Episode 68 | Vibrant Leadership That Fosters Vibrant Workplace Cultures with Nicole Greer

Nicole Greer  00:00

Some people don’t want to talk about their integrity. But here’s the truth. Your integrity comes and goes. I know people don’t like it when I say that. But if you’re hungry, Angry, Lonely or Tired – HALT… hungry, angry, lonely, tired –  you you’re not your best. And so integrity is, you know, taking care of yourself so that you show up really beautiful for your people.

Voiceover  00:23

Welcome to the “Lead at the Top of Your Game” podcast, where we equip you to more effectively lead your seat at any employer, business, or industry in which you choose to play. Each week, we help you sharpen your leadership acumen by cracking open the playbooks of dynamic leaders who are doing big things in their professional endeavors. And now, your host, leadership tactics, and organizational development expert, Karan Ferrell-Rhodes.

Karan Rhodes  00:58

Hey there superstars This is Karan and thanks for joining another episode designed to help you better lead at the top of your game. So as you know for season three each month we’re featuring leaders who have interesting roles in a particular profession or industry. And today’s episode is part of our special series featuring the perspectives of leadership coaches who focus on our particular angle of leadership. And on today’s show, we’re featuring an expert who helps leaders build ideal organizational cultures. And we’re so proud to have Nicole Greer, who’s the principal coach and CEO of Build a Vibrant Culture in it’s a firm where they help individuals and organizations become more successful by one, fulfilling a mission, two, work in teams and three, exemplifying the type of vibrant leadership that builds vibrant cultures. So if you haven’t been able to tell by now vibrance, the term vibrant is very key in her marketing and branding, and Nicole has a suite of offerings that focus on that whole vibrant concept. She also has a very inspiring story about how she obtained her higher education degrees after she was age 40 and how she built her suite of vibrant offerings. To really help organizations in particular really want you to listen to her coaching on how to best onboard new talent and why leaders such as yourself should share with your direct reports your intention to develop them to someday maybe take over your job. She also shares two of her leadership models that have tremendous impact on organizational culture. So as you can tell, this episode is jam packed with with a lot of valuable information. But also remember to be sure to stay tuned for just two minutes after the episode to listen to my closing segment called Karan’s Take, where I share a tip on how to use insights from today’s episode to further sharpen your leadership acumen. And now enjoy the show. Hey there, superstars This is Karan and welcome to another episode of the Lead at the Top of Your Game Podcast. We are so pleased that you came back to join us for another dynamic episode and dynamic it will be because we are absolutely thrilled to have on today’s show Miss Nicole Greer, who is the founder and CEO of Build a Vibrant Culture, I had to make sure I got that correct. Build a vibrant culture. She actually went through a business transformation on the name and she’ll probably tell us a little bit about that, but I absolutely love the name of her business. But her firm really focuses on helping individuals and organizations become successful by fulfilling admission working in teams and exemplifying and her own branded concept of exhibiting vibrant leadership, which in turn helps to build a vibrant culture. So welcome to the podcast. Nicole, we’re so pleased to have you.

Nicole Greer  03:58

Oh my gosh, I’m so happy to be here. Thank you so much for having me on.

Karan Rhodes  04:02

Absolutely, absolutely. Well, we definitely want to pull back the layers of the onion and understand a little bit more about what your firm does and what is so important and why it’s so critical for organizations to build a what you call a vibrant culture. But before we do that, we’d love to learn just a little bit more about you. So just some for as much as you feel comfortable. Can you give them a sneak peek into maybe your personal life and passions? Yeah, absolutely.

Nicole Greer  04:32

So I live right next to Charlotte, North Carolina. I’m one of these rare gals that was actually born in Charlotte, North Carolina and live here. I’m a little bit north and in a town called Concord, but I love it here. I’m married to David. We’ve been married. Don’t miss this 32 years. It’s like a miracle. I know.

Karan Rhodes  04:51

Wow! That’s amazing! And you’re only 29!

