Why Emotional Energy is the New Currency of Leadership

0:28So, hey guys, listen, we're all trying to get more productive. $10 ,000 worth of courses that are in there that come with the app. Also, some of the top influencers in the world are all posting content in there on a regular basis, like having the Avengers of personal development and business in one app. And I'm honored that he asked me to be a part of it as well and contribute on a weekly basis, and I do. So go over there and get signed up. You're going to get a free tuition-free voucher to go to an event with Brendan and myself and a bunch of other influencers as well. So you get a free event out of it also.

0:53So go to growthday.com forward slash ed. That's growthday.com forward slash ed.

1:26savings when you choose the best rate for you. Give it a try after this episode at Progressive.com. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. Not available in all states or situations. Prices vary based on how you buy.

1:49This is The Ed Myron Show. Welcome back to the show, everybody. So as we do every month, highest rated shows we do, I am joined by my great friend, Brendan Brouchard. And today we are going to talk about leadership and things maybe you've never heard before regarding leadership. Before we do it, though, you didn't know I was going to do this, but I want to mention this to you. You and I are doing an entire day together. Brendan has an unbelievable group called Ultra. He's asked me to come spend the entire day with him on April 6th. And I know everybody would at least want to know the opportunity in front of them.

2:23So if people wanted to come spend a day with you and I, April 6, Austin, Texas, and a host of other great people as well in an immersive experience, where do they go to at least get the info on it, brother? Go to ultra.vip. And man, I'm so excited about that. So few people get to be in a room with just you and me in a smaller type setting. And I think that this topic of leadership will show why. They need to understand right now because of AI and because how the future is rolling out, your ability to lead right now is your highest value asset outside of mastering your inner world and your relationships.

3:00By the way, welcome to the show. Thank you, brother, man. I'm fired up today. we're jumping right in so am i look at if you're on youtube look at the view behind this guy man it's pretty awesome if you're not he is sitting right on top of the vineyard that he lives on by the way you all should get that metaphorical vineyard of your life as well and one of the ways you're going to get there is through leadership and so we're gonna have a great discussion heavy on brendan today light on me because he's the guy that i want to ask most of the questions to but we always go back and forth when we do the show together here's a hard one someone just asked me this actually not too long ago an interview i was in what do you believe about leadership now that you didn't used to believe?

3:34Most people don't want to be led. And most people don't want to be leaders. Those who want to be led and those who want to be leaders have an unfair advantage. I didn't believe that before. I used to think people want to be led. You know, they want to be part of something that is important. But what I've learned in psychology and high performance is it is true. Most people want a meaningful pursuit and most people want fellowship on that meaningful pursuit. So those are the two things that most people actually want related to leadership. Like I want to pursue something that's purposeful and meaningful and joyful and passionate.

4:06And I want to do it with people who are awesome. So that's meaningful pursuits and fellowship. However, most people need an incredible level of autonomy within that. They rebel against the leader a little bit now. They want to be on that meaningful pursuit, but they want to have a lot of control, a lot of input, a lot of their own choices. And that level of autonomy has only gone up over a period of time. And so you see, you'd have the follower who just like, you know, was maybe a little more passive, a little bit more like, Hey, I want to be led. Show me the way you're great. You have competency or you've been there, or I believe in this mission, but I don't want to take charge.

4:45Now, a lot of people, they actually really want to be independent in their striving. and so does that change the way you lead then five words is my biggest five words in all of leadership training and that is people support what they create people support what they create what this means is they need to be part of creating that vision more than ever they need to have autonomy and how to go after that thing more than ever you and i came up in a time it was more of like mentorship and maybe you were an intern or an apprentice and there was a master leader who kind of showed you the way and told you the values and the ethics.

