
So you know we're looking for aleadership or communication tip
, advice, a challenge.
So the first part is for ourtitle leaders out there folks
(40:01):
who are managers, directors,supervisors and then the second
part is that kind of tip,challenge or advice for
employees of all ranks, acrossall levels.
Chris Davenport (40:13):
Okay, so what?
I would say?
My tip for leaders make sureyou're giving your team the
things they need to besuccessful, and typically those
things are direction.
A lot, a lot of times we asleaders, we know it, and
(40:38):
sometimes we are going so fastand we're sometimes one, three,
six months ahead that we don't,we don't know, slash.
Remember that a lot of timespeople they're, they're in the
now and really that's that's agreat place to be, so they're in
(40:59):
the right now and they can'tread your mind.
So you have to communicate withthem on a regular basis, because
they go home and they havetheir kids to take care of and
homework and meals to cook, andyou know, then they go to sleep
and they wake up and it's a newday.
So any regular direction andleadership from you uh, so, so
(41:26):
in that is communicating withthem where the company is going,
what role they serve and whatthe desired results are, what
good looks like, so they knowwhat to do.
And I think a lot of times yousee, like I was on a call this
week and a gentleman told me hesaid, hey, I'm having problems
(41:49):
with my sales manager.
She's great, but she only takesaction when I tell her
something's off and I said, okay, so have you given her the
permission to take actionwithout you telling her yeah?
And he said, wow, I don't thinkI have.
And so it comes down tocommunication.
(42:11):
Yeah, she didn't want tooverstep her boundary and he
never told her it was okay.
Dr. Leah OH (42:17):
Yeah.
Chris Davenport (42:18):
So I think that's for the leaders and then
for employees.
You know, I would say it wouldbe great, you'd be a great
employee if you were.
Just just as leaders need to beopen and honest with the
employees.
Just be open and honest withthe leaders and open meaning, if
(42:43):
you see that someone is notworking out very well and I
don't mean just bashing peoplefor the sake of bashing them out
very well, and and I don't meanjust bashing people for the
sake of bashing them you know,you know, have some, some sort
of data to say, hey, I think, uh, john is not a great fit and
here's why you know he comes inan hour late, he never makes his
(43:05):
numbers.
Um, yeah, because those typesof things will bring the team
down and then, before you knowit, you'll have a team full of
Johns.
No offense to any John outthere, yeah, because I don't
know a John right now personally.
So I'm not picking on anybody,but really just being open and
honest and communicating withyour leaders what you need.
(43:29):
Like, for example, anotherclient I work with.
I overheard a salesperson comein and say, hey, uh, these new
leads that we're getting fromthis new lead provider aren't
working Bunch of bad numbers,you know they're.
They're not working and Ithought it was great that he
(43:51):
shared that with the owner,because the owner's spending,
you know, $10,000 a month onthese leads and it's great.
That's a great example ofcommunicating and I thought that
was just amazing that he didthat.
So I would say communicatereally both directions.
Dr. Leah OH (44:13):
Yeah, yes, I love that as a communication scholar,
right, I think so many thingswould be if we just spent a few
more minutes thinking about ourcommunication, about what we
know but what our other you know, our conversation partner
should know, or what we couldshare with them, and vice versa.
So many fewer like issues andmisunderstandings and missteps.
(44:38):
So thank you for raising thatup.
Chris Davenport (44:41):
Yes, it would make life much easier for
everybody and throw theassumptions away.
Communicate.
Dr. Leah OH (44:49):
Yes, I think you're right.
Exactly Well, chris.
Thank you for sharing yourexpertise with us, all of your
stories, this advice.
I really enjoyed ourconversation and I know our
listeners will as well.
Chris Davenport (45:03):
Thank you, leah , I appreciate it.
Dr. Leah OH (45:07):
All right, my friends.
That wraps up our conversationtoday.
Until next time, communicatewith intention and lead with
purpose.
I'm looking forward to chattingwith you again soon on the
Communicative Leader.
Welcome to another insightful episode of the
Communicative Leader.
I'm your host, dr Leah oh, andtoday we are delighted to
welcome Chris Davenport to theshow.
Chris is a seasonedentrepreneur and a distinguished
figure in the technologyindustry, renowned for his
strategic vision andtransformative leadership.
Chris has dedicated his careerto building industry-leading
(00:22):
technology companies thatempower both employees and
clients to reach their fullestpotential.
With roots in entrepreneurshipdating back to his college days,
chris has developed areputation as a problem solver
extraordinaire.
It has earned him titles likethe wolf and the cleaner.
