November 29, 2022
Description
In this episode, Chris discusses what it takes to be a great leader with Glynn Perry, Founder and Principal at JGP Leadership Advisors, LLC.
In this episode Glynn covers topics including:
Servant Leadership
Supporting women and minorities in leadership
What are the typical blind spots leaders have
Transcript
Chris Nichols:
Hello and welcome to the talent tide podcast presented by job.com. This is the show that ensures you have the information you need to adapt and evolve your workplace culture as you ride the wave of change and Talent Management. I’m your host, Chris Nichols. And today we have the founder of JGP Leadership advisors, Glynn Perry, prior to the founding of jgP. Glynn is a former C suite in a fortune 500 company and spent time in a variety of cross functional leadership roles, including leading multibillion dollar business units. Glynn currently serves on the board of the Encore leadership advisors, the advisory board for the Federation of State medical boards, the Bluegrass Chapter of the American Red Cross and the Business Advisory Council for his alma mater, Kansas State College of Business. Glenn, thank you for coming on. I’m so excited to have you on the podcast today. And I’m really looking forward to your unique insight on the talent tide today.
Glynn Perry:
Very good. Thanks, Chris. I really appreciate it. It’s an honor to be part of the podcast today. And I’m looking forward to having a meaningful conversation with you. Thanks for having me.
Chris Nichols:
Me too. And I know that I mentioned that your alma mater is Kansas State. But you also have a unique connection to me in that you have a graduate degree from my alma mater, Eastern Illinois University. And you grew up in a small town kids like myself in rural Illinois. And so I I connect to you in that way. And I think there’s lots of folks that are listening will be listening to the podcast that will enjoy that connection as well. Do you have any unique memories about growing up in Coles County before we get
Glynn Perry:
you know, obviously, it was a, it was a it kicked off, was a land of a lot of really flat ground and a lot of row crops and a lot of agricultural type things. But you know, I’ve got a lot of really fond memories of that too and I grew up there, you know, went to school there. And, you know, a lot of my a lot of my values and who I am, were very much instilled in me, you know, we live in in East Central Illinois. So a lot of fond memories, I don’t get back there very often. But it’s a great place. And it was a great place to raise a family
Chris Nichols:
where it is hard to get back there. It’s not easy to get to, you typically have to get in the car and drive a little bit. And so you mentioned some of those values. And I wanted to kick the show off with, with most guests giving a personal introduction, Glynn, of where you started, and how you got to this point in your career. So why don’t you tell us about some of those values that you picked up on? And how they guided you through your career?
Glynn Perry:
Yeah, that’s, that’s a great question. You know, I grew up on a farm, I grew up on a horse farm. And so from a very early age, work ethic and responsibilities were instilled in who I am, and very much a fabric of who I am. And, you know, being part of a rural community. You know, you knew a lot of people, a lot of people knew you. And so from a credibility standpoint, having your word be what it is meant to be, and your morals and your ethics and family values. That was all very much part of my my upbringing, participate in a lot of sport activities, actually ended up going to college and played a little bit of professional baseball as well. And so that whole team aspect, and, you know, goal setting in, you know, striving to be the best version of yourself. Those were all very much part of, you know, those early years.
Chris Nichols:
That’s awesome. As you brought some of those items into perspective there, I thought back on my own upbringing, and while we are quite a bit different than age, it’s, it’s it’s unique in the fact that if you grow up in a small town or on a farm, many of those values are passed down upon generation to generation. So you mentioned your your path to playing professional baseball. What did the transition look like when you decided to stop playing, playing a kids game and transition into the real world Glynn? What did that look like? Where did you get started? How did you know what you wanted to do?
Glynn Perry:
Well, first of all, thanks for pointing out our age difference I greatly appreciate. But you know, but that being said, Yeah, you know, I went to college, had a very successful baseball career there was drafted by the New York Yankees spent a little bit of time in their farm system. You know, the point in time that I joined the Yankee organization. I was 21 22 years old, I had my degree, which I was glad that I did. I had finished my degree. And when you’re surrounded with a bunch of 17, and 18 year olds that can do as much and in many cases a lot more than you could that that transition out of baseball was pretty quick, and it didn’t take much to figure out the writing on the on the wall, so to speak. And so, you know, again, a lot of fond memories of that I met a lot of really great people, I saw a lot of parts of the country that I would have never had the opportunity to do had I not pursued that baseball career. But for me, it was a pretty easy decision, you know, to pursue getting a real job when I kind of saw the talent that it was around me, and, you know, kind of how my skill sets matched up to a lot of other folks.
