Sept. 9, 2025

Episode 183: From Consultant to Coach: Leadership Lessons they DON'T TEACH in School | Hosted by Jason Balara 🎙️

In this episode, host Jason Balara chats with a successful consultant who discovered a natural gift for executive coaching. What started as a career in consulting evolved into a passion for inspiring courage and equipping leaders to fulfill their potential. 💡

We explore how leaders can and must adapt their style in a world of constant change. This is a must-listen for anyone seeking to elevate their leadership skills and guide their team with purpose. 🚀

In this episode, you'll learn:

✅The journey from consulting expertise to executive coaching.

✅Why adaptability is the most crucial skill for modern leaders.

✅How to inspire courage and confidence in your team.

✅The rewarding path of helping leaders become who they're meant to be.

Watch the video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/8y1RH22Djf0

🌍 Connect with our host Jason Balara: https://www.larkcapital.com/

🌍 Follow us on social media: https://www.youtube.com/@jasonbalara6929/featured

Thanks for listening in to the Uncommon Leader Podcast. Please take just a minute to share this podcast with that someone you know that you thought of when you heard this episode. One of the most valuable things you can do is to rate the podcast and leave a review. You can do that on Apple podcasts, or rate the podcast on Spotify or any other platform you listen.

Did you know that many of the things that I discuss on the Uncommon Leader Podcast are subjects that I coach other leaders and organizations ? If you would be interested in having me discuss 1:1 or group coaching with you, or know someone who is looking to move from Underperforming to Uncommon in their business or life, I would love to chat with you. Click this link to set up a FREE CALL to discuss how coaching might benefit you and your team)

Until next time, Go and Grow Champions!!

Connect with me

00:00 - Corporate Career to Coaching Transition

07:13 - Reluctance About Consulting Lifestyle

12:46 - Entrepreneurial Leap After COVID

17:14 - Running To Something, Not From It

19:31 - Coaching Small Businesses and Executives

22:28 - Culture Change vs Analytics in Business

27:14 - Episode Closing and Podcast Promotion

WEBVTT

00:00:00.119 --> 00:00:01.225
On the side part of that.

00:00:01.225 --> 00:00:22.766
What I really learned was that, as a part of the consulting, coaching was something that I was naturally gifted at as well To be able to work with the executives on the team, influence them in their leadership style and teach them some of the communication techniques, leadership techniques that in a world of change that a consultant is looking to go forward, the leaders have got to make change in their own style as well.

00:00:22.766 --> 00:00:36.686
So I found that to be very rewarding and, ultimately, where it led to me starting my own company was primarily focused in that coaching space of inspiring courage and equipping leaders, you know, ultimately to be the leader that they were called to be.

00:00:47.234 --> 00:00:53.518
Hey, there, I am Dr Jason Bellara, and this is the Know your why podcast, where we explore the why behind success.

00:00:53.518 --> 00:01:05.463
Every week, I meet with real estate investors, veterinary entrepreneurs, mindset coaches, authors and fitness professionals to uncover their why and how it drives them on the winding road to success.

00:01:05.463 --> 00:01:06.528
What is your why?

00:01:06.680 --> 00:01:10.492
Hi everyone, I'm Jason Ballara and this is the Know your why podcast.

00:01:10.492 --> 00:01:11.704
Today I'm here with John.

00:01:11.704 --> 00:01:16.004
John is the founder and CEO of Growing Champions Coaching and Consulting Company.

00:01:16.004 --> 00:01:20.942
John has consulted and coached dozens of renowned companies and their leaders across the globe.

00:01:20.942 --> 00:01:29.225
So, john, as I mentioned, I mean very impressive bio here, but what I want to do is let people hear it in your words, in your story.

00:01:29.225 --> 00:01:34.123
But before we do that, thank you for taking time out to be on the show today.

00:01:34.123 --> 00:01:35.406
Thanks for coming on.

00:01:35.406 --> 00:01:41.897
I really appreciate you taking the time to come and chat with me and hopefully we'll provide some value to the audience.

00:01:41.897 --> 00:01:42.941
So thanks for being here today.

00:01:43.121 --> 00:01:44.305
I do the same as well, Jason.

00:01:44.305 --> 00:01:46.212
Thank you so much for inviting me on.

00:01:46.212 --> 00:01:47.457
I'm looking forward to our conversation.

00:01:47.578 --> 00:01:53.852
Yeah, same, let's start with your background, your story, tell us about yourself and kind of what got you to where you are today.

00:01:54.060 --> 00:01:54.805
Yeah, great question.