His extraordinary journeyincludes remarkable growth and
(00:43):
eventual sale of 3iInternational, a comprehensive
technology solutions providerwhere he listen to this, my
friends where he led the companyto a staggering 1000% revenue
increase.
I mean, just try and wrap yourmind around that.
In today's episode, we'll delveinto Chris's unique approach to
leveraging technology coachingand strategic management for
(01:07):
sustainable business success.
He'll share his expertise onthe key elements that drive
growth, the role of emotionalintelligence and leadership, and
how structure andaccountability can really help
reduce stress in businessoperations.
Whether you are an aspiringentrepreneur or a seasoned
business leader, chris'sinsights will offer valuable
(01:28):
guidance for navigating thecomplexities of today's business
landscape.
So if you are eager to learnhow to enhance your leadership
abilities and achieve thatlasting success.
This episode is brimming withpractical advice and inspiration
.
What else?
You're going to have to ignoremy voice in this episode because
I was just getting overpneumonia when Chris and I had
(01:51):
the pleasure of chatting.
All right, let's dive in andhave some fun.
Hello and welcome to theCommunicative Leader, hosted by
me, Dr .
Leah Omilion-Hodges.
My friends call me Dr OH.
I'm a professor ofcommunication and a leadership
communication expert.
I'm the communicative leader.
We're working to make your worklife what you want it to be.
(02:13):
So, Chris, welcome to thecommunicative leader.
We're so excited to have you onthe show and to kick things off
.
I was hoping you could sharewith our listeners a little bit
of your entrepreneurial journey,so how you transitioned from
founding your first company incollege to becoming a prominent
(02:36):
business expert in thetechnology sector.
Chris Davenport (02:39):
Hi, leah, it's great to be here with you today.
That's such an interestingquestion.
It brings back a ton ofmemories and emotions.
I would have to say it startedout while I was in college, like
you said, and it was really atthe boon of dot-com and the
(03:03):
internet was taking off late 90sand I was going in as to be a
pre-med major Big change, right,yeah, totally changed course
and so I had a kind ofinflection point moment where I
got a laptop for graduation formy parents and I just fell in
(03:27):
love with technology and thatreally got my interest peaked in
that area and I started workingjust odd jobs for businesses
that didn't know what to do whenthey would get viruses or need
computer setup, and I juststarted that way by word of
(03:50):
mouth.
So while I felt like at times Iwas missing out with my college
friends, they were out partying.
I traded the temporary rewardsfor long-term gain and so I was,
you know, between school andwork.
I was doing about 80 hours aweek and it just I got so
(04:12):
obsessed with it and it becamevery fun solving problems and
helping others through whateverthey were facing.
You know that was causing thempain in their business, and I
did that for many years, youknow, continued college.
(04:32):
But after college I continuedto do this and, still through
word of mouth, just got a.
You know a large amount ofbusinesses that I would work for
Even started working forcompetitors in the space that
did what I did but neededexpertise that they did not have
, and so it just turned into acompany.
(04:57):
It became more than I could doon my own and along the way I
started learning from theseindividuals that I was working
for, these CEOs, these businessowners, these executives, that I
would watch them as I wasworking, run their business and
do their planning and talk abouttheir numbers.
(05:19):
And I just learned.
I listened to every second ofthat and that's really what
turned me into an entrepreneur.
Dr. Leah OH (05:28):
Yeah, there's so much from that story.
I love that you leaned into theshift when you realized this is
where my passion is, because myday job I'm a professor, so I
see so many you're like, well,I'm just going to finish and
maybe I'll like it at some point.
It's like, probably not, it'snot piquing your interest now.
(05:50):
And then, two, when you saidthat even your competitors were
seeking you out, that's when youknow you're doing something
like beyond right, right, whenthey're like, oh gosh, I've got
to swallow my pride, but I needyour help, I need your expertise
.
So that's a really, reallygreat story and thank you for
(06:11):
sharing that journey with us.
Chris Davenport (06:12):
Sure.
Dr. Leah OH (06:13):
And I think that sets us up nicely for your
problem solving expertise, and Iknow that you've been referred
to as the wolf and the cleanerbecause you have this
adaptability to resolve complexbusiness issues.
So how did you develop thisreputation, chris, and what are
some core principles that guideyour approach to problem solving
(06:34):
?
Chris Davenport (06:36):
But I love this question because problem
solving and helping people isreally my passion.
That's what I love to do and Iactually, you know, talking
about working for competitors.
I got those nicknames from someof my competitors and they
(06:56):
turned into being great friendsalong the way, so you know.
So I would get called in andthere was a IT company in San
Antonio, texas, where I grew up,so sometimes I'd take work
there as well.