5:28And it was more you being like a student and then the leader was the teacher. Now it's more like the leader is the facilitator, the collaborator, and it's less about giving a person a vision than enlisting them and finding out their vision because if they have skin in the game of creating that vision and skin in the game of determining how to go after it, they're way more engaged because you and I also live in a world right now. And I know every leader is listening right now. Every leader has had that person who was quietly quitting. Every person has had that person who's disengaged, detached, not part of it.

6:04And my first question isn't ever is like, hey, is it the wrong person or are they lazy. It's tell me how involved they were in determining where to go and how to go. Because if they got to create that and be part of that conversation, that dialogue, that discussion, those decisions, then they're like, I'm all in. I got skin in the game. If they didn't, they're like, yeah, dude, stop bossing me around. Wow. Maybe we meet in the middle on this. I used to say, you have to sell a big enough vision. It's got to be a big vision if you're a leader. I still believe that. The people have to buy into what this means, where we're going, what it's going to look like when we get there.

6:40Well, the caveat to it, I have always said, is it's got to sell a big enough dream that the dreams of everybody within your stewardship, they see their dream fitting inside the one you're selling. I love that. I think the B is what you're saying. I think a lot of leaders are like, all right, I got it. Vision. It's in every leadership book. Got to cast the vision. but they are not investing the time to have that person buy into the vision, nor are they even clear on what that person's vision and dream is for their own life. Absolutely. That really works when the leader has this long-term vision, where I can describe this long-term vision.

7:16I can get everybody as we go, their dream incorporated that long-term vision. But you talk to anybody. I know you talk to more people than I do, especially on the show. Most leaders right now, they can't see a year or two out because of AI and technology and politics and the pace of change. And so it has to be more collaborative and creative together today than it ever has been before. Because that single individual whose heroism enables them to enlighten the way, that's harder to do now when you can't see out a month, two or five because of AI and technology. So I think it becomes much more conversational and much more in the moment versus like huge visions.

7:56We're going on shorter term quests together. Very good. This is so good. By the way, you ain't hearing this anywhere else. What's the application look like? If I am a realtor and I got a team of eight agents that work for me, or I'm a CEO list of this, I've got 46 people, or I'm a three person store somewhere. The application of that, like the day-to-day, how does that look? Are you doing little retreats where you're talking about these things? Is it just like, like you said, it's on the fly. You're bumping into their office and talking. Do you have any structures you've put in place? You know me, I'm always looking at what's the system for a way of going about doing that that might be also meeting these modern times.

8:32Yeah, I think the general rule is the less creative you need to be, the less you need to meet or strategize. So if the strategy is clear, the path is clear, the method is clear, the process is clear, you don't have to meet that much. But if things are shifting and changing quite a bit, the more dynamic it is, the more discussion needed to calibrate. And so this is why, you know, why does a coach need to be on the sideline in football? Like, why does that person need to be there and call every play with the team? It doesn't make any sense unless you realize the game is that dynamic. Otherwise, give them the playbook.

9:10Hey, boys, go out there and kick some butt but no they have to be on headset and have conversations between every single play because the game is dynamic so see the conversation goes up the more dynamic the game is oh very good that's exactly you know what old school leadership is sort of like here's the playbook here's the vision we're going we'll meet again every quarter and you're saying business now today is play by play because of the way things are changing evolving that's really good and dude think about it, they're going home after they're supposed to do your process or the playbook or whatever.

9:44And now they're being engaged by 50 other things that are more emotional on their phone. And so each day, it's not just about, you know, strategy and process and, you know, structure each day, you have to emotionally enroll people more than you ever did. The more dynamic it is. Now, again, you might only need to talk to them once a week if the process is really clear and their structure there. But, you know, I run a huge sales team and you have done as well. it's like, it used to be, it's like, hey guys, here's the script. Here's a thousand phone numbers. Go rock it. You can't do that now. You got to have standup meetings.