Chris Nichols:
Where do you go, what would you go after, after your playing career ended,
Glynn Perry:
so when I was, you know, when, when I finished, my baseball career actually moved back to the state of Kentucky, my wife had not yet finished up her degree. And so went back there and kind of picked up on, you know, working on a horse farm there, as part of Murray State University, and my wife finished her degree there at Murray State. And so that’s kind of how we spent, I guess, 12 to 18 months before I moved back to the Mattoon area and took my first professional job, kind of a funny story there, if I could just quickly, you know, assaulted in, but I actually was an animal side pre vet major. And that was another category that once I decided that I was done with baseball, and I needed to get a real job, I wasn’t interested in necessarily going back for another four years of school to be a veterinarian. And, you know, I was married at the time and needed to figure out, you know, kind of how I was like, I was going to put food on the table. And so that’s what actually led me to pursue a job in the business world.
Chris Nichols:
And what was that job Glynn? How do you get started with that degree? Who hired you? Based upon the fact that wouldn’t be a vet?
Glynn Perry:
Yeah. Great, great question. And that was a that was a lot of funny stories associated with that. But I actually went to work for RR Donnelley, which is a, you know, business communication markets marketing services organization. And I literally started my first job there in Mattoon working for that particular manufacturer, and started as a customer service rep, very much an entry level position. And fast forward 38 years, over those 38 years that I spent with a company I moved around, the company worked in a lot of different locations, a lot of different departments. You know, I served in a variety of different positions, operating roles, logistics roles, supply chain roles, market facing roles, etc. And ultimately landed in a C suite, reporting directly to the CEO of a multibillion dollar publicly traded company. So to say that it was a very exciting journey, seeing a lot of different parts of the company and working with a lot of really, really, really good teams. That would be an understatement. But it was a there’s not many folks that spent 38 years with one organization anymore. And I’m proud to have done that.
Chris Nichols:
You’re right, there’s not a lot of people that are spending that much time with the same organization anymore. I think there’s a multitude of reasons for that. I think that people have become more transient. In human nature, they’re more likely to kind of leave the nest and find opportunities, I think what you see a lot of times is people leave an organization, and then they start to hire people that they worked with previously, as well. So while you might change organizations, you tend to be around some of the same people likely throughout your career. What do you think, Glynn? From the beginning, starting as a customer service? Rep. What do you think RR Donnelly saw in you? And that led you on to on a development path that ended up with you in the C suite before you eventually left there a few years back?
Glynn Perry:
Yeah, that’s a great question, Chris. You know, I don’t know that I’ve really reflected on that a great deal.
Chris Nichols:
We have perfect opportunity right here. That’s
Glynn Perry:
right. That’s right. You know, I think that, you know, I think clearly early on my work ethic was, you know, got the attention of a lot of folks because even when I started in customer service, after I spent a few years working in that particular area of the company, I knew that I had an aspiration to want to do more. And one of the things that you pointed out that I had my MBA from your alma mater, I actually knew because I had that pre vet animal side background that if I was going to move along in the company, that I needed a different educational path. And so I went to school at night at Eastern picking up those core business curriculum classes, so that I then in turn, could get admitted into the MBA program. And that’s where I got my MBA again working night. So it was about a six or seven year journey to do that. But I got it done and I did it at night. And so I think people saw that work ethic and that commitment and desire to want to do more and be more and then as I started to volunteer for shift work, and I started to volunteer to, you know, cover the manufacturing floor. Were on the weekend, and I started to express interest in wanting to get more exposure to different parts of the company, again, that desire and that tenacity to want to broaden my skill set to be able to provide as much value to the company that I could, I think, you know, came about, and then you know, it’s kind of an overused term sometimes, but I think my basic communication skills served me well, throughout my entire career, I was kind of a, what you see is what you get kind of a person, I was open, I was direct, but I was, you know, I was fair, I was objective. And, you know, I, I went out of my way to make people feel valued, equally as comfortable talking to folks who are working on the shop floor all the way up to the board of directors of a particular company. And so just having that, you know, those those communication skills and that that work ethic, and desire to want to exceed.