(07:19):
Nicholas, he's from Sweden, sohe's got an accent and he's a
funny guy, so he's the one thatcoined the name the Wolf or the
Cleaner.
He had a team.
He was a few years ahead of mein building out his company.
I still was a one-man show atthis point and they called me in
(07:42):
to get them out of a jam.
They had a server that was down.
You know, a hundred employeescouldn't work and it had been
that way for a few days.
And if you know anything aboutstatistics, if a typical company
, if they're down for seven days, their chance of bankruptcy is
very high, and so it was dire.
(08:02):
And so I got in there and Iprobably worked about 30 minutes
to an hour and had them back upand did that repeated results
like that for them, and so hegave me that nickname and he'd
asked me the same question youdid how do you, what do you do?
And I try and share myknowledge, and it's really not
(08:27):
even the knowledge I go intothis stuff, sometimes never
touching the technology before,and so it's not necessarily
about knowing the systems, and Ithink that's a hang up that a
lot of people have, and this issome advice that don't let that
scare you If you've never seenit.
(08:47):
Every problem has the samemakeup or the same architecture,
and so what I do is I start bydissecting it down to the most
basic parts that you can, and Ithink a lot of times people are
glazed over by what they'reseeing, but what they're seeing
(09:11):
is just a symptom or a set ofsymptoms from the real problem.
It's much like your car oh, itdoesn't start.
Well, it's not the car that yousee that's not starting, it's
something inside, you know thestarter or the battery or
something else is causing that.
So that's the first thing I do,and then the next thing I do is
(09:36):
when I come into these problems, even today with leadership
teams, and whether it's tech ornot, people are so focused on
the emotion that they're feelingat that moment in time and
that's what's driving them.
Their fear of something iswhat's driving them versus
(09:57):
seeing what the problem is, tosolve it.
They're afraid in the momentand their fear is they're
overcome with that fear andthat's preventing them from
seeing what the problem is.
Because that's what we'rehumans we act on fear sometimes,
and so I.
The second thing I do, inaddition to simplifying it as
(10:20):
much as possible, the secondthing I do is to take the
emotion out of it as much aspossible.
The second thing I do is to takethe emotion out of it, and so,
typically, I have an advantage,and this is what I used to tell
these people hey, I have anadvantage fresh set of eyes, I
just walked in here.
I have no, I have no stakes inthe game here, you know.
(10:41):
And so when they would feel badwhen I'd solve it in 30 minutes
, I'm like, hey, you've been atthis for days.
They would feel bad when I'dsolve it in 30 minutes, I'm like
, hey, you've been at this fordays, you know, and you're
probably tired, you're probablyworried, you're going to lose
your job or get fired or youknow whatever.
The worst thing, thecatastrophe is in their head.
That's what they're worriedabout.
So dissect it down to the mostbasic elements, even if you
(11:02):
think you already have done that, go deeper and then tell the
emotion to pause while you'reusing your brain cycles to solve
the problem.
Dr. Leah OH (11:15):
Yes, that is so helpful.
I was even thinking that's likethe principles I'm using to
help a fourth grader learn somemore advanced math than they
have done in the past?
What do we know?
Let's strip this down.
Chris Davenport (11:28):
I have a fourth grader and I can relate to that
.
Dr. Leah OH (11:31):
Yes, exactly yeah.
But you're right.
Especially in organizations,when our livelihood is tied to
this and our reputation and allof those motions, we can see how
we can let them easily take thedriver's seat if we're not
telling them nope, you're notneeded here, You're not helping
right now.
Chris Davenport (11:52):
That's right, that's right.
Dr. Leah OH (11:54):
So let's look at your transformation, or your
transformative leadershipapproach.
So we know, with you at thehelm, 3i International
experienced a significantrevenue boost, so I was hoping
you could discuss some of thesekey strategies that you
implemented to drive thismassive growth and what are some
other lessons that otherentrepreneurs could take away
(12:16):
from your experience is.
Chris Davenport (12:24):
We built an incredible team, but it didn't
really start out that way.
I think you can grow a companyto a certain point on your own
drive and your own sweat equity,but at some point it gets too
big to where you cannot hold onto every element of everything
(12:46):
that's going on.
So I think when I started outsome growing areas for me, some
growth that happened when westarted 3i.
I had a handle on everycustomer, every problem, and I
would catch the guys and girls.
If they fell, if somethinghappened, I would be there to
(13:08):
help them, boost them back up,and I didn't always have to help
them.
They were great, very smart,capable people, but sometimes
they would get stuck and thatended up not working as we
scaled.
We scaled beyond that and westarted to see problems because
(13:31):
I wasn't letting go properly.
