Activate Your Leadership Superpower with Tamara Jackson

0:00You know, over the past decade, even longer, we've been putting this big emphasis on having high-performing team. So really excited for you all to listen to this episode. We go into high purpose versus high performance. We talk a ton about emotional intelligence and how to ask really good questions. Tam Jackson, amazing leader of leaders. You're going to love this episode and I'm just going to be quiet and just let you hear it. Ladies and gentlemen, I present the amazing Tamra Jackson. you're listening to mick unplugged hosted by the one and only mick hunt this is where purpose meets power and stories spark transformation mick takes you beyond the motivation and into meaning helping you discover your because and becoming unstoppable i'm rudy rush and trust me you're in the right place let's get unplugged Tam, how you doing today, dear?

0:56Mick, I am doing great. Thank you so much for the introduction. It did my heart good to just hear that. So thank you. No, I appreciate you. I appreciate you more than you know. And, you know, Tam, I know I'd say a lot about you, but, you know, I'm a huge follower of you. I've been a follower for a while. You know, I'm in the leadership space as well. I think selfless, shameless plug for Tam. Tam, she has one of the best assessments that are out there that I'm going to make sure everybody goes to before we end the day. But Tam, I love starting this with asking my guests, like, what's your because?

1:33That thing that's deeper than your why, that true passion, that true purpose that you have. Today, Tam, what's your because? I love that question. As I sit with that, I think for me, it's about igniting. I recognize that I've been blessed with a lot of great opportunities. There have been people that have opened doors for me that have poured into me over the years. And as I hit that, you know, 50 mark last year, I started thinking about the reality that there is likely less time in front of me than there is behind. me. And so I am operating with urgency in my life, and I want to encourage others to do the same.

2:23Whatever it is that you are called to do, however you are supposed to make an impact in this world, however you're supposed to lead and be a light for others, it's time to do that now. I think, Mick, that we take for granted that we have time. And one of the lessons that I've learned over the last few years is there are no guarantees. Now is all we have. So we have to take advantage of it. I love that, you know, and you hit on something. So one of my really good mentors, Les Brown, you know, he says, people say time is money. It's like, no, it's not. Time is life because you can run out of money, right?

3:05Run out of life and see what happens. Right. And I I think what you're saying is so true that, you know, putting an importance on making impact, as my good friend Robert Irvine will say, is why we're all here. Should be who we are and what we're about. And I'd love for you to just kind of talk about what impact means for you. For me, impact is about what I leave behind. So when I enter a room, am I leaving something behind? Am I making that space better than it was when I entered? And that doesn't necessarily mean that I am dominating or commanding that room. It could just be the conversation that I've had with the person next to me.

3:50It could be a smile when a person is having a rough day. It's about leaving something behind that makes a positive difference in people's lives. And so the great news about that, Mick, is no matter where we are in our leadership journey, whether we have the titles and the accolades or not, we can all make an impact. If we focus on the people that are around us, the gifts, skills and talents that we've been given, and we look for ways to make others' lives better, we all have an opportunity to make an impact. Amazing. Amazing. And so that's a great transition of all the great work that you're doing and that Beaconship is doing.

4:34Talk to the viewers and listeners about the company, the purpose of the company and what all that you do at Beaconship. Yeah. So you hit on a really important word that kind of encapsulates what Beaconship is about. And it's about being a light. I have been a person of faith since I was a little kid. You know, we all have those journeys where we kind of go in and out. But thank God for redemption and bringing us back home. Right. So one of the things that I believe is critical as faith driven leaders is not so much preaching or beating people over the head with things, but being a light in a dark space.

5:16And the reality is in today's world, there is a lot of division. There is a lot of complexity. As leaders, you are navigating things that maybe you've never dealt with before. So Beaconship is about taking the wisdom of leaders that have been doing this. They have blazed the way, whether it's in the nonprofit space, running multimillion and billion dollar companies or in film. What have these leaders learned that can help the next generation of leaders as they step into their leadership moment? I believe that as faith driven leaders, we have the answers to the world's greatest problems, but there is a risk that the wisdom that has been hard won over the years doesn't get passed down.