Chris Nichols:
I love hearing that I think there’s communication is an undervalued skill. And to be honest, I, I liked the story of you being an animal sci pre vet, Major, because we spend so much time focusing on majors spend so much time directing people towards being in a certain career path, that if you start to look around most organizations, those tend to just be an entry point. For you, It didn’t end up being an entry point at all, right? But so more often than not, if you’re going to advance in an organization, you’re going to have cross functional moves, if you’re going to be a leader, you’re going to have to be cross functionally trained. You know, if you’re in management, you’re going to need to understand how finance works, you’re going to understand you mentioned logistic logistics, depending on the type of organization. So can you talk to maybe some of your background? What that looked like? Maybe making those those moves into roles that you are uncomfortable with, at least initially upon hearing about roles? Or were there any roles that you’re like, Ah, I don’t know, but I will give it a shot. Because I know that if I know that I will work hard, and I’ll figure it out. But maybe skill set wise, you didn’t feel like you were prepared for it?
Glynn Perry:
Yeah, you know, I think kind of couple of things immediately come to mind for me there. You know, first of all, I was very blessed to have a number of different mentors, and people that somewhat kind of took you under their wing, when they knew that you had desires, and they knew that you had aspirations to do certain things, to help you accomplish that. And I would not be where I am at today had I not had some of those special people in my life from a very, very early on point of view within within within my working career. And so, you know, when when people give you those chances, and they work to develop you, at least the way that I was wired, I wanted to make sure that I didn’t mess up. And so I always worked to try to over achieve and exceed somebody’s expectations with respect to the role they put me in. And in fact, I had a significant a high leader in the organization early on in my career that labeled me as an overachiever, I didn’t have the educational background, I didn’t necessarily have the normal typical pedigree of being a senior leader within particularly a multibillion dollar, publicly traded company. And those and I still stay in touch with that individual today. And so almost 40 years later, you know, I joke with him frequently that his telling me that was the best thing that could have ever happened in my career. Because 10 or 15 years after he made that comment, he told me said I was wrong about you, you, you’re good. You’re not just simply an overachiever, you’re good at what you do. But the motivation that that gave me and the fact that I hung on to that and never forgot that. It just it fueled the fire with inside of me to, you know, to do some of the things that I did did within my career. And let’s also be honest with one another, I mean, you know, yes, I was part of an organization that had a tremendous amount of success, and we drove a lot of business results, could never have done that without working with a lot of really, really good people and a lot of great teams. And so just being in a position to be a servant leader and be in a position to you know, help others reach their full potential clearly helped catapult me to where I ultimately landed my career.
Unknown:
I all I could think about is the Michael Jordan documentary as you were kind of telling that story about being an overachiever where, where he talks about everyone that’s ever slighted him, you know, even the slight spit, and he’s like, that affected me. And more often than not, it was it could have just been like, Hey, he’s a great player, but I think I do this well, and all of a sudden he was able to take that and use it as motivation to help drive himself forward and sometimes I believe that have fear is often a bigger motivator than successes. And so it sounds like maybe some of that was there also driving you as well. And I think about fear of kind of fear of the unknown, right and thinking about where you’re going to go and how you’re going to get there. The best way in my that I have found to drive through any fear that you have is to just put your nose to the grindstone and go do the work. More often than not hard work beats talent every every time. I know, that’s kind of an old analogy. But more often than not, I think it holds true. You know, on LinkedIn, since you’ve transitioned away from your role at RR Donnelley, you you’ve become a leadership advisor working with with other leaders helping organizations drive strategy and getting them on the right track, or at least advising them on on the positives and the negatives of the decisions that they’re making. And one of the things that I have noticed that you talk about on LinkedIn a lot is servant leadership. And you also alluded to that around the people that were around you and how they helped to guide you and mentors. Can you kind of give a broad based idea around what servant leadership is to you, Glynn?