So one thing I did was Istarted to document how we did
things and how the three-eye waywas done, how we did things and
how the how the three eye waywas done, and then started
letting go and and giving thesethings to people to own
themselves.
(13:51):
Yeah, and it did it fixeverything?
No, uh, but I.
But we went further andimplemented something called EOS
, which stands for excuse mereal quick, sorry.
So we went further andimplemented something called EOS
(14:12):
that stands for EntrepreneurialOperating System, and that's
what I do today.
So I'm an implementer now.
I fell in love with it so muchthat I started doing it for
others, to help them.
Because it was sotransformative for 3i, and what
(14:32):
it did was it took the focus offof the company being me and me
being the company.
The company started having itsown structure, its own set of
rules, its own vision on whereit was going and how it was
going to get there.
And once people saw, oh, thisisn't Chris, this is 3i
(14:53):
International.
Dr. Leah OH (14:54):
Yeah.
Chris Davenport (14:56):
Then we started hiring additional people as we
grew.
Yeah, and instead of here's theChris way.
Dr. Leah OH (15:02):
Yeah, here's the 3 way it was.
Chris Davenport (15:03):
Here's the three-eye way.
Dr. Leah OH (15:05):
Yeah.
Chris Davenport (15:06):
And within that we had accountability and
structure and really justcommunicated on a regular basis
with our people.
The management all had the sameanswer, Whether or not there
(15:27):
was dissension in the planningroom we left and it was the way,
and that's what we really usedto transform the company there.
Dr. Leah OH (15:35):
Yeah, and what a recipe for success.
These like guiding principleswhere we're all, like you said,
even if there's dissension whenwe're discussing it, we're a
united front and that empoweringpeople.
Chris Davenport (15:46):
Yes.
Dr. Leah OH (15:47):
You know, you hire smart people for a reason so
that we can give them thoseguiding principles and let them
shine.
Chris Davenport (15:55):
And Leah.
There's so much fun in seeingsomeone even seeing some of the
people that came through 3i andgrew and there's one guy, his
name's Jay.
He ended up starting his ownrecruiting company and he's
killing it and it's just awesometo see.
If you let go and you letpeople do what they need to do,
(16:19):
magic can happen, not only forthe company but for themselves.
Dr. Leah OH (16:23):
Yeah, yeah, what a gift.
Chris Davenport (16:26):
Yeah.
Dr. Leah OH (16:27):
Right, because a lot of times when we think about
work, we are not thinking aboutit as a gift, right?
A lot of employees, so thatreally is incredible.
So my follow-up question tothat you kind of already hinted
at some of these challenges, butI know that when you have this
impressive scale up of 3iInternational, what were some of
the challenges?
But I know that when you havethis impressive scale up of 3i
International, what were some ofthe most challenging aspects of
(16:49):
the growth process?
And then how did you look atthose obstacles and turn them
into opportunities?
Chris Davenport (16:57):
That's another question that spawns a bunch of
different feelings.
A bunch of different feelingsand I think you know, if there
weren't problems, we wouldn'tseek solutions, right, so we
would have never found EOS, wewouldn't have let go.
These people wouldn't have beenmade more, you know, through
(17:19):
that.
So some of this stuff is goingto sound horrible that we went
through, but it was good in theend.
Yeah, one thing as we wereimplementing EOS, we were
wondering for a while why wewere making money.
We were bringing money in, butwe just didn't know where it was
(17:42):
going.
And I feel like I had a partnerand him and I we were looking
at the bank accounts, we werewatching and through that
process, it uncovered something.
We found out our CFO wasembezzling money from us.
Dr. Leah OH (18:01):
Oh, wow.
Chris Davenport (18:04):
And a large sum of money, and had we not gone
through pain and implemented asystem, we would have never
found out, potentially, maybeanother way.
God works in strange ways, somaybe he would have brought us
something.
(18:25):
But within six months of juststarting the process, we found
that out and that was one thingthat was very challenging and it
was a growth challenge becausewe were growing.
Yeah, outside, looking in, youshould have had checks and
(18:45):
balances, you should have hadthis, but we grew so rapidly, we
didn't really know what wedidn't have, that we needed yet.
So the cart before the horse.
Dr. Leah OH (18:57):
Yeah, yeah.
Chris Davenport (19:00):
I would say another thing was it was just
difficult sometimes to find theright people, and I think in
startup culture you hire people.
When you start, you hire peoplethat are evangelical about you
as a person, and so I foundthose people and I was, in turn,
(19:23):
evangelical about them.
I found those people and and Iwas, in turn, evangelical about
them.
And at some point it gets toobig to do that with everyone.
And then you start to findpeople and you think they're the
right people, but they don'tfit their the core values.