6:13And that's an urgent call because there's a lot going on in the political space, in the economic space, but also in the financial space, which is a passion for me, having worked so long in the financial space. something that's happening right now is that we have leaders that have been able to achieve great success. They are in that boomer generation category, if you will, and they are now faced with some critical decisions. What are they going to do with the businesses that they've been able to grow? What are they going to do with the wealth that they've been able to accumulate? And in the conversations that I've been having, Mick, these leaders want to make sure that whatever they are giving or passing down is ending up in the right hand.

7:02So that means the next generation of leaders have to have great character. And that's really what Beaconship is about, is how do we raise up leaders that have great character? One of the things that I so appreciate my mom for is I remember as I was, I'm a serial entrepreneur mix. So as you are, you know, had multiple ventures, multiple things that I've been interested in over the years, even though I grew up in corporate, there was always this call to, you know, step into that entrepreneurial space. So I remember, you know, having my corporate career, building my business, my side hustle on the side.

7:44I wanted it to grow fast because I started feeling this pull to step more into entrepreneurship and be able to step out of the corporate space. So I remember having these conversations with my mom. Mom, pray for my business. Help me to go to God in prayer so that this business will grow. And she looked at me, Mick, and said, I really want your business to be successful. I really want your business to grow. But what I want more than anything is for your character to grow. One of the things that she recognized is that we can get promoted to places that we are not able to stay in because our character is not right.

8:32So I will tell you, I was a little disappointed in that moment because I wanted what I wanted. But now, many years later, I am so thankful for her prayers. The way that we develop character is not always easy, but it is the thing. It is the X factor, I believe, that distinguishes great leaders, impactful leaders between them and those that kind of start off strong, but tend to fall along the wayside. So it's about character. I love that. That's one of my pillars. So character is what I like to say. It's what's seen before you walk into a room. It's what stays when you walk out of that room. Right.

9:18And I think from a leadership perspective, when we talk about trust and we talk about character, those are the things that the modern employee is actually craving. And those are the things that the modern employee is looking for from their leaders. You know, Tam, I've been saying for the last 12 months now, this new generation, and it's not a bad thing, but this new generation of employees, the 401k and the pension isn't as important as the leader being transparent and the values that a leader has. I mean, nowadays, prospects, applicants are researching the company and the values that you have.

10:00And they're looking at the things that you stand for or that you don't stand for, the words that you say, the words that you don't say. And when I was growing up, Tam, I'm like, I cared about, one, I'm a serial entrepreneur like you. But my first job, I did care about, well, what's the retirement package? What are the benefits? My kids, Tim, they don't care about that. They're like, hey, I can work from home even if I'm sick. So I don't need time off. You know what I mean? I'm there. Like, I can work on vacation. I don't need to be in an office anymore. How do you help leaders understand that transparency, trust, character are the things that these modern employees are valuing?

10:40Yeah, it's a great question. I think what we're seeing is this next generation of leaders wants receipts. They don't want talk. They don't want the fancy speeches. They don't want any of that. As you've said, it's about who you are inside and whether or not they are able to connect with that. So at Beaconship, one of the things that we really emphasize is, and this is a hard word, but having a level of vulnerability. What I have found, you know, I don't have kids of my own, but I do have a goddaughter who is with 16 going on 30. I don't know how in 16 years she's developed so much expertise and wisdom, but you know how it is when you're a teen, right?

11:30You think you've got it all figured out. But one of the things that I have noticed from her is that she is more concerned with connection. She wants to know, you know, not only the great things that have happened, but the tough thing. She's really good at asking me questions, even in moments of difficulty. when I lost my mom a few years ago. As I have had, not all of my ventures have been successful. She's been really good at asking those thoughtful, reflective questions to get to the heart of, okay, well, what did you learn? And how was that? How did that feel for you? And so one of the things that we encourage leaders to do at Beaconship is not just lead with the metrics, not just lead with your expertise, but what have your experiences been?