Glynn Perry:
Yeah, you know, that’s? That’s a great question. Because you’re right, it does mean lots of different things to lots of different people. But you know, at its core, the way I think about servant leadership is that it’s all about focusing primarily on the growth and well being of the people that are around you, and not as much about yourself, right. And so that comes in a number of different, you know, forms and shapes and sizes, and so forth. But, you know, you really need to make sure that your team knows that you care about them. So that’s all about serving their heart, making sure that they, they know that you’re listening to them, that you know, you have a general sense of who they are as a person, you might have a good understanding of some of the trials and tribulations that they’re facing, both professionally and personally. So serving their heart really getting to know your team. You know, the second thing I would say is that your team needs to improve, well, then you need to be in a position to serve their talent, how can you develop them through the work experiences, that you’re providing them through the mentoring that you’re providing them through the coaching, that you’re providing them through the job opportunities that maybe they’re gaining? And having visibility to? You know, if you’ve got a team that’s struggling with doubt, how do you serve their mind and their spirit? How do you build them up from a confidence standpoint? How do you help them overcome some of the difficulties that they might be facing and that they might be encountering within the within the work organization? If you’ve got a team that has potential? How are you serving their growth, I think we’ve all been surrounded by a lot of folks in the organization that you know, they have the potential, but maybe they haven’t really had the chance to demonstrate that through their work assignments, through their special projects, through their exposure to other people’s within the organization. So as a servant leader, you’re always looking for those kinds of opportunities of how you can primarily focus on the growth and development and the well being of the people that are around you. As opposed to yourself, you know, you’re not looking to necessarily advance yourself, you’re not looking to necessarily take credit for things that happen, you’re looking for ways to get that back and help and help others with that. And so, you know, you started to you made mention a little bit of the transition that I’ve made from a professional standpoint. You know, I do consider myself to have had a very successful career. And I don’t mean that boastfully because as I said earlier, that has been through the result of working closely with a lot of great teams, and a lot of great people. And I reached a point in time in early 2021, where I had made the decision, I was ready to transition away from that career success to a career of significance. And what I mean by that is, I want to find a way to take all of my experiences, multiply those, leverage those and give those back to others. And the best way for me to do that as my board services work and the leadership advisory firm that I have started up and I’m having a ball doing it.
Chris Nichols:
That’s awesome to hear we need I think it’s, we need people that I’ve experienced, as as kind of a new leader myself, it’s extremely valuable to have people like you that I can go to and help me through maybe something that you’ve been through before and provide guidance. And so looking back on your career, though, how did you? Where did that mindset come from? Because you did talk a lot earlier. I think about being kind of self motivated, self driven, kind of driving to prove people wrong. Becoming a leader and being a leader is a lot different than that in a lot of ways, right? Because you’re managing different personalities, you’re managing people that may not have the same mindset that you have Glenn. So when, when you were leading people, how did you help guide people that maybe weren’t like you towards success or towards leadership development, etc? Do you have any, any thoughts on that?
Glynn Perry:
Yeah, you know, I think, you know, let’s be clear, when it you know, early on in my career, I didn’t have it all figured out. I don’t have it all figured out today, either. But I think that, you know, all of our individual journeys are exactly that they’re, they’re, they’re a journey of experiences, or their journey of successes or a journey of failures. And I go back to my athletic career, I think there’s a certain amount of leadership that comes out of participating, whether it’s sports, or any other kind of extracurricular kind of an opportunity. And when you’re part of a team, and you’re part of an organization, you have to figure out how to get the most out of one another, and how to hold one another accountable. And so I think a lot of my leadership, skills and techniques for that matter, kind of started there, if you will. And then ago, I go back to again, having been part of a lot of different great mentors, and a lot of different opportunities to go off to some different, you know, leadership, schools and leadership seminars, and programs and so forth. They were a very, very, very much a valuable part of who I am. But then, you know, making a lot of mistakes early on in my leadership career, you learn from those things. And I always tell folks, you know, there’s three things that come out of making a mistake, one, you got to be willing to acknowledge that you made it. Secondly, you got to be in a position to make sure that you have learned from it. And then third, you got to move on and get past it. Right. Don’t Don’t dwell on it. So if you can do those three things, with any kind of a failure or setback that you have, you’re going to continue to get better. And then I think, finally, you know, that this whole notion of a servant leader, I didn’t necessarily have that early in my career, I’m a person of faith, and I’m not here to pass that on, or, you know, throw that upon anybody. But I think that, you know, my maturity and my development in my faith, I learned an awful lot about what it was like to be a servant leader. And, you know, just began to bring that more into the fold of who I was, and how I operated.