They don't mesh well with therest of the team because they're
not there for the same reasonsthose initial people were there
(19:46):
for.
And so finding the right peopleis tough, and how we worked
through that was using EOS.
You implement, you define yourcore values and your core
purpose and you communicate thatwith the people and you use
(20:07):
that when you're attractingtalent and you also use it to
repel talent that may not fit,that may have a better home
somewhere, and so while we weregoing through that, we
outsourced certain things untilwe could augment.
We augmented it withoutsourcing until we could
figure out how to.
We augmented it withoutsourcing until we could figure
out how to build it internallywith the right people, and that
(20:29):
really was the kind of the finalstraw to break us through to
rapid growth there.
Dr. Leah OH (20:39):
Yeah, yeah.
I really love when you startedoff by saying without these
problems, we wouldn't have foundthese solutions, right, and so
it's a nice way.
You know, no one is like whatobstacle do I get to face today?
But being able to look and saywe could get creative here and
we're going to have to getcreative here, so I think that's
(20:59):
a really great way of oflooking at it.
And two, I appreciate how,instead of trying to shove that
square peg into the round hole,how do we outsource these roles,
these needs, until we have theright fit?
Chris Davenport (21:17):
That's right, that's right.
Dr. Leah OH (21:18):
Because you can do so much damage to a culture
where we're forcing people whodon't want to be there and
aren't great fits to be there.
Chris Davenport (21:29):
Yes, just not worth it.
It's not and we went throughpain with that.
We had one individual.
He would show up to the officedrunk after lunch and killed the
culture for a while lunch andkilled the culture for a while.
Dr. Leah OH (21:52):
And we eradicated that and and found someone that
fit and uh it's, it was nightand day, yeah, so so you've
talked a lot about um, eos andnow you're helping others, and
so I know that you have a greattrack record of successfully
coaching CEOs, other businessleaders, and what do you think
are the most crucial elements ofan effective coaching or
(22:14):
mentoring relationship?
Chris Davenport (22:18):
I think that every relationship, especially
in coaching and mentoring, everyrelationship, even outside of
that, really you have to startwith honesty and openness,
because if you're holding backsomething or if you're trying to
be something or someone you'renot.
(22:39):
And I'm not talking aboutaspiring to be someone, that's
okay, but just having a facade,that's not real, it slows down
the process or it just makes theprocess just not even start.
So you have to be open andhonest with each other, open and
(23:08):
honest with each other.
And so a lot of people don'treally, you know.
A lot of people say, oh great,you're a coach, you know.
And they kind of laugh aboutthat, thinking, well, you know,
how do you do that?
And I tell them well, 25 yearsof building businesses and you
know, working with thousands ofpeople, you can't just go get a
take a class of people.
(23:28):
You can't just go take a class,get a certificate.
You can get the knowledge, butthe expertise comes from living
it and figuring out, seeing insomeone if they're not being
open or not being honest.
And sometimes they're not doingit to lie, they're having
problems being honest withthemselves.
And so a good coachingrelationship is someone a coach
(23:49):
that will tell you just as minedoes.
I have a coach as well.
If I'm not being honest withmyself or if I'm not being open,
just calling it out and notbeing afraid of doing that, and
we call it entering the danger.
Just getting it out there andsay hey, leah, I'm noticing that
(24:10):
you're quiet today, you know,is everything okay.
It could just be giving youspace, giving you space to say
something when you maybe you'rein the room and you feel like
you don't have the space to beopen or honest, giving you that
doorway to go through and beinga good facilitator, so pausing
(24:33):
everyone else.
So if John let's say John'sover here, to my right, he's
trying to talk over you, and hey, john, hold on a second.
Lee is trying to say something.
Yeah, and hey, John, hold on asecond.
Dr. Leah OH (24:45):
Leah's trying to say something and so doing those
things is crucial to having agood coaching relationship.
Yeah, and actually I'm going toskip ahead to a question about
emotional intelligence, becauseyou're already right in there.
Chris Davenport (24:59):
Okay.
Dr. Leah OH (25:03):
So you know that it is central to your mentoring
style, obviously, so why do youthink you know in all of your
experience, chris?
So how do you see emotionalintelligence as being vital for
business leaders and how do yousee a transforming leadership so
people are actually reallyeffective and conveying what
they want, and not just kind ofthe old command and control
(25:25):
style?
Chris Davenport (25:29):
This was one of my favorite questions so far.
I think that this is somethingthat's overlooked, because I
think in our society we want tothink we have it all figured out
, like everyone else does online, but but we don't, and that's
okay.
And then the second thing isthat's okay that we don't, yeah.
