Ep: 021 - Cracking the Leadership Code: Your Blueprint for Mastery

0:00Welcome back Bridge Builders to Bread to Lead the podcast transforming healthcare leadership. I'm your host, Dr. Jake Taylor Jacobs, and I'm thrilled that you're here. We're currently ranked as the 30th top business and leadership podcast nationwide, and it's all thanks to listeners like you. Bridge Builders, if you haven't already, grab a copy of my book, Bread to Lead on Amazon. It's packed with strategies to elevate your leadership game. If you got questions or ideas for the show, visit us at breadtolead.com. Now, what are you waiting for? Let's dive. let's dive in let's dive in welcome back uh to bread to lead episode 21 as the intro said my name is dr jake taylor jake because i haven't been uh here in a while i've been traveling then i was sick last week so it's been a while since i posted another episode of Bread to Lead.

1:00I'm actually excited about this podcast. And this podcast means a lot to me because I'm getting real people coming to me telling me how much of an impact it's making in their leadership journey.

1:18And the thing that I want to bring up is...

1:30I'm actually extremely happy with where we are with our podcast. We're ranked number 30 in the country for business and leadership. But I love the fact that people are appreciative of the simple fact that this podcast is not for entertainment purposes alone.

1:59this podcast is for those that truly want to be somebody. And they're looking at this podcast as a way for them to truly be able to develop as leaders.

2:17And I take that extremely seriously, extremely serious. I'm sorry. And I take it serious because I wish I had a podcast that I could listen to when I wasn't with my mentor that gave me actionable steps and strategies that can ensure my success. So those of you that are new to tuning in to Bread to Lead, I want you to take away something. If you're looking for this podcast to entertain you, to have cool stories that you just like to listen into to kill time, this may not be the podcast for you. But if you're truly wanting to become a change agent, a bridge builder, a developer of other top talent, if you truly want to become somebody great, this podcast is for you.

3:17this podcast is going to give you actionable steps for you to implement from week to week into your arsenal of leadership development. So as long as you stay here and you implement, you will see changes happen within yourself, within your organization, in ways that you cannot imagine. The last couple of episodes, I've been heavy on healthcare, the space that we're in and and i had some people reach out to us and let me know they say hey dr jake um we love the analogies especially with health care but we would love to hear your stories um in in general the general stories of your podcast uh meaning that they like when i expand And past just health care because they want to get more value from it, too.

4:17And that is something that I'm excited to hear. And the reason why I'm excited to hear that is because we have even people in health care saying, hey, Dr. Jake, like I'm in health care, but I got a business on the side, too. I have other things that I have and I want to see how what we're learning and what we're building and what we're growing is actually beneficial to me in other areas. So you guys will hear me bring up health care analogies here and there. There will be some podcasts that are specifically focused on health care leaders directly. But I'll do I'll continue to do my best at diversifying the content and ensuring that you're not left hanging when it comes to the development that you are receiving.

5:08So I'm very appreciative of everyone. If you have not had a chance to share this podcast, please share it. This podcast is a very important podcast to me, and I hope that it becomes a very important podcast to you. And I just want to say so far, 21 episodes in. Thank you. You don't have to listen. You don't have to tune in. You don't have to say anything. You don't have to participate. You don't have to do any of those things. Yet and still, you do. And for that, I want to say thank you. because this podcast is absolutely a podcast that will ensure your growth if you work with me. Okay. So I set out to say this.

5:59Welcome back. Welcome back. Welcome back. Welcome back. I was speaking at a conference in Delaware. And to close the conference in Delaware, I was talking to leaders in the room and I said, and soon to be leaders, and I said, there's a lot of you that want leadership roles, but haven't mastered where you are.

6:27A lot of you. Where we're playing the promotion game or the scale game, but we're not taking the time to master where we are. and I use the example in scripture of David. David as a young boy was anointed to be king one day. But David didn't wait and sit around or try to get promoted fast to become king. He went through his journey 20 plus 30 years from the day he was told he would be great to the day that that prophecy was realized. A lot of you that are listening to this podcast, you're listening to the podcast because you do want to be great. You're listening to the podcast because you do want to be somebody.