00:01:54.805 --> 00:01:59.183
I mean, even if I start out, I'm getting the traditional bio stuff in terms of coaching, consulting.

00:01:59.183 --> 00:02:01.349
I started Growing Champions just five years ago.

00:02:01.349 --> 00:02:05.519
Prior to that, I was kind of a long-term if you will company man.

00:02:05.519 --> 00:02:07.647
For the most part, I'm a mechanical engineer.

00:02:07.727 --> 00:02:23.204
By studying, I spent a good deal of my time cutting my teeth in manufacturing and moving up in leadership roles inside of manufacturing companies of various sizes and ultimately ended up leading a company in the Midwest back in the year 2000 through about 2006.

00:02:23.204 --> 00:02:30.389
And at that point in time in the Midwest and you and I talked about this a little bit before it's a little bit colder, much like it was in Massachusetts where you're from.

00:02:30.389 --> 00:02:39.405
It's a little bit colder in the Midwest than it is in Virginia, where my wife was from, and we decided to make our way back toward the East Coast and toward a warmer climate.

00:02:39.405 --> 00:03:01.621
And so I got into real estate for about five years and ultimately, in a search to get back into operations and manufacturing after the real estate tank back in 2008, I found myself getting into consulting in healthcare, utilizing the tools I'd been trained in, and manufacturing the Toyota production system or lean for a long time and I had a couple of friends from previous life in manufacturing said why don't you do consulting, dude?

00:03:01.621 --> 00:03:05.731
I got like no desire to do the life of a consultant.

00:03:05.780 --> 00:03:11.419
I knew what that was kind of like and they called me back a few times and the third time they said well, we want you to do it in hospitals and clinics.

00:03:11.419 --> 00:03:18.487
And I just found that fascinating to ultimately see how I might be able to have an impact on the healthcare system in the US.

00:03:18.487 --> 00:03:29.389
And so I started coaching executives at healthcare systems one in Boston, massachusetts, actually helping them to improve the flow of their patients through their system and their patient experience.

00:03:29.389 --> 00:03:31.103
And I said I'd do that for a couple of years.

00:03:31.103 --> 00:03:38.431
And now here we are 15 years later, 10 years of that with IBM and then the last five years post COVID as growing champions when I started my own company.

00:03:38.431 --> 00:03:39.920
So love what I do.

00:03:39.920 --> 00:03:42.343
And I thought it would be just a couple of years.

00:03:42.343 --> 00:03:52.675
And I've I've come to realize that making an impact in that space and frankly, doing that as an entrepreneur, has been much more enjoyable than I thought it would be early on.

00:03:52.800 --> 00:04:02.134
Yeah, yeah, it's when people say they're a consultant and I know that this is like a common thing in the business world, especially you know, large business.

00:04:02.134 --> 00:04:06.703
You said you were reluctant at first to kind of live that life.

00:04:06.703 --> 00:04:15.631
Tell us a little bit about, like, what made you reluctant, and then you know, obviously you went ahead with it and have launched it into, you know entrepreneurialism.

00:04:15.631 --> 00:04:20.348
So what was what made you reluctant initially to kind of pursue that path?

00:04:20.550 --> 00:04:31.190
Yeah, interestingly it wasn't really the work as much as it was the side part of it the travel in airplanes, the hotel rooms, multiple nights a month.

00:04:31.190 --> 00:04:34.185
And I had just when I had left manufacturing in 2006,.

00:04:34.185 --> 00:04:37.180
It was ultimately one because of the location that we were in.

00:04:37.180 --> 00:04:40.910
But, more importantly, my kids were young at that point in time.

00:04:40.910 --> 00:04:44.182
They were seven and five and I was starting in manufacturing.

00:04:44.182 --> 00:05:00.603
I was starting to have to do more international travel and that was getting very difficult for my wife in terms of, you know, ultimately, her almost behaving as a single mother, the number of nights that I was traveling, and I sensed that if I got into consulting inside of that space, that it was going to become something very similar.

00:05:00.603 --> 00:05:08.511
And you know I set some pretty clear boundaries at the start when I did get into consulting, that I couldn't be out of my own.

00:05:08.511 --> 00:05:20.000
In essence it was actually a key performance indicator that I had, but I couldn't be in a hotel bed more than 12 nights a month, more than 40% of the time, because I knew then it would start to get a little bit difficult.

00:05:20.000 --> 00:05:22.365
So the company I work with kind of made that work.