(25:52):
And so with regards toemotional intelligence, like I
said in the problem solving,most of us are led by our
emotions, and so it makes ittough to manage, because
emotional responses elicitemotional responses, and so then
(26:15):
you end up with these scenarioswhere people are at each other
emotionally and sometimes theyjust even they forget the
problem.
that's going on yeah, and so andthis happens in the session
room sometimes too, and ithappened in my past businesses
where people, would you know,get upset with each other and uh
(26:39):
, and I think it's crucial, whenyou boil down every company,
every company you're managing,you're not managing a product
line, you're not managing aservice, you're managing people.
(27:01):
Yeah, when you're managingpeople, you have to have, as a
leader, have to work, do someinternal work on yourself to
have that emotional intelligence, to not react to the emotion
and then also give people grace.
You know, like I said before,none of us have it figured out.
You know, we're all ondifferent scales and different
(27:25):
places and we have to meet eachother.
Where, as a leader, you have tomeet the people where they are
at at that moment in time.
And I've done a lot of work onI've probably had a coach slash
therapist for 10 years- yeah.
(27:46):
And I see her every other weekand sometimes there's nothing to
talk about.
Dr. Leah OH (27:52):
Yeah.
Chris Davenport (27:53):
But that helps me with my blind side.
Issues with emotionalintelligence issues, yeah, and I
hate to even call them issuesbecause it's just, you know,
yeah, just being a person.
Dr. Leah OH (28:04):
Yeah, it's just, you know.
Yeah, just being a person.
Chris Davenport (28:05):
Yeah, it's part of our makeup and so I think it
can transform our effectivenessas leaders.
Because if people see us, andeven if it's the individual
that's coming at us with emotion, and we are steadfast at
maintaining our emotion andrespond to them with kindness
(28:32):
not necessarily niceness, butbeing kind to them and not
snapping back at them, butproviding them a solution, Maybe
that solution is hey, let'stake a 10-minute break and come
back to this.
Or it could be hey, I think I'msensing that you're upset right
now.
Do you want to go deeper?
(28:53):
Just give him again, give himthe door to go through, and then
that typically helps a ton whenyou approach people like that.
Dr. Leah OH (29:05):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, you're right, and it makes me
think.
A lot of times people are likewhat is the one communication
tip?
I'm like tone, not what you say, but how you say it.
And it made me think of youremotional responses.
Illicit emotional responses,Same message, but if we can
remove that emotion, a lot ofpeople are going to be all ears
(29:26):
to it.
Might not like it, but they'renot going to push back so much.
But when you come with anemotion that tone high, it's
usually met with an equal orlarger response yes.
Chris Davenport (29:38):
Yes, that's right.
Dr. Leah OH (29:39):
Equal or larger, for sure, yes yes, are larger
for sure, yes, yes.
So my next question and I thinkthis is a really important one
with everything that's going onthese days in organizations, but
the core of it I'm looking tosee how you bring in
accountability and structure tohelp reduce, in a way, stress
(30:01):
and enhance productivity.
So when we integrateaccountability and structure in
organizations, how have you seenthis in turn, with time, help
to streamline operations and toreally make the workplace one
that we are producing more, butalso we're feeling better about
(30:24):
it because of the structuredaccountability.
What does that look like?
Chris Davenport (30:29):
What we did and what I help my teams do as well
.
So we did the same thing at 3iand we didn't do this from the
start, but we did this as welearned and because in the
beginning we used to manage byhey, you got this, you know what
you're doing and the peoplewere evangelical about us as the
(30:53):
leaders.
They did it, but that doesn'twork.
Scaling a structure, a businessstructure, to where each team
had a defined leader or managerthat led the team and managed
(31:13):
them and held them accountable,and you know how?
I think in the old days ofbusiness, a lot of business
owners were and I think there'sstill business owners that are
afraid to share numbers.
You know, and um, and they dida survey actually on this that
(31:34):
showed that the employees alwaysthink you're making more than
you're actually making.
So just share the numbers.
Dr. Leah OH (31:43):
Yeah.
Chris Davenport (31:44):
And and something that drives
accountability is just beingopen about the numbers and
numbers from a standpoint ofwhat the person, the team member
, is supposed to be doing inorder to make the company see
success in their role.
Order to make the company seesuccess in their role, and being
(32:11):
good about being clear withthose numbers and what they mean
and how they can attain themand how they can get there.
All of us need different,varying amounts of data.
I don't need a lot to getstarted, but some of my team
members have needed a lot.
So you have to show them, youhave to paint them a picture of
what it looks like.
What does success look like?
(32:34):
And then, on a weekly basis,reviewing these numbers in a
meeting to show them hey, you'reon track, awesome.
Hey, I see you're off track.