Nicole Greer  04:53

I know. And you married me, you know. So we’ve been very long to I’ve got two kids. One is 30. He lives in Montana and sells lasers who would have thunk that would happen? Yeah. And then I have a daughter that’s Katie, we call her Katie pie. And she is going to school in Lynchburg, Virginia, she’s going to be a doctor of physical therapy. And so here’s what I’ve got to say about raising children all the nagging, and forcing them to read books, and holding them accountable for their homework, and driving them to all of the meetings so that they are well socialized is very important. So you just have no guilt about any of that, because you know, they’ll turn out good. That’s what will happen if you try real hard.

Karan Rhodes  05:34

That is fantastic! And I actually will vowed to the doors for that public service announcement I have that we did exactly the same thing. And she’s a dream. So yeah, I hear ya. Yeah. Well, thank you so much for sharing that, Nicole. Let’s transition a bit into kind of your business and what you’re doing now, what did you start out in studying in, in school? Or where was your area professional focus? And then how did you transition to found in your own firm?

Nicole Greer  06:06

Yeah, that’s a great question. So right out of high school, I was in a position which maybe some people can relate to where I just needed to move out as soon as possible and create my own future. So I did, I moved out when I was 17 and a half years old after graduating from high school. And then I got into the restaurant business, because the restaurant business needs a young vibrant gal who will hustle day and night and do the dishes and wait the tables and make the drinks and do the stuff. And so I had a very nice career in that. I got recruited out of that and got into property management and did that for a long, long time. Then, after my children graduated from high school, went to college, I said, Now It’s mommy’s turn to go to college, they were scared to death. They’re like, Oh, no, we’re gonna have to compare report cards with this woman. And so I went to school, and I, you know, in all of my first two careers, restaurant business, property management, I always got into leadership roles, and I didn’t really even think about it. It was just like, Nicole, will you manage this? Will you be in charge of that? And I would just always say yes, because I thought that’s what you do at work, because you agree to help. But anyway, so I got into leadership roles. And then when I went to school, I my undergrad I did when I was 42. I did professional organization development, which is a very long way of saying, lead and develop people and the business. And then I went right after that. I said, Oh, if I don’t if I stop reading these books and writing these very long papers, I’ll never start again. So I got my masters like I just signed up immediately. And I got my master’s in organization development. So I’ve been studying leadership for a while now and experiencing it for a very long while. Although I’m only 29

Karan Rhodes  07:44

Only 29! You’re a miracle!

Nicole Greer  07:47

Yeah. You know, there’s this old saying, I don’t know who said it. You know, everything rises and falls on leadership. And I believe that with my every bone in my body,

Karan Rhodes  07:58

Me too. I absolutely do. And it is so critical, no matter the industry, or the job function, or whether you know, it’s a charitable organization or, you know, civic, governmental, it is in every aspect of life. I’m a firm believer that it’s so important in what we do and how we live our daily lives. So yeah, virtual high five on that one,

Nicole Greer  08:24

Virtual high five.

Karan Rhodes  08:25

Virtual high five. So right, well, let’s go down to even a layer deeper, Nicole, and I would love for you to share your thoughts in general, what it takes to be a great leader, I know you have a couple of great business models that all feed into the thought leadership of building a vibrant culture. So can you tell us a little bit more about that, that work? And that knowledge?