Chris Nichols:
I have to, and I think some of the big things that I have taken from that are often like authenticity, to me is a big one, and being a servant leader. And people have to think that people have to know you, right. That’s, that’s my personal belief for me to get on board with someone’s vision, and where they’re planning to take us, you have to be authentic about it. And, you know, it’s, it’s easy to be fooled as well. But part of being a servant leader is continuing to come back to them and showing them that you’re willing to get your hands dirty, as well, that you are willing to do hard things, you’re not leaving people out to dry. You know, and so, being a servant leader, you know, you mentioned your faith and how that’s driven you are there any other kind of key attributes that that you believe, really stand out? When you when you look at how your faith helps you become more of a servant leader?
Glynn Perry:
Yeah, you know, I think that and you mentioned a great word authenticity, that’s a big part of it. But you know, it’s, it’s, it’s, it’s trust, right, and so, you know, your ability to be trustworthy, and, you know, at the same time, be willing to demonstrate trust in others. And, you know, that that is a very, very key part of leadership as well. And then it all kind of goes back to that whole morals and ethics thing. I mean, every decision that a leader makes if you can kind of funnel that through, you know, the, the funnel of ethics and morals, you’re not gonna have too many major situations, that they confront you in a negative way.
Chris Nichols:
So, you know, and trust is a good segue, because we tend to trust people that are like us, you know, when we look at someone else for for me, looking at you and your background, I instantly was like, Yeah, this guy’s you know, I see myself in him. Right. And, and we tend to do that, historically, that has tended to be do they look like us, are they from the same areas as us? And that’s one of the challenges that we’ve had in organizations and becoming more diverse, right? Because for a long time, the people that we trusted were like, you know, you and I, honestly, Glynn, white males. And so, there has been more of an emphasis in organizations put on diversity and inclusion, but when you look at your career, and maybe how you’re advising companies now, when have an increased focus on on diversity and leadership. I don’t want to spend a lot of time talking about the the reasons for why we should do that. I think that they’re very clear when we look at our market capabilities and being able to talk to different types of people and having different perspectives and things of that nature. But as, as leaders and as organizations, how can we do more to support women and minorities in leadership development? And then once they reach their those roles? How can we help develop them, but I really want to focus on how we can do more to support them and getting to those types of positions earlier in their careers?
Glynn Perry:
Yeah, great. Great, great question. And you’re right, you know, this whole topic can be an emotionally charged topic for a lot of folks. And I, and I will be the first to admit that I’m proud to be part of a country that is putting a lot more focus on diversity and inclusion, we are woefully behind where we need to be, arguably, we’re making some progress, that progress is probably not being made quickly enough. But you know, to specifically answer the question that you present it in terms of what we can do more, you know, I really think that within most businesses, it really starts with kind of the culture that you’re building around diversity and inclusion. And so there’s clearly an educational piece around the value of D and I, and there’s an educational and program piece around making sure that your leaders are educated around, you know, the different aspects of it. But you know, tactically some of the things beyond the programs and the education, that that are important to developing the right kind of culture around it, you know, some of the things that kind of come to mind is that you know, if leaders will practice not being the smartest person in the room, which is always a real easy tendency for leaders to want to do. But you know, regardless of your intelligence, regardless of your experience, remember that there’s things that you can learn and you can get from other people that you are surrounded by at the table, within a meeting, within a conference, room setting or whatever. So remember that you’re not the smartest person in the room, and be willing to take on whatever you can get from whoever’s in that room with you. Right. That’s a big part of it. You know, secondly, I would say that it’s okay to lead from behind. And so what I mean by that is that good managers will push their people out in front of others, and let them get more comfortable being in front of others. And so the more that we as white male leaders, can surround ourselves with leaders that are from diverse backgrounds, different genders, etc. And we can push them to the front of the room and get the spotlight on them to help with their development. That’s one way we can continue to increase diversity. I would also say that we as leaders, if we will constantly seek feedback from diverse candidates, in terms of how we’re doing leading the organization, and how we’re doing in terms of developing them as leaders in the organization is critically critically important to this as well, if we will take the time to listen to others are, you know, for those of us that are surrounded by female leaders, and you know, people of color, and so forth, they will tell us how they’re feeling, they will tell us what their experiences are, they will tell us what they’re, you know, what their hurdles overcome are, why it’s different to be part of an organization. And if we’ll listen to that, and accept that feedback, and address that feedback, it’s a way to push the DE&I forward within an organization. And then finally, I think it truly is all about investing in the future. And it’s all about making sure that the next generation of leaders are being raised up. And that’s where I’ve got a lot of passion in the business that I currently have founded in that I’m working in now, as I have a deep passion and raising up the next generation of leaders. And I should say, the next generation diverse leaders. And so it’s all about that investment in, you know, helping to develop and helping to bring them along, in accomplish the goals that they have. Because I think we all need to remember whether we want to admit it or not. It is different for diverse candidates to be successful in an organization. I spoke of all the great mentors and all the support I had early in my career. A lot of women don’t have that. A lot of people of color don’t have that. They don’t get that they don’t receive that. And so going into it, they’ve got a more difficult row to hoe, so to speak, than what I probably had. And so I’m working with folks to try to change that.