7:32But the issue that you're having is that you're putting the cart before the horse. We're going to talk about that today. And what I mean by putting the cart before the horse, in an effort to try to become somebody, you end up being nobody. Oh, I'm talking to somebody today. In an effort to try to prove that you are indeed valuable, getting promoted too fast and moving too fast actually puts you in positions that exposes the very thing that you may not be ready for.

8:18Which is

8:23there's a big difference between huge difference between having the position of leadership and being a leader. And today we're going to dive into the four things I told them to master before they're asking for any promotions. The four things. These are four phases you must master and in this order, if you want to truly be considered one of the best at what you do. The highest paid position in the world is not a title. The highest paid position in the world. It's not a position. The highest paid position in the world is an attribute. And being a leader is an attribute. so write this down take the notes classes in session the four phases that i mentioned the first one was mastering skills the second phase was mastering people the third phase is mastering the business the fourth phase is mastering skill now here's what's fascinating about these phases bridge builders they they build upon each other like a pyramid you can't effectively lead people without first mastering the technical skills of your domain your domain meaning your industry your department your product your business you may say dr jake i work in a company i don't have a business i would say i beg to differ you may not have a company but whatever position you're in is your business that's your domain you must master it you can't master the business aspects without understanding how to lead people and I brought up David King David earlier because he was the best at what he did in every position that he was in he was the best sheep herder then he was the best harp player then he was the best warrior.

10:40Then he was the best leader of warriors. Then he was the best number two to the current king. Then he was the best number. You see what I'm saying? He began to master every phase because every phase that you're in is the development of the next phase that you're going to have to sit in. You can't master the business without understanding how to lead people. And you certainly can't scale your leadership across multiple units or organizations without first mastering the business fundamentals. We're going to break each of these phases down so that you can understand why they're critical to your leadership journey.

11:19The first phase, mastering the skill. This is where every great leader starts. No matter what industry you're in, you need to understand the core technical aspects of your domain. This isn't just about being good at your job. It's about having such a deep understanding that you can do five things. One, identify inefficiencies and opportunities for improvement in a heartbeat. Two, make informed decisions about processes and resources. Three, train and develop others effectively. Four, earn the respect of your technical teams. And five, innovate and drive meaningful improvements. I've seen many leaders try to skip this phase.

12:12Skip those five things needed. Thinking their management title means that they don't need to understand the technical details. That's a big mistake. Without this foundation, you'll struggle to. Make informed decisions, you'll struggle at. earning credibility from your team. You'll struggle with identifying real problems versus symptoms. You'll struggle with driving meaningful innovation. And you also will struggle with developing effective solutions. I see so many people saying, oh, if I got the management degree and certification of leadership and management, I can now manage people in this domain.

12:54This is where bottlenecks happen. When you are not a practitioner in that domain and don't take the time to learn how that domain works. That's where mistakes happen, because how can you know that that person isn't BSing you if you haven't sat in a seat before? And I'll tell anybody running an organization. I know how to sell. I know how to build proposals. I know how to build websites. I know how to run my social media. I know how to edit photos. I know how to edit videos. I know how to create content. I know how to create products. I know how to buy companies. I know how to sell companies. I know how to write books.

13:31I know how to write articles. I know how to write case studies. I know how to do domains. I know how to run marketing. I know how to do advertisement. I know how to hire. I know how to fire. I know how to build policies. I know how to do HR. I understand financial analytics. I understand financial predictive analysis. I understand financial projections. I understand auditing. I understand accounting. I understand every aspect of my business so much so that no one can play me when it comes to running my company. And in the areas that I am weak, I find a subject matter expert and I hire them to not only do the job, but also to teach me while on the job.

14:12So by the time they are dismissed from me, I now have that skill set in my belt. I'm going to share with you a little story. I worked with a leader. Let's call him Mike. He was brought in to run a manufacturing division. Mike had a great management credentials from another industry, but he hadn't taken the time to truly understand the manufacturing process he was overseeing. When his team came to him with technical challenges, he couldn't differentiate between minor issues and serious problems that could affect product quality. the result his team stopped coming to him with problems they started working around him creating their own informal leadership structure mike's lack of technical mastery undermined his ability to lead effectively and eventually he was replaced by someone who understood both leadership and the technical aspects of manufacturing.