Let's talk about that.
What happened?
Do you need support?
Making sure you're giving them,as the leader, you're giving
them the capacity, time, thenecessary tools whether it be
(33:00):
technology or instruction ortraining to be successful.
And then, lastly, sometimes thepeople are just not a fit for
the seat.
So not putting someone in aseat, that's really not.
You know, like, say, you putsomeone in a sales role and they
don't like to talk to peoplethat's never going to work.
(33:22):
And you're stressing them out.
They're not gonna produce.
It's slowing the company downand so that's really what
reduces stress is making sureyou have the right person in the
right seat.
Yeah, then you, you're holdingthem accountable, not, you know,
with a stick, but more with acarrot.
(33:45):
So to speak yes yep, and thenwhen they're off communicating,
don't let it fester to the pointto where everybody's upset and
they have no idea what'shappened.
They're shocked that theirnumbers are off because you
didn't talk to them for threemonths.
Yeah, you know.
Dr. Leah OH (34:08):
Yeah, I really like that, that idea, that you're
right.
I think employees just tend tothink organizations are just
raking in so much money and whenwe're transparent about that
too, I think there's an elementof empowerment, where an
employee can see how they areneeded and what they're doing is
helping that bottom line andthere might be ways they can
(34:30):
help increase it.
Chris Davenport (34:32):
Yes.
Dr. Leah OH (34:33):
So, yeah that's really powerful.
Chris Davenport (34:36):
They love that.
They love all of us.
We all love having a purposeand feeling needed and important
.
Accountability can be an uglyword to some people, but it's
really about having your placeand making a difference in
(34:58):
whatever you're doing.
Dr. Leah OH (35:00):
Yes, yeah, yeah.
And it's funny you say I loveaccountability, like a blanket
comfort word for me.
Chris Davenport (35:10):
Yes, I'm the same way.
I need something to do to helpExactly so, chris.
Dr. Leah OH (35:19):
Let's think about sustainable success, and you
know that you're mentoring thesebusiness leaders and how do you
set them up, so you're not onlyhelping them achieve growth now
, but how do you sustain itlong-term?
And have you found, are therekey ingredients for maintaining
that momentum, especially whenbusiness environments are so
(35:42):
dynamic?
Chris Davenport (35:45):
I think sustainable success, in my
experience, comes from something.
It's going to sound simple, butI'll get deeper, deeper into it
.
It's it really comes down toyour meeting cadence as an
organization, and what I mean bythat.
It's similar to if you decideyou're going to get healthy and
(36:10):
you know you go get groceriesand you get all the health food
and then you do it for a day ortwo and then you stop doing it.
So you planned once and thenyou expected it to have a result
forever.
And sometimes business ownersand leaders do the same thing.
They say, okay, we've got it,it's good, now let's just keep
(36:34):
going.
But things change, peoplechange, the marketplace changes.
So what I find that creates asustainable success is, yes,
continuing to do what you'redoing and holding people
accountable and communicating,but leaving the business behind
(36:58):
every 90 days to go have ameeting together with the
leadership team to work on thebusiness instead of in the
business, and the viewpoint isso different from it's much like
when you're in an airplaneyou're looking down, yes, and I
always think it's cool.
When you fly're in an airplane,you're looking down, and I
always think it's cool when youfly over your own neighborhood
and you're like hey, that's myhouse, you know, and it's just a
(37:20):
cool feeling because it'ssomething you don't see very
often.
I think it's completelydifferent Maybe three times
that's happened to me.
And so, as a business leader andthe leadership team, you know
you're handling problems, you'reproblem solvers.
That's what you do all day.
(37:41):
Yeah, and it's fun.
But when you're in the thicketsolving problems, you know
somebody's got to go up abovethe forest to look and see which
direction that we need to go toget to town.
And so meeting every 90 dayshas been a cadence that works
(38:04):
very well.
And getting out of the business, getting everyone's mind out of
those problems oh, you know howare we going to make payroll.
And you know what about thiscustomer that's mad at us?
Just leave that behind andthink big for a day and really
(38:25):
plan and then execute on thatplan and then do it again in 90
days and keep doing it, andthat's what sustains success and
continues growth.
Dr. Leah OH (38:38):
Yeah, I really love that.
I was thinking about it forlike a personal check-ins too.
Chris Davenport (38:45):
Yes.
Dr. Leah OH (38:45):
Like where you are as a leader, as a human, as a
parent, whatever role you wantto focus on.
So 90 days, like if somethingyou know you've dipped a toe off
your path, 90 days you canstill correct course correct.
But yeah, what a powerful idea,chris.
Chris Davenport (39:04):
Yeah, and that's gold, what you said right
there.