Nicole Greer  08:50

Yeah, absolutely. So, when I first started my company, I literally I was coaching, I was gonna have a coaching company. Well, then one day I woke up, and my clients were asking me to recruit for them and train their people and do consulting projects. And so I was like, you know, what, everything I’m doing is building a vibrant culture. And so don’t miss that. Inside of our organizations we need to recruit the right people, you know, the truth of the matter is you just do better with better people. I mean, hello. So that’s important. So recruiting the right people, leading yourself? Well, first, as a leader, you know, one of my things is, you know, executive presence, just like that’s one of your things. And, you know, that old adage, you got to lead by example. Well, it’s true. It’s true, everybody that is, like, there aren’t that many absolute truths in this world. But that is absolutely true. And then you’ve got to you’ve got to train your people, or they’re not going to do well. I mean, if you let them just try to figure it out, they’re going to do what they think is right, and you’ll be frustrated. And then of course, you know, we’ve got to do consulting inside of our own business, you know, internal consulting, like how do we make this project better project management, all that stuff, but my two models of The first one I put together was my coaching methodology, which is SHINE. And it’s five letters. So that’s a lot. But the first thing is, is, every human being on your team needs to do Self assessment on the regular, meaning they turn the mirror inward, and they look at their performance. So I’m a huge, I mean, ginormous believer in performance management. And we could have a whole podcast about that. The next thing that people need to work on are their Habits. There are certain habits that a leader does that make them successful, holding people accountable. Having one on ones with your people doing self assessment, being a strategic planner, I mean, there’s a whole bunch of habits, then there’s this idea of Integrity, which is kind of a dicey subject. So some people don’t want to talk about their integrity. But here’s the truth, your integrity comes and goes. I know people don’t like it when I say that. But if you’re hungry, Angry, Lonely or Tired – HALT… hungry, angry, lonely, tired – you’re not your best. And so integrity is, you know, taking care of yourself so that you can show up really beautiful for your people. Because again, we have to lead by example. Then the next thing is the N, which is next right steps, everybody, including yourself has to have a performance management, well, what are you doing as a leader to get better, like you need a plan, if you expect her to have a plan, you better have a plan, and you should be sharing your plan to inspire. And then finally, there’s Energy and there are six energies a leader can stoke so that they can come to work excited and vibrant about what they do. So that’s my coaching methodology.

Karan Rhodes  11:35

Love that. Love that. And I’m curious, as I talk a lot about energy management, too, when we’re talking about being a leadership athlete, you know, what does it take us? It’s hard to be on all the time, right? And I’m just curious, what are one or two the energies that I know they’re all important, but people really struggle with that? Do you see them struggling with a lot?

Nicole Greer  11:56

Oh, that’s a tough one, because I like all six of them. But the number one is probably spiritual energy. And I’m not talking about religious things, although I think believing in something is really important. Like, you know, what’s going on in this big old, great big old world. But spiritual energy is the energy that I believe in the work that we are doing, I understand how powerful and important this company is in the world. And I understand and can relate the day to day things I do. Even if they are repeatedly the same thing over and over again, I understand how they connect to my customer and how it improves the quality of their life and the quality of our world. I don’t know, many companies that don’t create something or do something that doesn’t make the world a better place, because people only buy stuff that makes it a better place or makes life easier. And so if we can get our insights, our enthusiasm, the word enthusiasm really means like in God ism, dare I say that? And it’s man. Yeah. And it’s like this. It’s a spiritual energy. And when leaders put out a spiritedness, it’s catching

Karan Rhodes  13:11

if it’s relatable, and it’s part of your values and you connect and it accelerates that know like trust factor, right? Once you exhibit that, I totally get it. Wow.

Nicole Greer  13:25

So I’d say spiritual number one, and then I would say number two is emotional energy. So and I tie that to emotional intelligence. So if a leader is sad mad and I’m glad it’s okay but you got to tell people why you’re sad mad and I’m glad you got to rally them around the sad mad and I’m glad so like this has made me sad. We got our numbers back for the quarter that I’m glad Okay, help a guy help a girl so here’s what we’re gonna do. Now if you’re just walking around sad, mad non gladder buys like what got into her? Right? Right? Yes, yes. But I think you know, if the leaders walking around emoting really positive stuff, which you know, is kind of created from that spiritual energy. If I’m out there emoting good goodwill everywhere I go, like you said, you become a leader. People know like, and trust. So they’ll tell you what’s really going on. You’ll give off that vibe. And the truth of the matter is like even you and I are on a technical platform right now doing this but like we’re catching each other’s vibe, big time. And it’s in the ether it’s in you know, that’s something that can be catching. And so if a leader will wander around, looking inward, how’s my house, my emotional intelligence, manage themselves, do social awareness what’s going on with my people and check in with them and do relationship management? It’ll change the way they lead.