12:26What are some of the things that you've encountered along the way that really shook you at your core? Use those examples to inspire the next generation of leaders because they need to know that they're not alone in the things that they are dealing with today. And you sharing your experiences is going to be the thing that really communicates that storytelling is so powerful. You know, and Tam, speaking of challenging, I have to be vulnerable right here now because you challenged me and you didn't even realize this. But again, I've been a student of Tam for a while and you talk about high performance and burnout.

13:09And I was such a leader focused on high performing teams. Right. And because you can measure that. I can measure performance. I can see it. I have data that can back up every decision, every hit, every miss that we have. But you challenged me to say, well, what about having a high purpose led team? What if we go from performance to high purpose? And that shook me. I would love for you to talk to the viewers and listeners about that transition of performance does matter, but purpose is probably more important. So talk to us about that a little bit. Yeah. You know, it's it's it's actually another lesson that I learned from my mom.

13:54You know, I remember growing up and seeing her work really, really hard. She actually got her start in retail. And for anyone who's worked in retail, you know, it's really long hours. You are working really, really hard to make sure that you hit your goal. And so she had actually been on a journey of learning how to not just focus on the numbers in terms of how many units were moved and how sales were growing month over month. one of her leaders had challenged her, hey, I know that you're focused on these goals, but people over paper. People over paper. And I heard her, you know, she shared this lesson with me, but I was still pretty young, pretty early in my working career.

14:47And it didn't come back to me until I had my first team that I was leading in corporate space. And sometimes when you step into leadership, you get teams that are really hitting it on all cylinders. I did not, Mick. I got a team that was really struggling. And despite my motivational talks, despite me sitting down and coaching and going over the numbers, you know, a few months in, they still weren't where they needed to be. And I remember getting to a place of frustration such that I'm ashamed to say it, but I let my frustration show on our board. We had a board in front of our team. They kind of recapped their numbers from the prior day.

15:33And I always updated it with the numbers. But there was normally some type of statement of encouragement or something to motivate the team for the day. And this day, I was so through with it that I just put a sad face. Now, I don't know why I did that, but it just reflected, honestly, what I was feeling inside. And then I remember feeling defeated because here I was trying to pour all my heart and soul into leading this team. And no matter what I was doing, it wasn't working. But here's the thing. um many times there can be people that may not have an official leadership title i had someone stephanie i still remember this moment and i still remember her name after all these years she was not leading a team but she pulled me aside damn what is this that you have on the board what is up with this you know sad thing and i was explaining to her what was happening she said you You got to erase it.

16:35You got to take it back because the team is looking to you for guidance and direction. So if you give up, they will give up. So I went back. I erased the sad face that was reflective of my feelings about our performance. And it really put me on a journey of soul searching. Everything I had done up until that point did not work. So now what? And then I realized the thing that I had not done was really tapped into the purpose, that conversation about what each person on the team really was about, what they really want. I hadn't really gotten to know them as individuals. I was just focused on getting the ball down the field and getting a score.

17:24And when I took the time to actually sit down with each individual and not just looking at the numbers, but get to know them, what their motivations were, what their goals were, then we started to connect on a level and they could receive the coaching and feedback. And we could work together to help them to grow. And our numbers started to improve. And then for some of those people, what we realized through those discussions is this role wasn't a good fit. And so my responsibility as a leader wasn't to continue to push them and beat them over the head about the numbers that they weren't hitting, but to help them to find the role that was a better fit.

18:05And so when we lean into purpose, when we lean into relationships, that is so key to purpose, then what we find is that people feel seen, they feel valued. And when they feel seen and valued, they will perform for you at levels that you would never be able to get them to form by just looking at numbers. And I think that's something that's not talked about enough. Amen to that. Amen to that. And this is something we agree on, Tim. We don't disagree on anything, but I know this is something you talk about. This is something that I talk about. And I think it's important for leaders to understand this.

18:47So we're going to have some good dialogue here, Tim. EQ, emotional intelligence, is far more important than IQ. From a leadership perspective, I say this. Your IQ and your skill set probably got you the job. your EQ is going to keep it and get you promoted and take it to where you want to go. And I think for every leader, for every entrepreneur, understanding that the most important skill set that you need to be developing is your emotional intelligence. Because that's literally what you were just surmising right there, Tim. Getting to know your team, listening, having that self-regulation. It used to be cool when we were growing up, Tim, and we heard it all the time.