Taking it to the personal level, I have had a few leaders say,
hey, can I use this personally?
And we actually have built aplan for that that they can take
home and it's called the FamilyVTO and it's a way to organize
(39:24):
your family.
The goals and maybe a goal isto take one of ours this year is
to take a ski trip in December.
Dr. Leah OH (39:32):
Yeah.
Chris Davenport (39:33):
So we're saving points for that.
Dr. Leah OH (39:36):
Yeah, exactly.
Chris Davenport (39:38):
Yep.
Dr. Leah OH (39:40):
So, chris, I have two final questions for you, and
these are.
They work well together.
This is the way we end all ofour episodes of the
Communicative Leader.
So you know we're looking for aleadership or communication tip
, advice, a challenge.
So the first part is for ourtitle leaders out there folks
(40:01):
who are managers, directors,supervisors and then the second
part is that kind of tip,challenge or advice for
employees of all ranks, acrossall levels.
Chris Davenport (40:13):
Okay, so what?
I would say?
My tip for leaders make sureyou're giving your team the
things they need to besuccessful, and typically those
things are direction.
A lot, a lot of times we asleaders, we know it, and
(40:38):
sometimes we are going so fastand we're sometimes one, three,
six months ahead that we don't,we don't know, slash.
Remember that a lot of timespeople they're, they're in the
now and really that's that's agreat place to be, so they're in
(40:59):
the right now and they can'tread your mind.
So you have to communicate withthem on a regular basis, because
they go home and they havetheir kids to take care of and
homework and meals to cook, andyou know, then they go to sleep
and they wake up and it's a newday.
So any regular direction andleadership from you uh, so, so
(41:26):
in that is communicating withthem where the company is going,
what role they serve and whatthe desired results are, what
good looks like, so they knowwhat to do.
And I think a lot of times yousee, like I was on a call this
week and a gentleman told me hesaid, hey, I'm having problems
(41:49):
with my sales manager.
She's great, but she only takesaction when I tell her
something's off and I said, okay, so have you given her the
permission to take actionwithout you telling her yeah?
And he said, wow, I don't thinkI have.
And so it comes down tocommunication.
(42:11):
Yeah, she didn't want tooverstep her boundary and he
never told her it was okay.
Dr. Leah OH (42:17):
Yeah.
Chris Davenport (42:18):
So I think that's for the leaders and then
for employees.
You know, I would say it wouldbe great, you'd be a great
employee if you were.
Just just as leaders need to beopen and honest with the
employees.
Just be open and honest withthe leaders and open meaning, if
(42:43):
you see that someone is notworking out very well and I
don't mean just bashing peoplefor the sake of bashing them out
very well, and and I don't meanjust bashing people for the
sake of bashing them you know,you know, have some, some sort
of data to say, hey, I think, uh, john is not a great fit and
here's why you know he comes inan hour late, he never makes his
(43:05):
numbers.
Um, yeah, because those typesof things will bring the team
down and then, before you knowit, you'll have a team full of
Johns.
No offense to any John outthere, yeah, because I don't
know a John right now personally.
So I'm not picking on anybody,but really just being open and
honest and communicating withyour leaders what you need.
(43:29):
Like, for example, anotherclient I work with.
I overheard a salesperson comein and say, hey, uh, these new
leads that we're getting fromthis new lead provider aren't
working Bunch of bad numbers,you know they're.
They're not working and Ithought it was great that he
(43:51):
shared that with the owner,because the owner's spending,
you know, $10,000 a month onthese leads and it's great.
That's a great example ofcommunicating and I thought that
was just amazing that he didthat.
So I would say communicatereally both directions.
Dr. Leah OH (44:13):
Yeah, yes, I love that as a communication scholar,
right, I think so many thingswould be if we just spent a few
more minutes thinking about ourcommunication, about what we
know but what our other you know, our conversation partner
should know, or what we couldshare with them, and vice versa.
So many fewer like issues andmisunderstandings and missteps.
(44:38):
So thank you for raising thatup.
Chris Davenport (44:41):
Yes, it would make life much easier for
everybody and throw theassumptions away.
Communicate.
Dr. Leah OH (44:49):
Yes, I think you're right.
Exactly Well, chris.
Thank you for sharing yourexpertise with us, all of your
stories, this advice.
I really enjoyed ourconversation and I know our
listeners will as well.
Chris Davenport (45:03):
Thank you, leah , I appreciate it.
Dr. Leah OH (45:07):
All right, my friends.
That wraps up our conversationtoday.
Until next time, communicatewith intention and lead with
purpose.
I'm looking forward to chattingwith you again soon on the
Communicative Leader.
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