Karan Rhodes  14:55

It’s the magic is absolute magic. And what do you think is key Eat for leaders to do to energize their employees and increase their engagement. How do you make all of this catch fire with them? What? What are some key ways that they can do? So?

Nicole Greer  15:13

Yeah, I will tell you, it is so simple. It’s the most simple thing ever. All you need to do is calendar time with your direct reports. Okay. So let’s say I lead a division. And I have seven direct reports. So I like the Holy Grail, I am going to put calendar times on the calendar, and I am going to sit and I am going to have one on ones with my people. Now, it depends on what’s going on in the life of the employee in your life and in the life of the organization. But it needs to be somewhere between 15 minutes and an hour long, I suggest book an hour and see how it goes. And you sit down with those people, I think it needs to be monthly. And you know, the truth of the matter is, is you know, leaders are working leaders these days, they’ve got actual tasks assigned to them responsibility assigned to them. But great leaders have their direct reports on the calendar so that they empower their direct reports to do more, and they get to do less. You know, you’re you’re developing people to take your job someday. I always developed people to take my job. I’m like, Do you want my job someday? And people would go yes. And I’d be like, perfect. Let me teach you everything I know. And that’s what you do in that one hour. As you schedule, that time is protected. You turn your phone off, you go away from the building, whatever it needs to happen. And here’s what I know. That is employee engagement. Now, you read all the books and you do all the things and listen to the podcasts, which you know, I know these people do, because we’re listening right now. You can have pizza parties, and you can have great benefits. And you can have all those things and you need all those things. But I’m telling you, when I had a leader who I knew loved me, and I’m using the L word. I worked like a dog for them. I like it. And they would give me lots of work. And I did it happily. Yeah. Because I saw it as love trying to develop me. Yes. Lots I’ve developed you can’t take that away from me. That’s one of the things I think employees were not communicating that well. If okay, my goal was Nancy Freeman. Nancy Freeman came into my office all the time. And she’s like, I need you to do this. And I’d be like, Okay, what is it? And it didn’t even have anything to do with my particular apartment complex. Now, I could sit there and go, that’s not my job description. was the one that smart? I wasn’t smart enough. Is that? And so I would say yes. Now, all those things she made me do I put them on my resume? Yes, I became more powerful, because she taught me stuff. And that’s, and I think the smart employees, they get that. And if they don’t, we gotta make them smart by explaining that concept to them.

Karan Rhodes  18:03

I agree.And one of the things that I was teaching my clients is to treat everyone as I call them superstars, superstars of one,

Nicole Greer  18:13

I heard that when you opened up. I’m like…wow!

Karan Rhodes  18:16

Because sometimes this Believe it or not, when you heard in those one on one discussions, and even in the podcast, sometimes that’s the only time that people hear that they are superstar themselves, and that they have special abilities and talents that are unique to them, you know, and it’s just that reinforcement. But I always encourage them leaders to treat every individual of their team as a superstar one. And two, everything that you said, you know, it’s it’s giving them that attendant attention, though that one on one uninterrupted time. And another added suggestion, I’d love to get your feedback on it. And feel free to throw tomatoes at it if you don’t like it. But I also encourage them to be conscious about talking about how you’re going to structure those meetings and allow the employee to lead the agenda in the they can bring what’s top of mind for them. And sure things that they need to get help with and get weigh in. And to build into the framework that at least five to seven minutes of whatever time it is that you’ve set aside, will be left and ring fence for you as a leader to also be able to weigh in and give feedback, ask questions, things that you need to do when you’re just doing natural coaching as a manager or performance management, but the bulk of the time, let that be led by that individual because they will walk out feeling heard, feeling empowered. And to your point. They’ll be happy about how you’ve analyzed so you know what was top of mind for them. And then I also try to make sure that leaders do exactly what you said A is really call out how these additional experiences that they’re having is relating to their ongoing development, they need to know and hear that you see their growth, and that you appreciate that. And that can, to your point Li, give you so much goodwill, that they won’t blink at you one time, if you ask them to do something maybe outside of the job scope or, or what have you, because they feel appreciated. And they want to, you know, to make you happy as a leader as well. So, it’s a win win, right? Or do you see any thing? A little crazy in that approach?