Chris Nichols:
So, if you think back to being a servant leader, one of the things that typically stands out to me is the idea that you’re not a manager, right? So what I mean by that, as a leader, you have a have a look to the future. And I believe that when people are management, management is kind of the here and now you’re you’re managing tasks, projects, etc, but you’re not talking to people. And that’s where leadership starts to become more prevalent, and where you start to see what somebody is. And so your your capability to talk to humans, other people about what they’re feeling, what they’re experiencing, while they’re doing the work, gives you insight, and an opportunity to help bring others along with you. And it gives you a different perspective on what others are going through as well makes you a better leader yourself. And so, what we really I believe, have to focus more on Lynas is, is creating more leaders, right, not managers, not, you know, we’ve got to have better conversations about what it means to be a leader in an organization and manage to leaders not manage to manage from the top down, right, we’ve we need to be more open to communication. You talked about how your communication has been a big driver for you throughout your career. And just not enough managers are talking and communicating with their, with their employees about things that aren’t related to the work that’s getting done. And I think when you start to make that transition, you start to have conversations with people about what their career aspirations are, where they want to go where they want to be. And then it allows you to connect dots, right. And I believe that networking is more about taking the common collection of the conversations that you have, and putting them together as puzzle pieces. And so that’s where you see a shift and an organization is when you have leaders that are willing to work together to build other people up. And I think that’s where you start to see more women and minorities in leadership development, because it starts with honest, authentic, truthful conversations about our wants, needs and desires. Once they’re in these roles, Glynn, what can we do more? How can we support them more effectively, once they’re there? Obviously, you mentioned that a lot of diverse candidates maybe don’t have the kind of mentors that they would typically look up to. So what can organizations do more to support these individuals? So they don’t feel like they are kind of on an island by themselves? I guess?
Glynn Perry:
Yeah. Well, first of all, I want to go back to what you were saying about the importance of leaders. It’s critically important. And I like what you had to say there. And the whole communication aspect of it is critically important. But there’s one thing that I would want to emphasize, I’ve seen a lot of leaders that are willing to ask for feedback. I’ve seen a lot of leaders and organizations that are willing to bring people together and get their thoughts and ideas. But what you do with that is what’s critically critically important. Too many times people ask for feedback, they bring folks together, get their thoughts and their ideas, and then it just sits there, you miss out on a tremendous opportunity to build the culture and move the organization forward if you don’t take action on the endpoint on the inputs that you’re receiving. And so I would just emphasize that point that you made there. You know, with respect to what we can do more, it’s probably a continuation, a lot of what I was just saying right there. It’s really about understanding where people are at in their journeys, and really understanding what their aspirations are. And really understanding what challenges they’re being faced with, and then going to work on helping them to overcome those things. You know, I hear so many times from women and minorities, that it’s tough to get a seat at the table. I’ve got the education, I’ve got all the credentials, I’ve got everything I’m doing all the kinds of things that I should do, you know, why am I not getting a sit a seat at the table. And so really kind of delving into that to understand, you know, what those barriers and what those roadblocks are. And again, part of it’s an educational thing, but part of it is just setting the expectation and building the building the culture around that. And when I was mentioning earlier about pushing women and minorities more towards the front of what some of these opportunities are and giving them a chance. You know, when you when you’ve got when you’ve got a key position to fill, you know, how aggressive are you making sure that your list of candidates is a diverse list of candidates to choose from? You know, there’s too many times that I’ve received a list of candidates for an opening in my organization. That was all white males. That’s, you know, that’s just not acceptable. You have to, you know, demand and expect that you’re going to get a diverse list that you’re going to interview a diverse list. And then, you know, you know, making those tough decisions and given women and minorities, those chances to, you know, to be a part of your leadership team, I was proud that, you know, in terms of senior leadership positions, again, it’s not enough. But you know, 60% of the folks that I was placing, before I left the corporate world, were divided were diverse candidates, I had a reputation for being an advocate of DE&I and not only talking it but walking the talk around it. And we need more leaders that are willing to do that.