10:19You've got daily debriefs. And a lot of that is more of the emotional enrollment to keep people engaged in processes today, because most things are kind of boring versus what they can go home with their video games, their phone. So that human interaction in that dynamic thing, I know this sounds a little philosophical, but I'm just here to say leaders, you probably have to engage people more than you think you do on a more emotional level and more consistently, the more dynamic and change is happening. And I just think change is happening really fast right now. You got to be talking to your people.

10:51This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. You chose to hit play on this podcast today. Smart choice. Progressive loves to help people make smart choices. That's why they offer a tool called Auto Quote Explorer that allows you to compare your Progressive car insurance quote with rates from other companies. So you save time on the research and can enjoy savings when you choose the best rate for you. Give it a try after this episode at Progressive.com. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. Not available in all states or situations. Prices vary based on how you buy.

11:34This episode is brought to you by Marshalls, where you never have to compromise between quality and price. The buyers of Marshalls hustle hard, working to bring you great deals on brand name and designer pieces, because Marshalls believes everyone deserves access to the good stuff. Visit a Marshalls store near you or shop online at marshalls.com.

11:57I just did a whole podcast on energy and energy transfer, And I think that thing you just said through all time, but especially now, most leaders underestimate how much your job is to carry what I call the emotional load of your company, your business, your family. It is a you are pouring out energy all the time as a leader. And you're saying in this day and age, it's even more and more and more and more. And I don't know that enough leaders are conscious of energy reserves. I don't know that they're conscious enough, by the way, of even the concept of I've got to bring energy today. I've got to bring energy today.

12:31I've got to bring energy today. You're saying that's the number one commodity when everything else starts to get leveled out. This is a huge thing. I think historically through business, great or average leaders underestimate the amount of emotional load you're supposed to be carrying because it is just day to day process stuff. That's the guy over there by the machine. That guy makes the calls. That's our AI guy. You know, that's the IT person, their HR, and they're not even conscious of pouring the energy out. Or if they are, they're not conscious of one of your main jobs as a leader is to be refueling your own energy reserves because it's the number one thing, the number one expenditure of a leader.

13:11Is that right? I love it. Yeah, this is why you and I are best friends. The reason people come to our events is because the energy. I mean, you can look stuff up on the internet, but when you get in a room or environment that is elevated, that has the ability to go deep, but also literally lift, you feel more human. And I think that that is more important than in relationships and leadership than it ever has been before. People are not responsible for their energy today. they're detached they're they're very judgmental they're very narcissistic they're very um critical and cynical and i don't judge any of those things those happen to all of us i think it's just a matter of people to understand how much energy transference really does happen even in a call or conversation like this i always leave our our calls fired up every time i don't write i'm like Wow.

14:05Because true. Because he knows there's this dynamic like transference happening between us two here, but also you, the audience listening or watching like we're aware of the energy we're bringing into the space. And that's why Ed's one of the highest paid public speakers in the world is his energy on stage matches his storytelling capability. By the way, here's how right you are about our events. Can I just say interject without you go back? Please do. Our last event we did together was not that long ago, and it was in the middle of a 10-day trip for me. And when I got to our event, you know, I'd been five, six days pretty hard, a lot of things.

14:42And then I went to our event, and I left completely refueled again myself from being there. And so this thing, April 6th, you guys, and we're going to overpromote. I just want you to know, April 6th, Austin, Texas, they go to what? They go to ultra.vip to apply with us. Ultra.vip. I recommend it, you guys. I interrupted you. Go ahead. to give the inside baseball for everybody uh ed and i were at ultra in miami recently and uh ed kind of walked in the conference room and i was you know 50 feet away on the other side of the conference and this is backstage and i i was so happy to see my friend and so i i literally skipped towards him yeah like skipped and he just turned he kind of held back a little bit like whoa and Then he gets up on stage and he tells the whole audience, he goes, yeah, man, when I was backstage, Brendan just kind of lit me up.