00:05:22.365 --> 00:05:36.031
For the most part I was able to work two weeks a month out of my home office as well, and there were days I mean there were, excuse me, there were months where I had to travel a little bit more, but that was probably the primary fear in terms of getting into something like that was just the lifestyle that that brought along with it.

00:05:36.031 --> 00:05:51.934
Now, even in the consulting space, in terms of how we were trained by the two Japanese consultants, there was a level of behavior that they really pushed folks in their consulting and that wasn't the style that I liked as well, whether it came across as rude or direct.

00:05:52.461 --> 00:06:00.771
One of the things in the leadership world when you're running a company and you're making decisions to make change generally, the team is going to go forward with some of those changes.

00:06:00.771 --> 00:06:06.173
In the consulting world, nobody really has to do anything that you talk about, so that can be kind of frustrating.

00:06:06.173 --> 00:06:10.951
You rely on your influence, you rely on your knowledge and your stories to make that actually happen.

00:06:10.951 --> 00:06:19.788
So funny, when I went into healthcare doing this in hospitals and clinics, one of the things they said was you know, john, all your stories are from manufacturing and we need you to get some healthcare stores.

00:06:19.788 --> 00:06:20.550
I'm like I will.

00:06:20.550 --> 00:06:23.093
I'm working with you to get those healthcare stores.

00:06:23.093 --> 00:06:30.598
As it went along on the journey and about five years into my journey with that company, I started to go back and do some consulting in manufacturing companies.

00:06:30.598 --> 00:06:36.026
And the manufacturing companies are saying, john, all your stories are in healthcare, we don't want to hear about healthcare, we want to hear about manufacturing.

00:06:36.620 --> 00:06:45.675
So it creates quite a balance, quite a dichotomy as well, and often referred to really the life of a consultant, if you will, as that type of an enigma.

00:06:45.675 --> 00:06:52.370
You know you want them to kind of hate you by the end of the week because you're pushing them and you're taking them to a place they wouldn't go on their own.

00:06:52.370 --> 00:07:00.329
But they love to see you when you come back the next time, whether it's two weeks later or a month later, because they know they're going to learn something On the side part of that.

00:07:00.329 --> 00:07:19.557
What I really learned, was that, as a part of the consulting, coaching was something that I was naturally gifted at as well, to be able to work with the executives on the team, influence them in their leadership style and teach them some of the communication techniques, leadership techniques that, in a world of change that a consultant is looking to go forward.

00:07:19.918 --> 00:07:24.571
The leaders have got to make change in their own style as well, so I found that to be very rewarding.

00:07:24.571 --> 00:07:36.442
Leaders have got to make change in their own style as well, so I found that to be very rewarding and, ultimately, where it led to me starting my own company, was primarily focused in that coaching space of inspiring courage and equipping leaders, you know, ultimately to be the leader that they were called to be.

00:07:36.442 --> 00:07:41.584
And I just so happened to get a chance to do some consulting because I love the Toyota production system.

00:07:41.584 --> 00:07:42.487
It's how I'm wired.

00:07:42.627 --> 00:07:43.209
That's very cool.

00:07:43.209 --> 00:07:49.673
So the travel sounds like was one of the big just being away from family, which makes total sense.

00:07:49.673 --> 00:07:56.110
When you decided to start your own company, would you talk a little bit about that transition?

00:07:56.110 --> 00:08:05.750
I think sometimes people are nervous to take that leap and here I've had this career, I've been doing this, it sounds like for a decade and then you wanted to go out on your own.

00:08:05.750 --> 00:08:08.348
How did that transition go for you?

00:08:08.348 --> 00:08:09.845
What was it like in those days?

00:08:10.086 --> 00:08:10.668
Great question.

00:08:10.668 --> 00:08:22.468
While I was evaluating that, if you will, if I look back on that today so I've been on my own for five years as an entrepreneur and as I look at it today, as I sit in this chair, I said why didn't I do this 15 years ago in terms of getting started?

00:08:22.468 --> 00:08:25.173
But there was a level of concern, no doubt about it.

00:08:25.173 --> 00:08:28.771
There was a level of comfort working for an organization and doing those things.

00:08:28.771 --> 00:08:37.591
Having the health care provided to you and the steady salary that comes along with it, you know, ultimately led me to probably hesitate a little bit more.

00:08:37.591 --> 00:08:46.148
It wasn't necessarily in my genetics, if you will, to be entrepreneurial by spirit and, you know, frankly, I take it as a sign.

00:08:46.148 --> 00:08:53.485
But ultimately, in 2020, when COVID hit and we're working in hospitals and clinics, we couldn't get back into those hospitals and clinics anymore.