19:32You wear your emotions on your sleeve. Can't do that anymore. Can't do that anymore. Emotions might scare people. The emotions that you're wearing on your sleeve. If you're like me, I found out the hard way you're going to lose 20 percent of your team physically. Like I lost 20 % of my team because I was that full of emotion, wear it on my sleeve, drive, drive, drive leader. And I realized really quickly that's not the way to lead. Tam, talk to us about how important continuing to develop emotional intelligence is for leaders today. It is critically important because no person is the same. I think that's one of the critical things that we need to recognize is that when we're meeting someone, when we're leading someone, when we're building relationships with people, they are bringing so much with them to that relationship.

20:31All of the experiences that they've had, the heartbreaks, both in business and in their personal lives, and all of these experiences have shaped their outlook on life. So one of the things that I find really interesting is two people can be in the same conversation and they will hear what is said completely different. It happens in personal relationships. it happens in professional relationships you're thinking well i just said xyz and then i'm like well it felt like you were attacking me what attacking you that that totally wasn't on my radar that wasn't my intent and so being able to read a room being able to understand how your communication style or your lack of communication might be impacting other people and then having the fortitude to adjust and to recognize that, you know, one of the things that I've learned is as the communicator, the responsibility is on me.

21:38And I didn't know that initially. Initially, I thought, well, hey, this is what I intended. So it's something wrong on their end if they didn't get it the way that I intended for it to be received. But what I've learned is, wait, that didn't land the way I hoped it would. Maybe I need to think about how I'm communicating. Where could I have been more clear? Where could I have been more empathetic? Maybe I should have started with some questions about how they were instead of jumping into the thing that I wanted to talk about that day. Right. And those are things that you learn when you practice reflection.

22:15So that's one of the things that I would kind of underline for our viewing and listening audience today. I think for me, being able to become more emotionally intelligent requires being willing to step back from interactions and reflect and grade yourself. How did that go? Yes. and if it went well then great what are some of the things that I think went well based on how they responded to what I shared um and then if it didn't go well okay where did it seem to get off the rails and how could I maybe do that differently next time I think being able to you know I was I'm thinking about sports right now for some reason I love football and I think one of the the benefit uh to to football is that re right to be able to go back because you could be looking at it in the moment and you could swear he caught the ball he caught the ball but when you do the replay you do it in slow mo you're like wait a minute he dropped that right right and i think as leaders we have to create our own version of replay so that we can take a closer look at the interactions that we're having and be able to assess, how can I be better so that I can build better relationships and I can create that emotional connection with those that I do?

23:39Amazing, amazing, amazing, amazing. And you said the word assess. And then when I kicked this off, I talked about this amazing assessment that you have and that you've created. I'd love for you to break down for the viewers and listeners what this assessment is, what is it score and why is it important? Yeah. So the beacon of excellence scorecard really ties back to the word that we talked about earlier. It's about character. It's a self-assessment. You are taking it as a leader on behalf of your organization to assess how are you doing in the key areas that those that are looking to come alongside and invest, donate, or support in some way, what are some of the things that they are looking for?

24:27How are you doing in each of those areas being able to assess, am I on the right track or do I need to make some adjustments? And this scorecard was created because I spent about a year just going around to different leadership events and conferences because I am so interested in the great wealth transfer and how these businesses and wealth is going to transition hands over the next few decades, I started really paying attention to what those that have a desire to pass down things were really looking for. And what I realized is that there was a disconnect. Those that were looking to invest or donate had a scorecard that they were using, but the scorecard was often invisible to those that really wanted to qualify, if you will, for these opportunities.

25:21So the goal with the beacon of excellence scorecard is to pull together all the things that I heard time and time again in such a way that you now know, here is what I am being graded. And now that I have taken the assessment, it's absolutely free for you to take. Now, you know, OK, here are the things that I need to keep doing. Here are the things that I need to start doing. And these things. Oh, my gosh, I need to get help with these. Because the reality is I am not doing well in these areas, not because I don't have desire, but because maybe I don't have the right team member or maybe I don't have the right mentor.