Nicole Greer  20:43

No, I got no tomatoes, just another virtual high five. I mean, I think everything you’re saying is right on. And, and the thing I think is really important, too, is, you know, like, I’m an I’m an old HR gal, you know, too, I’ve got gotten a couple positions where they’re like, you know, could you do a little HR stuff, you know, when I was doing property manager, I was like, Sure, you know, again, sure. Which was wonderful, right? Because HR, you just see it all know it all. And if there’s this thing, and I teach HR programs at UNC Charlotte Perry in Charlotte, and one of the things I emphasize with all my little HR, guys and gals, I’m like, we have to teach everybody in the organization, don’t miss this, including the CEOs, the CEOs, all the seasoned O’s need to understand there’s this thing called an employee lifecycle, and we have to be so intentional, give it intention and attention to make sure we know where every employee is on that employee lifecycle. And that’s also a degree of employee engagement, you know, so when I get a brand new employee, this is how it should look like the first day, the first 90 days Domus Aurea said, is you onboard them is not a one day event, it is like a 90 day event, okay? And, and you say to them, Hey, thanks for, you know, joining, build a vibrant culture. And here’s what we’re going to do, we’re gonna develop you, in 90 days, you’re going to be a completely different person, because we have training, mentoring, coaching, you’ll be led by somebody, it’s going to be an amazing experience for you. Now a brand new employee, you know what they say, Oh, my gosh, I’m in the right place. I’ve never worked anywhere like this before. Now. They’ve been hired. They’re like, we forgot to get your cell phone and your laptop, it’ll be a week. And this is your desk. And let me go see if Susan’s busy. Let me go see if she can help you get started.

Karan Rhodes  22:37

Right. It’s a totally different experience.

Nicole Greer  22:40

And so, so here comes Susan, she’s like, they said, I needed to help you. What do you need help with? And you’re like, I don’t know. I just got here. Yeah, so it’s so messy out there. But we need like, an employee lifecycle strategy that gets that person on boarded. And, and again, there’ll be like, I’m an I’m a superstar, to your point. That is working for a superstar company. And I give this little talk is I just call it vibrant recruiting strategy systems to smart to recruit and retain. That’s where it is. And I say in there, and hopefully this won’t upset you get your tomatoes ready in case you’ve got too much for me. I say Eagles attract Eagles attract turkeys. Yes. And, and here’s what I know. You read about Google and how they have like sleeping pods and sushi that’s organic, available for eating 24 hours a day, or however no looks at Google with the volleyball courts. I don’t I’ve never been but I would like to see this all in person. We should go on a field trip together. Yeah, but but here’s, here’s, here’s the thing about that, is that we have to create kind of that, that Google thing with what we have, and maybe all we have is to love on this new employee. Maybe we don’t have sushi. Maybe we don’t have volleyball carts. Maybe we have court carts or courts, whatever. Maybe we don’t have all that but we do have the time and attention the intention and attention to take care of the individual. So you soon right. And and if they think they’re in an eagle place that you know what they do, and an Eagles hang out with eagles, like go out in nature, go on a walk, all the Eagles are up here and all the turkeys are down here. And the Eagles go up and they’re like, Hey, I’m working for this great company. That’s right, and more Eagles fly in the door.