00:08:53.485 --> 00:09:05.135
They were not allowing folks to come back in and our business model that I was working within, a company I was working for, wasn't able to shift fast enough to make that happen.

00:09:05.135 --> 00:09:13.006
So ultimately, I was let go from that organization in reductions, and so that gave me a little bit of an on-ramp to decide whether or not I was going to get started.

00:09:13.226 --> 00:09:14.650
I had seen that coming a little bit.

00:09:14.650 --> 00:09:27.386
So I had started my own LLC and I actually started to coach on the side with a couple other individuals that were previous clients of us in the organization, just to test out that coaching model that worked.

00:09:27.386 --> 00:09:41.701
But the way the on-ram worked, the way the severance package worked actually the day I started consulting for my first on-site consulting work as an entrepreneur was literally the day after my severance had run out with the organization that I was with.

00:09:41.701 --> 00:09:50.504
And I look at that going back in time now and I think there's a lot of uncertainty in that space in terms of how you have to continuously be the sales force.

00:09:50.504 --> 00:10:02.326
You've also got to be the back office function in terms of invoicing and finance and all those things, and you've got to be the face of the organization, building thought, leadership and being in front of the client, making the work happen.

00:10:02.485 --> 00:10:13.725
And so, while I knew that was going to be a challenge, I've actually relished in that and I appreciate what I would say is the freedom of being able to choose who I work with as well as when I work with them.

00:10:13.725 --> 00:10:18.946
Also, and again, I think if you look at even how I got started in the business on my own.

00:10:18.946 --> 00:10:34.831
It was primarily through relationships that I had built in the past 25 to 30 years with others who afforded me the opportunity to either A come in and coach them, teach them a new methodology or refer me to others who they knew needed that as well.

00:10:34.831 --> 00:10:39.586
So that was a big, if you will, momentum boost at the start also, yeah, yeah.

00:10:39.647 --> 00:10:41.029
Well, it's interesting.

00:10:41.029 --> 00:10:44.546
You know, the piece about you would have started 15 years earlier.

00:10:44.546 --> 00:10:50.089
And I think that's there's a lot to that decision-making process, because I think that you can.

00:10:50.089 --> 00:11:04.375
It's easy to kind of look back and say, oh, I wish I started this before, but at the same time, the experiences that you had, the network that you had built, like all of the I think all of our past, adds up to sort of contribute to some of the success.

00:11:04.375 --> 00:11:17.590
I think if you are maybe someone who had just graduated from college and they say, oh, I'm going to start my own consulting business, it's probably hard to get started in that business, harder than someone who's got extensive experience like yourself.

00:11:17.590 --> 00:11:19.595
And so there's pros and cons.

00:11:19.595 --> 00:11:24.775
But I think you mentioned the word freedom and it's yes, you do have to.

00:11:24.775 --> 00:11:30.490
You know, have either have to hire someone or you're or you're doing the invoicing or you're doing kind of all that stuff right.

00:11:31.051 --> 00:11:33.546
That in the corporate world gets taken care of for you.

00:11:34.067 --> 00:11:38.517
But at the same time, it really is just this kind of incredible freedom.

00:11:38.557 --> 00:11:50.217
That happens that and I and I experienced it too when I went to you know from having a W2 job to being entirely self-employed, and it's like there's some really scary things about it.

00:11:50.317 --> 00:11:56.287
But at the same time, like you know, when my kids are off from school or you know, we decide we want to do something.

00:11:56.287 --> 00:12:24.293
I don't have to ask anybody, I don't have to clear it with anyone and I can structure my schedule around the other things that are important, and so it's like I think that that is really, ultimately, it's almost like a continuation of your initial concern of I don't want to be gone from family, I don't want to travel so much per week or per month, but then, going that extra step into entrepreneurship, you really can fully dictate that right.

00:12:24.293 --> 00:12:30.613
You don't have to say, oh, I want it to be 12 days a month, and now, hey, they want me to go a couple extra days.

00:12:30.613 --> 00:12:31.394
Do I give in?

00:12:31.394 --> 00:12:32.157
Is it worth fighting?

00:12:32.157 --> 00:12:50.268
It's just like this is what I do, what I want to do now, and you mentioned, you know, you work with the clients that you want to work with, and I think that just creates a much I don't know more likable more exciting and common leaders.

00:12:50.288 --> 00:12:51.092
Hope you're enjoying the episode so far.

00:12:51.092 --> 00:12:52.861
I believe in doing business with people you like and trust, and not just a company name.