Arran Stewart:
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Chris Nichols:
So that leads us to our final topic, which are our blind spots that leaders face Glynn. And so I think when when you when you think about some of the things that we’ve talked about today, I even kind of mentioned it as as managers, we get focused on the task and the projects and the outcomes that we’re trying to accomplish. And as leaders, we can get sucked into the same vacuum. And so I use the term managers and leaders loosely based upon where our visions are, because you can be a CEO who, who falls into the trap of managing, right and managing to outcomes managing, managing your employees to ensure that they’re doing their job. But true leadership is about being a visionary, but helping move people along, and really being a liaison for the the organization. So what are typically blind spots that you see leaders find themselves? Not being able to see? And and how do you? Let’s start there? What are the typical blind spots that that leaders tend to not see?
Glynn Perry:
Yeah, you know, there’s probably a long list of them. Chris, but I, I guess, three or four that kind of immediately come to mind for me. You know, the first one kind of centers around. Tolerating good enough, right? There’s a lot of people that settle when it comes to driving business results or meeting an organization. And, you know, low standards for performance, not having goals, not setting the right expectations, not building the culture around what you want to what you want to accomplish. That can be that can be, that can be a blind spot for people, if they are in a position of tolerating good enough, or that will have to do, you’re not going to get it, you use Michael Jordan, I promise you, Michael Jordan, as a basketball player did not settle. He was the first one in the gym, he was the last one to leave. And, you know, what he put into developing his craft is unparalleled. And, you know, business leaders are much the same. You know, I think a second area blindspot would be not not going at it alone, you know, being being afraid to ask for help. There’s a lot of leaders who believe that, hey, I’m, I’m from a hierarchical organizational chart perspective, I’ve got the title, I’m leaving this organization, I’m supposed to have all the answers. That’s a big blind spot for folks, you have to be willing to ask for the help of others, you have to be willing to identify when you don’t have it all figured out. And, again, be willing to take that feedback and input and ideas from others to if you want to have a thriving organization. You know, I think another area for me is really around. You know how sensitive or insensitive you are to your surroundings and the behaviors of others. And you know, a lot of people aren’t always aware of kind of what their behaviors are and how they show up. And I talk about this shadow of the leader, whether you like it or whether you don’t, people are going to emulate your behaviors. And so if you’re not aware of the type of behavior that you’re dispelling to the organization, you can get yourself into a lot of trouble if you’re the type that pound your fist on the desk and you demand and you expect, chances are those who are around you are going to pick up on that behavior. And they’re going to act the same way. If you’re more of a person that is out and about and you’re connecting with people and you’re sensitive and you’re aware, and your decisions are made from a participative point of view, those who are around you’re going to emulate that behavior as well. And so you know, those are those are probably three and then I think the final one that I would I would offer is is people who avoid conflict. I have seen leaders who are afraid of of addressing conflict If there may be an organization, maybe it’s a working relationship, maybe it’s a result that’s not being driven. Maybe it’s the level of quality or service that we’re providing to our clients. And when those things happen, some leaders are not comfortable going in addressing the problem areas, that can be a real major blind spot for the effectiveness of leadership, you’ve got to be willing to take a stand, you’ve got to be willing to address it head on, do it correctly, do it the right way. And, you know, make sure that you’re always kind of raising that level of performance.