Karan Rhodes  24:29

That is so true. When I was working at Microsoft, we had worked on a lot of research on high potential employees and leaders and one of the biggest traits was that high potentials is kind of the iron sharpens iron. Our high potentials really develop and more aggressively when they are interacting and warning working with other high potentials that had that same drive and hunger for knowledge and to make an impact there. really accelerated, you know, their development and growth. So you know, tomatoes over here for you either

Nicole Greer  25:07

We’ll just make a salad

Karan Rhodes  25:08

To eat together later. Now, I’m curious the call, you know, one of the things in the you know is that culture doesn’t change overnight. It’s an ongoing effort that organizations have to nurture. You can’t turn on that switch and say, you know, we have a toxic culture one day, and then tomorrow at 1pm, we’ve turned the switch, and we’re going to have an, you know, warming and vibrant culture at that point. So I’m just curious if if you have any thoughts about how companies can make sure that they are keeping their culture, top of mind and that are reinforcing? You know, establishing a vibrant culture for the long term versus just a one time announcement? You know, by the C suite?

Nicole Greer  26:00

Yeah. Well, I love what you’re saying, I think it’s right on. And so the truth of the matter is, culture starts with one person. So you can have initiatives at the organizational development level. However, you better have some humans that are going to be responsible and accountable for the being and the doing that makes the culture vibrant. Okay, you go, because, you know, it’s just like, you know, we were talking about the beginning, the show about our kiddos, and the culture we developed inside the house here, you know, here’s the culture, I love you, but you can do better. That’s the same message that goes out to our employees, when we sit down with them once a month. You’re doing great, I love you. You could do better you’re capable of more.

Karan Rhodes  26:47

That’s right. And just keeping that going, right, ongoing. Yeah.

Nicole Greer  26:51

Ongoing right. So it’s about leaders being developed to develop. I mean, that’s the linchpin of building a vibrant culture as I have developed leaders. So I must say something you’re very familiar with, and the leaders and the listeners, and the leaders and listeners that are leaders that are listening, they will relate to this. I go out and do a ton of training. And I’m telling you, a training does not go by that I don’t have an eagle in that class, come up to me on like a break or something. They’re like, Miss Greer. I’m like, Oh, my God, call me Nicole. And they say…Miss Greer? Is my is my boss gonna get this training?

Karan Rhodes  27:32

Yes, yes.

Nicole Greer  27:32

And I say, Yeah, I say no, honey, no, they’re not signed up for this training. And they look at me and they go, oh, and they know, the eagle knows that when they’re learning from me, their leader is not doing

Karan Rhodes  27:46

is not doing what they need to do.

Nicole Greer  27:47

They’re not experiencing what I’m serving up.

Karan Rhodes  27:49

That’s right. And they’re wondering, well, how can I succeed? If my boss is not dialed in by some of these principles that we’re talking about right now? You know, crazy.

Nicole Greer  27:59

that’s right. Dare I say it? You know, at that level, we’ve got some egos that don’t think that they need training anymore. And really, and I do this, when I train, I say, from the C suite can come down here and kick this program off. And people are like, Why do we need to do that? We need one of these big people up here to come in here and say, I believe in this training. I’m glad you’re in this training. If you have questions about this training, you come see me and see that’s employee engagement. Yeah, I am seeing all my seaso o’s There they are right there. validating that what we’re doing is important. And better yet, why don’t you come to the training?

Karan Rhodes  28:43

That’s right. Why don’t you participate alongside this is one of the gifts that you can have where you’re not on the hot seat and you can participate shoulder to shoulder with the very people that y’all are trying to, you know, have a great experiences with the why don’t you do that, you know, and grow together, but

Nicole Greer  29:01

100%

Karan Rhodes  29:03

Well, before I let you go, gosh, I can’t believe time has flown this quickly.