00:12:52.861 --> 00:12:56.673
That's why a strong personal brand is essential, whether you're an entrepreneur or a leader within a company.

00:12:56.673 --> 00:13:03.797
Brand Builders Group, the folks who have been helping me refine my own personal brand are offering a free consultation call with one of their expert brand strategists.

00:13:03.797 --> 00:13:09.831
They'll help you identify your uniqueness, craft a compelling story and develop a step-by-step plan to elevate your impact.

00:13:09.831 --> 00:13:20.174
So head on over to coachjohngallaghercom slash BBG, as in Brand Builders Group, to schedule your free call and take the first step toward building a personal brand that gets you noticed for all the right reasons.

00:13:24.404 --> 00:13:25.187
That's coachjohngallaghercom slash BBG.

00:13:25.187 --> 00:13:25.870
Now let's get back to the episode.

00:13:25.870 --> 00:13:33.855
In that instance like yeah, there's stressors that go along with that freedom, but still, I completely resonate with what you're saying about that.

00:13:33.855 --> 00:13:36.609
You know sort of what that created for you.

00:13:36.609 --> 00:13:38.293
You know kind of once you took those steps.

00:13:38.495 --> 00:13:41.993
Yeah, that word, the word that comes to mind as you kind of stress through this fulfilled.

00:13:41.993 --> 00:13:45.664
I just felt more fulfilled inside of that being able to work with those individuals.

00:13:45.664 --> 00:13:46.950
And you touched on a little bit.

00:13:46.950 --> 00:13:52.291
You know that doesn't take the place of the discipline required to make those things happen.

00:13:52.291 --> 00:13:53.254
There's no doubt about it.

00:13:53.254 --> 00:13:56.815
You know there's nobody there also to make sure you came to work.

00:13:56.815 --> 00:14:01.453
You're the one that's got to make sure you show up on a daily basis and your folks will know.

00:14:01.453 --> 00:14:10.486
And the other thing I think that was spot on coming out of college.

00:14:10.506 --> 00:14:28.856
There are many organizations that actually hire people right out of college to be consultants, but they tend to be more in that analytic side and the way that I see the value in what I'm able to provide now over those years of experience, are those stories, those experiences, frankly, those failures of what didn't work almost as much as what did work, and helping folks to avoid some of those things.

00:14:29.164 --> 00:14:34.774
And again, I just find it to be more rewarding from that standpoint.

00:14:34.774 --> 00:14:37.947
Again, I think about this people change.

00:14:37.947 --> 00:14:52.936
In terms of change management, I often say this people change when the displeasure of remaining the same where they are today is greater than the discomfort of the change itself and I relate that back almost to that entrepreneurial leap, if you will.

00:14:52.936 --> 00:15:06.118
Some folks will leap earlier because they're just sick and tired of the status quo and what they're doing and they can handle the discomfort of how hard it's going to be to get started and getting your own healthcare insurance and doing all those things that go along with that.

00:15:06.118 --> 00:15:14.133
I just I still, you know it took me a while to get that discomfort and again I'm glad they kind of pushed me off the edge, so to speak, to get it started.

00:15:14.232 --> 00:15:32.264
Yeah, and I've talked to a number of people on the podcast that have had essentially that same, I guess motivation, if you will, to to become an entrepreneur, and that they got laid off from a job, something you know, whether it was covet related or otherwise, they're just you know.

00:15:32.264 --> 00:15:55.059
People said and maybe have that in the back of your mind somewhere along the way and then it's like, oh, now I gotta do it and it's, it's's interesting because the job market is good, but at the same time, I think, not always easy to just go out and find a job that you like and can be happy and fulfilled in.

00:15:55.059 --> 00:16:03.174
And so you know, maybe that, maybe that does indicate, hey, entrepreneurship might be the right way for me to go, like there's going to be time to make that change, right, right, you got to make a change.

00:16:03.195 --> 00:16:04.201
There's going to be Time to make that change right.

00:16:04.201 --> 00:16:04.825
Right, you got to make a change.

00:16:04.825 --> 00:16:08.456
There's going to be some struggle, no matter what you do, and maybe that's it.

00:16:08.456 --> 00:16:41.743
But I think one of the things that I feel like gets really kind of sometimes pushed in the at least in the social media world is, you know, leaving your W2 job is like that's the greatest accomplishment that you can have, but it's really, I think, recognizing the value of that W-2 job and, you know, sort of utilizing it to build relationships you know, have those stories that you talked about, have health insurance like kind of all that other stuff that goes along with it until you feel ready to kind of step out on your own.