15:15What's the lesson? Technical mastery isn't just about doing the work. It's about building the foundation for all of your future leadership capabilities and capacity. I can ask a lot from my team because I ask a lot from myself. I've never asked the team member to do something that I haven't been willing to do myself. Never. And I haven't asked anyone to do anything that I wasn't the best at. Every single thing I've touched, I've strived to become top three within my organization, top three as a leader in executing something. Why? Because people respect someone who has battle wounds. And in healthcare, I see it often.

16:04I see people overseeing departments and not ever having to be made to be in the department to understand it. If I'm going to create a director of periop and I want them to oversee SPD. As a leader of leaders, I will make that director of periop go and spend a quarter, three months in the department that they're about to oversee prior to the promotion. so that they can understand the everyday interworkings of what they're asking people to do. And what happens is you find leaders who have never led in a department or in an industry coming in, making subject matter decisions most often to cut costs without understanding how the cost was created.

16:58Which takes me back to not understanding something that's a symptom versus something that's a problem. So you cut a program, you cut a product, you cut a system, you cut a person thinking that they were a problem when in fact it's just a symptom. And if I understood the organization, I would in fact be able to diagnose where the real symptom is, the real problem is, fix the problem, and then the symptom will relieve itself.

17:28These are elements that we must master, especially when it comes to mastering the skill. How can you want to be a manager of people when you don't like people or you can't communicate with people or connect with people?

17:45These are things we must understand. How can you want to be an overseer of people running tasks when you're not even the best at doing that task? I know what you're saying, Dr. Jake. There are coaches in the NBA that weren't the best at being a basketball player, but they're a great coach. The difference is, but they play basketball before. You cannot find me one professional coach. That's running an organization that did not play that sport at some capacity, at some point, at some time. And if they did not play the sport, you can't find me one great coach that didn't inundate themselves in that industry or in that profession so much so that they know every aspect of the game.

18:32This is what true leadership is. Understanding that at every level I'm promoted, the question I must ask myself is what skills are needed to run this position? and how long is it going to take me to master these said skills that are needed? Most of us want to get promoted or we want to run a company or we want to run a business and just scale up, just keep promoting up. I say promotion for everybody because if I'm running a company, if I want to go from zero to a million dollars, I'm promoting my way up. I'm promoting up my revenue or my success, whatever. In an organization, I'm promoting my way up.

19:09And most people want to play their scale game, the promotion game, but they don't want to play the mastery game. And this is where so many people are missing out. And this is where a lot of people are getting exposed because yes, you can play the promotion game, but when you get in that hot seat and you can't perform, you get fired. You go to the next place, you get fired. You go to the next place, you get fired. And before you know it, you can't have a career while you have somebody else that's slow and steady. But as they're continuously growing and mastering every step step, it's not about getting to the position.

19:46It's about getting to the position and staying in position because you were ready for the position before you got it. And most people want to promote to the position, but they're not ready to stay in the position because they were not ready to even run the position. They just wanted the title of the position, not the responsibility that comes with it. Oh, I'm teaching today. But before matter of fact, let me give myself an applause. I'm about to give myself an applause.

20:23That was some game. In case you didn't know, you're in leadership church at this moment. We're going to go to a quick break and we'll be back. Are you ready to transform your leadership journey? Get my book, Read to Lead, on Amazon now. In it, you'll discover the proven frameworks and strategies I've used to help leaders across industries master each phase of their leadership development. Don't just lead, be bread to lead. Get your copy today on Amazon. Go and get your copy of Bread to Lead today on Amazon. You can go to breadtolead.com and click the button there and it'll take you to the Amazon.

20:59The reason why I don't sell independently like I used to do is because I want you to get your books quick and I'm not in the game of being a publisher. I'm in the game of writing amazing, valuable content that gets disseminated all across the world. Okay, so go get Bread to Lead. Matter of fact, here's what the book looks like. Go and get a copy of Bread to Lead right now. Go get a copy of Bread to Lead. Pause the podcast right now and go get a copy of Bread to Lead at breadtolead.com. That will take you to Amazon. You can go straight to Amazon, type in Bread to Lead, Dr. Jake Taylor Jacobs. It'll take you directly to the book.