Nicole Greer  29:07

I know,

Karan Rhodes  29:09

A few more questions are gonna squeeze in here. It first of all, as you know, I wrote a book on leadership and action and there were seven leadership tactics that came out of research that we did. And you were so kind enough to share that leading with executive presence really resonated with you and for my newer listeners out there, you know, what the way we define it is leading with executive presence is all about having the grit and the charisma to present oral or written positions or perspectives in a way that influences others. It also is kind of a sister, a sister tag tactic to emotional intelligence to because you haven’t figured out who you’re trying to influence what mean it may what is top of mind for them and kind of craft a win When statement commit to encourage them to follow your lead. So I say all that to say, Nicole, why do you feel that leading with executive presence is very critical to being a successful leader?

Nicole Greer  30:13

Yeah, well, it’s really everything. And you said earlier, the like, know and trust factors. I don’t know if you said factor, but like, know, and trust. And that’s the truth of the matter if, if I meet you, and I’m like, Oh, my God, they’re so nice. This matters in the world, you have to be approachable, kind, friendly, likeable, not in a political kind of way, in a true kind of way. You know, if you would move into a new neighborhood, and your neighbors are out front, I mean, don’t you want to be a little bit friendly with them in case your house burns down? Or you need a cup of sugar or the dog is lost? I mean, right? It’s just what you would do there, right, is you try to create this funny thing called real poor rapport with people. So I think that that’s really important. I do think you need to show grit. And when you say grit, I think you mean like, show everybody how to grind it out how to work it out and do it with like, a little bit of happiness or joy or vibrancy.

Karan Rhodes  31:11

Oh, absolutely! Not overbearing, but it was we always say leadership is hard. And so you’ll need to do with that, that the grace and the courage and the tenacity to help people through the hard times, you know, but still in a positive way, that we’re all here on the journey. We’re all behind this big boulder that we’re pushing up this hill together, you know, there’s room for all of us in this. That’s kind of what we meant by that.

Nicole Greer  31:41

Like I love and, and it to your point, just to support that, you know, I say this really dangerous thing. You know, I say, leaders are not allowed to have a bad day. Oh my gosh, they lose their mind when I tell them that they’re like, what were going on? They’re like, okay, hold on, hold on every relax, get your emotional intelligence in check. Because see, that’s the problem. Yeah, you’re gonna have bad days, I know, life is challenging. Okay. However, if the leader is having a fit, or is in a mood, they don’t miss this. The minute you do that, you give permission to everybody else to have a fit and be in a mood. That’s right now, I said earlier, you can be sad, mad, and I’m glad. But you have to say why. And you have to say, I am sad, mad and I’m glad and here’s why our numbers are not good. And I know we can do better. So I’m here to talk about how we can do better. I need all hands on deck. Let’s go. But you can’t walk around displaying a leadership presence of moodiness or irritability or anxiousness. Because it’s like a virus, it will get out on everybody. So what do you do if you’re in a mood? You say, Oh, hi, I have a meeting. I’ll be right back. It’ll be about 30 minutes. And you go sit out in your car and you turn on whatever music makes you happy. You cry, you get napkins, you eat sugar, you do what coffee, whatever your minute together and get back in there. And that’s why you’re the leader. I mean, can you imagine if like a general in the army started crying before battles that I don’t know if we’re gonna win?

Karan Rhodes  33:17

No,

Nicole Greer  33:18

It would never work

Karan Rhodes  33:19

I mean, you want to run out behind and being that person, you know, knowing the guns are pointed at you…

Nicole Greer  33:27

Yeah, I mean. So, I mean, I have many, many days where like, in between things. I’m like, Oh my gosh, this is just the worst day. The next phone call I get on I just the next phone call. You know, I just turned it around. And I joke, I say Have you ever been okay, so you know, as I said, I was married to David Greer for 30. So truth telling honesty candor Sunday, David some days David Greer and I, we argue, I know, it’s surprising. But he’s arguing with me and I’m arguing with him. And we have like really calm arguments. Now. It’s more like I don’t agree by irritated it’s in your voice. And then this thing will ring and I’m able to do this. Hello vibrant…Build a Vibrant Culture.

Karan Rhodes  34:12

This is protection, it works.