00:16:42.187 --> 00:16:51.798
So it's, I think, something's maybe gets rushed sometimes, but yeah, I often encourage clients when I chat with them and I'm coaching them on a regular basis and they're considering a job change.

00:16:51.798 --> 00:16:54.894
It's not always that they're considering going into the entrepreneurial world.

00:16:54.894 --> 00:17:09.152
They might be considering moving into a different department in their same organization or going to a different organization, but oftentimes what I encourage them to do is to make sure you're not running from something, but you're running to something.

00:17:09.152 --> 00:17:15.773
In the space of that entrepreneurial world, what can be really valuable is there's three components that fit in really nice.

00:17:15.773 --> 00:17:18.933
I've got a passion for the type of work that I'm going to be doing.

00:17:18.933 --> 00:17:24.191
There's a market for it or a need so I can actually get paid for it and I'm good at it.

00:17:24.191 --> 00:17:25.646
Okay, those three things.

00:17:26.067 --> 00:17:31.729
I look back into 2019, even before I was looking to sick as I saw some of the things changing in the industry.

00:17:32.470 --> 00:17:36.326
Getting back into operations, as folks were telling me in interview process.

00:17:36.406 --> 00:17:42.977
I mean, I was interviewing for jobs that I was definitely qualified for and should have been getting an offer, but I hadn't realized how I had even changed in my approach.

00:17:42.977 --> 00:17:45.799
Qualified for and should have been getting an offer, but I hadn't realized how I had even changed in my approach.

00:17:45.799 --> 00:17:51.992
I'd say I'd hire you as my coach or as my consultant, but I just don't think you fit really well inside of this operations role.

00:17:51.992 --> 00:17:52.594
And it's in there.

00:17:52.594 --> 00:18:04.394
And after about three of those no's, those doors being closed in my face, I frankly went to prayer and said God, are you telling me that you got me exactly where you want me to be in terms of in this consulting and teaching, and just make the best of it?

00:18:04.394 --> 00:18:09.820
Where I am right now and not run from an organization in terms of what was happening?

00:18:09.820 --> 00:18:23.030
And again, each one of those things, as I've listened through that, as I prayerfully consider some of those things, most of the time it ends up being something that ended up being much more valuable for me than where I was.

00:18:23.372 --> 00:18:24.976
Yeah, I really like the way you put that.

00:18:24.976 --> 00:18:45.375
Being either forced or just really wanting a change is much better to be sort of, as you said, running to something instead of, because I think a lot of times when people try to just escape, then they take kind of whatever and might end up in exactly the same kind of negative situations that they were in in the first place.

00:18:46.237 --> 00:18:46.678
Absolutely.

00:18:47.405 --> 00:18:47.847
This could be job.

00:18:49.346 --> 00:18:50.150
There's so many different things.

00:18:50.150 --> 00:18:53.355
Folks will say the grass is always greener on the other side.

00:18:53.355 --> 00:18:57.565
Well, the grass is greener where you water it and ultimately that's where you're going to succeed.

00:18:57.565 --> 00:19:09.674
So where you are at that point in time, do the best work that you can do until you can find that overlap of those three circles, and that's what I really felt ultimately happened for me.

00:19:09.674 --> 00:19:11.573
There was a need for the coaching.

00:19:11.573 --> 00:19:17.650
I was really passionate about leadership development and continuous improvement and I was pretty good at it.

00:19:17.650 --> 00:19:19.491
I mean, people were even telling me that I was pretty good at it.

00:19:19.491 --> 00:19:23.256
So it wasn't an ego, but it was just something that I developed as a strength over 25 years.

00:19:23.256 --> 00:19:24.592
It's worked out pretty well.

00:19:27.406 --> 00:19:31.701
In terms of coaching, are you still working with organizations at scale?

00:19:31.701 --> 00:19:34.308
Are you coaching individuals?

00:19:34.308 --> 00:19:37.998
What's your maybe both what's the structure of your business?

00:19:38.305 --> 00:19:38.806
It is both.

00:19:38.886 --> 00:20:04.132
I said, the primary model that I have right now in terms of revenue generating model is are smaller businesses, not entrepreneurs although I do work with entrepreneurs and do one-on-one coaching but smaller businesses and the 50 to 500 employees, if you will, somewhere in the neighborhood of 25 to $250 million in revenue in terms of that sweet spot, and I do consulting with them, where I'll go onsite and look at some of their key processes.