Chris Nichols:
How do I know Glynn how do I know that I have these blind spots? How am I locating them? Because that seems like I would need to be quite self aware. So what are some? What are some things that I could do as a leader to ensure that I’m, for lack of a better term, protecting myself against my blind spots?
Glynn Perry:
Great question, what do think self awareness is a big piece of it. And intuitively, you know, if you’re, if you’re if you’re connected to the organization, that people within the organization, intuitively, you’ll know some of these kinds of things. But for me, the biggest thing, and this was a major benefit to my career, I had a circle of influence that I that I call it a circle of influence, I have a number of folks that were within my circle, that were not always superior in the organization. They weren’t always peers, they were people that were down in the organization, they were people that were cross functionally parts of other areas that I knew that I could go to, and have a one on one conversation with them, and say, Give it to me straight. What is it that I’m doing well, that I should continue? What is it that I can that I need to stop doing? What are the points and areas of emphasis that I’m overlooking? What am i What is it that I’m missing? And if you’ve got the ability, and you only develop that through some of those things we talked about earlier, the trustworthiness, the communication skills, you know, people, you know, being a servant leader, people knowing that they can share with you and that’s not gonna have any repercussions back on them in any way shape, or fashion. But if you can surround yourself with people that are willing to give it to you straight, and you’re willing to go ask for it on a routine basis, and your your history suggests that you will act upon the feedback that’s given to you. That is the best way to have your blind spots called out for you.
Chris Nichols:
I can’t think of a better spot to wrap things up here. Glynn, you’ve kind of mentioned a little bit about the JGP Advisors, can you can you tell us tell the listeners a little bit more about what it is your organization does? And cap it off with how people can reach out
Glynn Perry:
to you? Yeah, that’s a that’s a great question. I appreciate the opportunity, Chris. You know, I think as a former C suite executive with and someone that has 25 years of senior level leadership experience, at JGP leadership advisors, I combined my extensive leadership experience and coaching skills to help elevate even the most successful leaders, I have literally helped dozens and helped to develop dozens of talented people who have since advanced to CEO position COOs, President positions SVPS, VPS, and even ownership, you know, types of positions for different companies. So you know, I help leaders to transition to senior executive leadership positions, I help them to undertake new ventures. And I also might help them to seek a fresh perspective on any one of the many business challenges that they might be faced with in their given situation. You know, I also would say to you that I understand the need to generate a return on investment. And I believe that there’s nothing that generates the level of ROI as leadership development does and can. And we work very hard to achieve measurable results with the companies and leaders that we work with. And I relentlessly work to bring out the leaders best performance to serve their teams, and to live a more fulfilled life. So there’s a variety of ways that we do that at jgP leadership advisors. If you visit my LinkedIn profile, you can see a lot of those types of things that we’ve made reference to throughout the call today. And I would welcome the opportunity to speak with any of your listeners. And my contact information is included in my profile, you can reach me on my email address, which is JG Perry 04 @ gmail.com. And again, that’s in the LinkedIn profile. I also have my cell phone number included in my profile. If you reach out to me, leave me a message if you don’t get me directly. I promise you I will return your call. I will get back to you. And, you know, I look forward to connecting with anybody that has has an interest to talk about any of these areas further. So thank you for the opportunity again, Chris. I’ve really enjoyed the opportunity to participate on your podcast today. And looking forward to connecting with some of your listeners.
Chris Nichols:
Thank you, Glynn. I will make sure that your phone number or LinkedIn profile, and email are all listed in the show notes when we post those online. And I definitely encourage you all to just even follow Glynn on LinkedIn. He sharing some some great advice, great leadership tips and tricks to advance your organization as well. So thank you, Glynn, for coming on the show. Hopefully, we can have you on again in the future. Always looking at a variety of different topics. And thank you all for listening. This is a another great episode of the podcast if you’re if you’re finding us for the first time. You can find us on YouTube, Spotify, Apple, wherever you listen or watch your podcast. That’s a wrap and remember, success is on the other side of fear. Have a great day.
Glynn Perry:
Thanks, Chris. Thanks for having me.