21:35Go and get it. Read it because this podcast is an outward expression of the information that is inside of this book. So we talked about the first phase, the importance of mastering skills. The second phase is mastering people. Once you've mastered the technical skills, it's time to focus on the human element. This phase is about understanding how to lead and manage people effectively. In this phase, you have several skills you must master. You must master motivating diverse teams. What do I mean by diverse? A lot of people think just because they look like you, they your same color, your creed or y 'all grew up in the same community that y 'all are the same.

22:21Diversity is not about diversity in color of your skin. It's color of your environment, your upbringing, your mindset, your your dialect, your viewpoint, perspective, vantage of the world. That's what motivating diverse teams is managing conflicts, developing talent, building high performance cultures, effective communication, emotional intelligence, mastering change management, mastering performance management. Don't ask for no higher raise of manager, director, executive VP. If you haven't even mastered leading people because they hire you go up in leadership, it's no longer about you doing the task.

23:02It's about you motivating and encouraging people to do the task. And then I hire you go up. You're motivating the people that are motivating the people to do the task. Then the higher you go up, you're motivating the people that are motivating the people that are motivating the people that motivate the people to do tasks. And so your leadership strategy has to be so concise in people buying into it that six levels down to the lowest person in your organization. They're buying into the strategy you're putting up at six levels up. But you can't do that if you don't know people. And this is where many technical experts and this is what I call subject matter experts.

23:44You have a lot of people in health care that have mastered the skill, but they have not mastered people or mastered the business. So this is where many technical experts struggle. They've built their careers on being the best at what they do. But now they need to shift. From being the star player to being the coach. And this requires a completely different skill set. In this phase, you'll need to learn how to motivate different personality types, the art of delegation, effective feedback techniques, conflict resolution, team building, performance management, change management, emotional intelligence.

24:22Here's where many leaders get stuck. They try to lead everyone the same way, not understanding that different people require different approaches. They might be great with people like themselves, but struggle with those who have different working styles or personalities. Let me show you a story. Sarah was a brilliant technical expert who was promoted to lead her department. She knew every aspect of the work inside and out, but she struggled with people, the people side of leadership. Her approach was my way or the highway. And while this had worked for her as an individual contributor, it was destroying team morale.

25:01We worked together to develop her people mastery skills and she learned to listen more than she talked. Adapt her communication styles to different team members. Provide constructive feedback, delegate effectively and build trust through empathy and understanding. The transformation was so remarkable that within six months, her team engagement scores had doubled. Turnover dropped dramatically and productivity increased by 30 percent. The key to learning. Technical expertise might get you into the leadership role. But people mastery skills, mastering people's skills are what help you succeed. In it.

25:46Bridge builders, developing transformational leaders is crucial for the future of health care. As health care solutions, we offer comprehensive leadership development programs designed specifically for health care professionals. From executive coaching to immersive workshops, we can help you cultivate the transformational leadership skills your organization needs to thrive in today's complex healthcare landscape. Visit SipsHealthcare.com to explore our leadership development offerings and take the first steps toward transforming your organization. I know most of you are not used to a straightforward podcast such as this.

26:25Usually I'm extremely talkative or communicative. I talk a lot, have a lot of antics, but I think this podcast is really straightforward. You master skills first. The second, you master people. This third phase is you master the business. There are so many people that want to be VPs, directors, run a company. You want to be a big boss CEO. And I actually have a book that I wrote called You're Not a CEO Yet.

26:57right here. You're not a CEO yet. It's a pretty thick book and it's teaching people how to stop thinking like a passive founder, a subject matter expert and how to start thinking like an executive. Okay. So many people want to be in leadership roles that sway an organization, but don't understand the business of the organization that they want to be a VP of. This is where many leaders hit a wall. They're great with the technical aspects. They may even be excellent with people, but they struggle with understanding how to navigate the business side of their organization. In this phase, here's some things you're going to have to master.

27:43Financial management, resource allocation, strategic planning, performance metrics, market dynamics, organization politics, stakeholder management, risk management, especially organizational politics. It's not as black and white when you're dealing with so many people that believe that they're just as valuable as you are. It's a give and take compromise. Give me a little. I give you this. Let's see what we can do to work together. This phase is about seeing the bigger picture. It's not enough just to run your department well. You need to understand how it fits into the larger organization and industry in context.