00:20:04.184 --> 00:20:30.469
They might be back office processes, such as finance or HR or IT that aren't operating that well, or on the front end with regards to sales and marketing and business development, or even, in essence, where the value is created in the manufacturing side and utilize the Toyota production system to help them eliminate non-value added or wasteful activities in their processes that they have been performing year over year.

00:20:30.528 --> 00:20:36.213
They're generally organizations that are making money, but they're just not quite satisfied with where they are.

00:20:36.213 --> 00:20:50.655
They want to grow even more and then, as a result, because of the change management that's required, I will usually coach the top executive of that organization, the CEO and the individuals on his leadership team one-on-one, so I could be coaching anywhere from six to 15 of their executives.

00:20:50.655 --> 00:21:04.269
One-on-one, so I could be coaching anywhere from six to 15 of their executives, one-on-one, through remote coaching, developing different systems and processes for them to improve their leadership skills that are going to be required to implement some of the change they're looking to do when I'm there consulting with them.

00:21:04.269 --> 00:21:13.196
So it works out pretty good, but there are others that I just I work with individuals one-on-one coaching as well, so I would say the primary model though business to business.

00:21:13.196 --> 00:21:14.880
I'm working on both sides.

00:21:15.546 --> 00:21:25.260
And I'm glad you defined what you consider a small business, because I think a lot of people probably wouldn't put those numbers in a small business category.

00:21:25.260 --> 00:21:32.018
But I understand that you're looking at it from the scale of all businesses and what you've worked in in the past.

00:21:32.018 --> 00:21:32.499
I think it's.

00:21:33.307 --> 00:21:39.855
Yeah, where I've come from, those big public organizations Eaton Corporation, mitsubishi and all those yeah, they tend to be small businesses, absolutely.

00:21:39.855 --> 00:21:41.586
I mean, look at it, they tend to be.

00:21:41.586 --> 00:21:52.718
25 years ago they were entrepreneurial, they bootstrapped this thing from the start and they've got systems and processes in place that have been there for 25 years and they processes in place that have been there for 25 years and they don't even realize how inefficient they are.

00:21:52.718 --> 00:21:54.078
That's the toughest part of the culture.

00:21:54.078 --> 00:22:06.809
Change as well is going in there and telling someone, telling some executive, that yeah, you did good to get it where you are today, but if you want to truly have success and sometimes working with Christian organizations, kingdom Impact you're going to have to change.

00:22:06.809 --> 00:22:16.838
And I think there's a quote that floats around says if things are going to remain the same productive, profitable, growing then things are going to have to change.

00:22:28.537 --> 00:22:40.876
And it's just something that you really try to get through to them as consultants, which to me sounds pretty, I don't know, counterintuitive, but you're saying, at an analytical level that's maybe helpful.

00:22:40.876 --> 00:23:02.272
But I would imagine that these culture changes that need to happen might actually be well, at least as important, as you know kind of the analytics behind it, as if not more, I would think more, but but realistically you're that's where that you know kind of experience and the stories in the, in the within multiple industries.

00:23:02.272 --> 00:23:10.438
That's where that really becomes, I think, a superpower and allows you to provide a service that you know the new college grads won't have.

00:23:10.685 --> 00:23:13.075
They might be good with numbers, but but it numbers.

00:23:13.075 --> 00:23:31.019
But it's not just as simple as being good at numbers and I think that's how much of what you do, do you feel like is more of that culture, whether it's change or reinforcing or, you know, addressing things on that level, versus your pure analytics, kpis and numbers.

00:23:31.605 --> 00:23:32.912
Yeah, that's a great question.

00:23:32.912 --> 00:23:42.457
I mean, I think you know, even with the analytics, most of those you know again, small to midsize organizations are not used to tracking metrics at the level I teach them to track them.

00:23:42.457 --> 00:23:46.493
You know, ultimately they're smart objectives by month, smart, being measurable.

00:23:46.493 --> 00:23:47.798
They're time-based.

00:23:47.798 --> 00:23:50.009
You know they're difficult to accomplish.

00:23:50.009 --> 00:23:53.134
They won't set big goals unless you really try to push them.

00:23:53.134 --> 00:23:54.698
And that's where that analytics comes in.

00:23:54.738 --> 00:24:06.068
To look at the history, but in terms of saying there might be a mix of the change management, when I teach this from a lean standpoint, my teachers who taught me the Toyota production system, there's two components.

00:24:06.068 --> 00:24:20.038
There's continuous improvement, which has to do with the analytics, which has to do with the methodology and the seven steps that go into it, and teaching about eight ways or teaching about standard work, frankly is very easy and a lot of what someone out of college can do.