15:32He skipped towards me. And if any other man skipped towards me. That's true. It's lighting me up now. I'm thinking about, I can literally in slow motion see you skipping towards me with that smiley face. I can see it right now in slow motion. Those events are so good, by the way. But I want to say this to you guys all. I mean, kind of, you know, traditional leadership with modern day, which is what Brennan's talking about right now. And this idea of it's much more day to day now than it is long term vision casting. What you just said, I want you to speak to this. I was lucky, you know, spending a lot of time lately with my dear, dear friend, John Maxwell.

16:11And I've been blessed. It's been he and I on his airplane quite a bit lately, going to events and speaking. And we've done some football games together and stuff. And long story short, I asked him when I asked you, what did you used to believe about leadership that you don't anymore? And he goes, I used to think it was really important to be consistent. And he said, I now really believe it's important to change your mind when you get new information. And he said, a lot of leaders are unwilling to veer off course because they want to create the illusion that they're consistent thinkers. you know I'm consistent with my philosophies and he said actually I think now a great leader is hey I've learned something new we've got new information technologies change this information change this situation's change the economy's changed the competition's changed and so I've changed my mind and he said I think that's one of the great qualities of a leader is to be able to say hey I've changed my mind about this I've got new information there's a new dynamic and so it's really interesting that you said that.

17:07And that's another thing for me. It's like, I'm evaluating in my life. I'll let you speak to it. Legacy thinking that I have, like this has always worked in our company. So it's always going to work, or we've just always done it that way. That's like the death of a company over the next five years, isn't it? A leader thinking we've always done it this way, or that's always worked. That legacy thinking you're going to die as a company within the AI era, correct? Agreed. Agreed. I think that we all operated in a time when intelligence was ours and our team and competence was the most valued thing.

17:45So expertise and competence and the intelligence of the team. Well, now everybody on their pocket has the world's intelligence and autonomous intelligence. So with AI, the kid in this state, in this town over here, they can all beat your competence now. And so now you think, okay, what competence really matters in the future? And I'll give you a quick insight. Everyone knows here, I'm a little bit of a psychology nerd. There's a theory called self-determination theory. And I would say DC, D-E-C-I, he's probably the most known leader in that field. And they found that self-determination theory, what humans really need, like our real needs after safety or sustenance is autonomy, competence, and relatedness.

18:37And there's been more research around those three things than probably anything else in psychology outside the big five psychological traits. Now, listen to this though. Well, autonomy, it's easier to be autonomous than it ever has been before. You don't have to go outside your house and you can learn anything you want right now without other human beings. So autonomy is being really commercialized with AI. Competence in terms of the actual intelligence, the ability for an intelligent thing to do something. Well, we're automating AI with agents and we're entering the AGI world. I think we're three years away from ASI.

19:14So we're like, where that competence is widely shared and commercialized now. The thing that is uniquely human is relatedness, our ability to relate towards one another. And I bring this up because to your point, adaptability, we used to have to adapt only when some new technology or new intelligence or, you know, some new thing came online, then you would adapt. Well, that happens every day now because the intelligence is outside of our team, outside of our company, outside of our industry. Intelligence is outside of humans now. So like adaptability is like constant now. People who don't like change are really going to hate the next five years.

19:57They're going to hate it. Everything will shift except that human thing, that relatedness. That's why you and I talk so much about energy and caring and compassion and leadership and enthusiasm and generating fellowship and brotherhood, generating a new and faithful, compassionate, kind, generous way of dealing with other people right now, that's the thing that is actually primarily valued in the future. And so this is what's important about now. You used to compete and only change when intelligence, technology, or tools change. Well, that changes all the time. So to John's point, You have to adapt all the time now.

20:37Like consistency, why? Because new technology comes on board all the time. What you and John teach so well is that human-centered leadership. And knowing how to do that, that's where everyone's wealth actually lies in the future. Your wealth in the future is your health and energy, your mastery of your inner world, and the quality of your relationships and leadership. Everything else AI can handle. brother i am not kidding you when we do this every time like this is the best stuff and i feel like i'm watching the best you also when we do this so on that let me tell you one thing he's great at you guys behind the scenes the guy you're seeing like this really kind giving high energy you just got a joyous person he creates that environment also around him so the people that work with him.