Nicole Greer  34:15

It does…I’m like were we arguing, you know, when I hang up? He’s like, No, I’ll just change my mind. I’m like, okay, good.

Karan Rhodes  34:26

To precious. Well, the call, um, gosh, this has been such a pleasure of having you on the show. We got some fantastic nuggets of information from you. We will have information in the show notes where people can find you and hopefully reach out to get some consultation on how to build a vibrant culture. But I’d love for you to put voice behind where to find you as well. So where’s the best place that people can reach you on the web or in social media?

Nicole Greer  34:54

Yeah, super simple. Just go to www.buildavibrantculture.com. And they I will be all those little social media links are on there. I love the LinkedIn can be my friend on LinkedIn. And there’s a place to set up an appointment to talk to me and check out all my stuff. So I would adore if you check out the website.

Karan Rhodes  35:13

Oh, that’s fantastic. Well, once again, listeners, we will have that information in the show notes. So thank you so much, Nicole, for the gift of your time today. It has been fantastic.

Nicole Greer  35:25

Yeah, you too. Thank you for having me. It’s been a pleasure.

Karan Rhodes  35:28

Awesome. And thank you to listeners for tuning into today’s episode. I’m going to count on seeing you next week. So be sure to look out for upcoming episode. And as you know, please like and subscribe and share with just one friend. Because when you do that, that expands our reach and allows us to help others to also lead at the top of their game. Take care and see you next week. Well, I hope you enjoyed our conversation today with Nicole Greer, principal coach and CEO of Build a Vibrant Culture links to her bio her entry into our leadership playbook. And additional resources can be found in the show notes with on your favorite podcast platform of choice and on the web at lead your game podcast.com. And now for Karan’s Take on today’s topic, a vibrant workplace cultures. You know, everyone talks about design a wonderful, productive and vibrant workplace culture. But would you know one if you really saw it? I mean, what would you look for what would be the signs, what would be the indisputable proof? Well, I thought it might be helpful to share a few more characteristics of a vibrant culture, which are in addition to what Nicole shared, which was a really great overview. First of all, a vibrant culture is lit from within, meaning that the leaders inside the company are leading with clarity. Everybody knows what the goals are and has a plan of action to get themselves there. And it also revolves around creating a supportive and psychologically safe environment for all employees to do their best work. Also, from my experience, people mostly do what they’re incentivized to do. So I’m a big proponent for employers to have a formal meaningful reward system in place that provides additional perks and benefits for employees who help their companies exceed their objectives in formal rewards like notes are special events or gifts can also make employees feel valued without greatly affecting your company’s bottom line. And then the last one I wanted to leave you with is that no matter your level, your career stage, your profession, or your industry, take it upon yourself to summon the courage to have the tough conversations which should be discussed in any workplace clarity and candor, when communicating with colleagues should be king. ambiguity, uncertainty and gossip are just toxic for any working environment. And when employees aren’t sure about the responsibilities or what success looks like, and how they’re performing is really difficult for them to show up with the desire to truly lean in and give 150% hard conversations are hard, but they also provide valuable clarity and raised reassurance. Well, that’s all for today. Please remember to subscribe to the podcast and share with just one friend because by doing so you will empower them to also lead at the top of their game. Thanks so much for listening, and see you next week. And that’s our show for today. Thank you for listening to the lead at the top of your game podcast, where we help you lead your seat at any employer, business, or industry in which you choose to play. You can check out the show notes, additional episodes, and bonus resources, and also submit guest recommendations on our website at leadyourgamepodcast.com. You can follow me on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn by searching for the name Karan Rhodes with Karan being spelled K a r a n. And if you like the show, the greatest gift you can give would be to subscribe and leave a rating on your podcast platform of choice. This podcast has been a production of Shockingly Different Leadership, a global consultancy which helps organizations execute their people, talent development, and organizational effectiveness initiatives on an on-demand, project, or contract basis. Huge thanks to our production and editing team for a job well done. Goodbye for now.