00:24:20.038 --> 00:24:26.664
But it's the respect for people component that comes into play and you got to have both continuous improvement and respect for people.

00:24:26.664 --> 00:24:40.355
If you're going to go into an organization and look to make change via numbers yet you don't have an employee engagement process that keeps them involved in the system at least how I've taught it, it won't be sustainable over the long term.

00:24:41.506 --> 00:24:48.755
You'll do something while I'm there as a consultant teaching you to make change, but when I walk away, I often refer to it as kind of this ball rolling up the hill.

00:24:48.755 --> 00:24:53.038
And you roll the ball up the hill and you make some success, but you get distracted.

00:24:53.038 --> 00:24:54.240
You're like, okay, we did that.

00:24:54.240 --> 00:24:57.012
We don't do the change management component to keep the things in place.

00:24:57.012 --> 00:24:58.701
I walk away from the ball and what happens?

00:24:58.701 --> 00:25:02.755
It rolls back down the hill again and sometimes it rolls back further than even when you started.

00:25:02.755 --> 00:25:29.924
So I would say that while the effort on the front end has the feel of 50-50 in terms of process and culture, I think it's probably more like 75-25 in terms of culture when you really start to get it moving so that it becomes part of who you are as an organization, developing the core values and the behaviors associated with those values Environment in that instance, like yeah, there's stressors that go along with that freedom.

00:25:30.045 --> 00:25:34.132
But still, I completely resonate with what you're saying about that.

00:25:34.132 --> 00:25:36.896
You know sort of what that created for you.

00:25:36.896 --> 00:25:38.559
You know, kind of once you took those steps.

00:25:38.884 --> 00:25:42.256
Yeah, that word, the word that comes to mind as you kind of stress through this fulfilled.

00:25:42.256 --> 00:25:46.016
I just felt more fulfilled inside of that being able to work with those individuals.

00:25:46.016 --> 00:25:47.229
And you touched on a little bit.

00:25:47.229 --> 00:25:52.586
You know that doesn't take the place of the discipline required to make those things happen.

00:25:52.586 --> 00:25:53.530
There's no doubt about it.

00:25:53.530 --> 00:25:57.125
You know there's nobody there also to make sure you came to work.

00:25:57.125 --> 00:26:01.724
You're the one that's got to make sure you show up on a daily basis and your folks will know.

00:26:01.744 --> 00:26:05.615
And the other thing I think that was spot on coming out of college.

00:26:05.996 --> 00:26:29.125
You know there are many organizations that actually hire people right out of college to be consultants, but they tend to be more on that analytic side and the way that I see the value in what I'm able to provide now over those years of experience, are those stories, those experiences, frankly, those failures of what didn't work almost as much as what did work, and helping folks to avoid some of those things.

00:26:29.125 --> 00:26:35.048
And again, I just find it to be more rewarding from that standpoint.

00:26:35.048 --> 00:26:48.854
Again, I think about this people change in terms of change management, I often say this people change when the displeasure of remaining the same where they are today is greater than the discomfort of the change itself.

00:26:48.854 --> 00:26:53.213
And I relate that back almost to that entrepreneurial leap, if you will.

00:26:53.213 --> 00:27:06.376
Some folks will leap earlier because they're just sick and tired of the status quo and what they're doing and they can handle the discomfort of how hard it's going to be to get started and getting your own health care insurance and doing all those things that go along with that.

00:27:06.605 --> 00:27:14.596
I just, I still, you know it took yeah, common Leader, I hope you enjoyed that episode as much as I did with Dr Jason Millar episode 421 of his podcast.

00:27:14.596 --> 00:27:26.279
If that inspired you, go ahead and hit that like and subscribe button right now so that you can share this with others, so that they can find more and more equipping content helping them to grow and be the leaders they are called to.

00:27:26.279 --> 00:27:29.368
Be Be sure to follow me and Jason on social media.

00:27:29.368 --> 00:27:33.618
We share content all the time that's designed to be put to you to be a better leader.

00:27:33.618 --> 00:27:38.777
If you like this conversation, you'll love the conversations I have on the Uncommon Leader Podcast.

00:27:38.777 --> 00:27:47.538
We love uncommon leaders like you, ones who are looking to grow in their leadership, grow others and ultimately have the impact that they want to have on a daily basis.

00:27:47.538 --> 00:27:52.376
Be sure to subscribe to the podcast so we can get it automatically on email each week.

00:27:52.376 --> 00:27:56.338
You'll know and you'll be able to listen to some great uncommon conversations.

00:27:56.338 --> 00:27:58.553
Until then, go and grow changes.