26:01So this scorecard is designed to illuminate the path for the next generation of leaders to figure out what steps they need to take to position themselves for the opportunities that they are seeking. So I definitely encourage you, would love to have you take the scorecard and see where you stand. All right. So where can we go take this assessment, Tam? Absolutely. I'd love for you to visit our website. We are at Beaconship.co, not com, Beaconship.co. You will see right there on the homepage a link to take the scorecard. And what's beautiful about it is you don't just see the results on a screen.

26:38You are going to get a PDF where all of your results are summarized and you will have that action plan, not only for yourself, but so that you can share it with those that you lead so that now you can paint a picture of the vision of what you want to accomplish in the coming months and years. And I think that's so critical. Again, selfish promotion for TAM. I think it's so critical as leaders that you understand, one, who you are, two, how you lead. What are the fundamental principles that you have? Where can you get better? What are your blind spots? And so I'm so proud of you and what you've done with the scorecard, with what you do from a teaching, coaching, helping people become better leaders, getting the best versions of themselves.

27:28You know, what are some of the new cool initiatives that you have going on? What is Tam working on now? Yeah. So right now I am really excited to be focusing on helping leaders actually refine their pitch. So right now, all across the country, there are events held where founders have an opportunity to share their venture. They do typically a very short presentation. We're talking somewhere between four and five minutes. And they've got to capture the heart of their venture and their ask in that short time. So it's been really fun to actually work with a group of leaders here in Charlotte, take the journey with them over several sessions, help them to refine what it is that their venture is really about in a way that's going to be compelling to investors and donors, and then be able to translate that into a pitch deck that they can then use, not only for events locally here in Charlotte, but across the globe.

28:28And what's been amazing is how just giving them some guidance and direction, just helping them to understand the scorecard that they're being evaluated against has helped them to be able to get more clear and to not only capture it well in writing and their pitch deck, but in how they present. And one of the things that I will share, Mick, that I want to underscore for the audience is get comfortable with your ask, whether you're looking for investors or donors. One of the things that I see being the area where people really struggle is getting comfortable asking for money or asking for connections or asking for help.

29:11And I think that points to a challenge that we can often have as leaders. Sometimes we are really great at leading and pouring into others. But what I'm learning, I'm really focused on teaching others, is we also have to be good receivers. And being able to ask is a part. It's a part of that. It's the first step to being able to receive. Amen. Amen to that. Tim, I could talk to you all day. I think we just scratched the surface on some conversations. So I'm about to bring you back for part two if you're open to that. Absolutely. Let's do it. All right. So before I get you out of here, though, I got to go with my rapid fire, my quick five rapid fire questions.

29:55Okay. All right. You ready? Ready. All right. So you just talked about football. Yes. Who's your football team? You're going to hate me. The Dallas Cowboys. I said football team. what excuse me so you so you are you professional football team that's dirty that's just dirty that's cold see you took it to a next level I was ready for the hate but I wasn't ready for the uh wait a minute I need a professional team really is that how we're going today sorry I just I don't want the listeners and viewers to be confused when I said professional football and you say Cowboys. I had to clarify that. Terrible.

30:37Terrible. All right. So you talked about helping people with their pitch. When you've got to get amped up and ready for a pitch for a conference to go on stage, what's the song that you're going to in your head or that you're going to listen to? Yeah. So you might be surprised by this Katy Perry roar. I want to bring it. I want to get that inner like I got this. and that is a song that always does it for me 100 % It's time for a home cooked meal the weather is starting to change a little bit we both live in the south so I call this southern food time of the year right here What is Tam's favorite fall winter meal?

31:23Pot roast I love pot roast with some little potatoes on the side I don't know it just warms my heart And when it when it just falls apart, when you take it out of the crock pot, that's my favorite. I love it. I'm right there with you. Give me a good roast and some mac and cheese. And I'm good for three days.