21:30They're enjoying it a lot. This is important because of what he just said. Really, all you're really going to have is the experience you create for the client, the experience you create for yourself. And if you're a leader in your company, the experience you create for the people that work with you, it's going to be highly, that's the separator. When it comes to what your family eats and drinks, you know, your choices matter. You're the expert because you know what fits your life. And getting it right starts with good information. That's why America's beverage companies are sharing more information about our ingredients at goodtoknowfacts.org.

22:08No spin, no judgments, just the facts straight from the experts for more than 140 beverage ingredients. Visit goodtoknowfacts.org. I told you last night, I sent you a clip, but I want you to relate it to leadership. I had a clip out yesterday about enjoying the journey. It was much deeper than that. I'll let you elaborate on it. But it was so good that I sent my dear, if it makes me emotional right now, because I feel like you're so much better at that than me. Not only just for yourself, but for the people around you. And it hit me. I said, this is so effing good. And he said, well, only guys like you and I would relate to that.

22:44I think a lot of people would, bro. So I want you to take that message, but relate it to the leadership of, should a leader not be conscious of the fun, the experience, the enjoyment of the people that are working with them every single day? And is that going to be the way you attract talent, keep talent and get people to perform at their best? Yeah, I think it is. Tell them what I'm talking about with the post, by the way, and they'll make more sense. It's so funny. Ed sent me this and it's me teaching something I often teach, but I don't even remember being there. I watched it and it was almost an out of body experience.

23:15I'm like, when did that happen? And my brain's, you know, I do a lot of content because of that. I watched it anew and it hit me. And I was like, oh, okay. Because the concept was, you know, so many of us grind and we work and we had that consistent, hard discipline that is really celebrated, particularly in personal development, more in the high performance realm or the peak performance realm, like the ability to go hard, the ability to give maximal focus, attention, effort towards something and just win. but win is often tied to outcomes and win is often tied to the process of the discipline how hard is it if i can endure the hardship i'm winning but i also think the real winning is can you enjoy it can you enjoy the discipline can you enjoy the outcome and my phrase is can you teach yourself to feel the day even as you are working hard even if you are grinding even if it is grit, even if it's so difficult, can you actually feel it, sense it, internalize it, integrate it, dance with it?

24:25Like the reason mindfulness took off so much is because people realized they were mindlessly doing tasks and mindfulness took off globally at an epic, epic level, even beyond, you know, what was traditionally like meditative or transcendental was because people realized like, gosh, I'm working so hard, but the whole week went by, I didn't feel a single one of those days. I didn't feel Monday. I didn't feel Tuesday. I didn't feel Wednesday. I didn't feel Thursday, Friday. I went to five different cities. I did 10 different things. I created four different topics, but I didn't sense and feel that moment.

24:58And I got that learning and watching that. So thank you for sending that. Because when I watched it, I was like, I'm talking about it, but I don't have a memory of that exact moment. Oh, interesting. Yeah. So I was like, you know what? I wasn't, even as I was teaching that piece right there, I must not have been fully vital and I could see it because you and I've been on the road a lot. And so I was like, oh, that's what was happening there. I was going through the motions, still smart, still saying the right things, but I hadn't taught myself to fully live in that moment and experience yet. And I think what's happening for a lot of people, life has passed them by.

25:33They've achieved a lot. They have good friends, good family. Life is good. They've just never integrated those wins into an identity that actually feels it and enjoys it. And I really believe you can do busy work and you can do your life's work and you can do all this, but energetically, if you had more days where you felt it and there was a sense of satisfaction, joy, fulfillment, but also playfulness, you don't win the game of life unless you play. And I think most people, they're playing the game. They're making all the moves all day long, but they're gritting their teeth on the chessboard versus like smiling and hopping.