"Lead with Intention or Be Let by Chaos" with Darrell 'Coach D' Andrews

Speaker A: Welcome back to the Mindset to Learn podcast. In season three, we are shining a light on what it really means to be a leader in today's evolving workplace. I packed this season with inspiring voices and practical strategies to help us lead with purpose, presence and a key theme, people centered impact. So whether you're managing a team, shaping learner programs, just leveling up your own leadership mindset, there is something in this season for you. Let's get into it. Today's guest is Darrell Andrews. He's better known as Coach D and he's celebrated as America's Passion Coach. He's the President and Chief Passion Officer of Darrell Andrews LLC and Associates. But he also leads Self Care Empowerment, which is a wellness training firm focused on sustainable people centered leadership. Yeah. For over 20 years, Coach D has brought his energy, his expertise to major organizations like Walmart and Verizon workforce agencies all across North America. In today's episode, he shares why leadership has to evolve post pandemic. He tells us what anchor values are and how treating people like human beings, not just employees, can change everything. You're going to hear why. He says either you lead by intentionality or you're led by chaos. Hey, Coach D, thanks for joining us.

Speaker B: Hey, Joni, it's really good to be here and talking to you again. We had a wonderful conversation about a month ago, so I'm looking forward to sharing some pertinent and relevant information on the podcast. Thanks for having me on.

Speaker A: Yeah, you're welcome. Thanks for being on. So tell our listeners a little bit about yourself.

Speaker B: Well, personally, I've been married 30 years. Wow. My wife, my bride, Pam Andrews. I have four beautiful kids. Two are college graduates. One's at the University of Central Florida with a 4.0 every semester. I'm proud of that. And I have a 14 year old daughter who's an honor student as well. So family wise, we're doing well professionally. I am a consultant, speaker and trainer. It's not just me. I have a team of consultants as well as coaches. And we target three specific areas that are what I call post pandemic related areas in the workplace.

Speaker A: Mhm.

Speaker B: Versus what we call post pandemic leadership, where we help leaders upskill to better lead. Ah, a post pandemic slightly traumatized population. The people that we work with five years ago, six years ago, are not the same people today. But some leaders are still trying to lead them like that. And then they'll say, why are we having problems with retention? Well, because people have changed and you have not. So we try to help them gravitate to those skills and give them the tools and help them from accountability standpoint. Then we focus on what we call empowering self care in the workplace. Again, another post pandemic thing, because wellness is now a major issue. Sherm just did a research on where it said that anxiety is the number one mental health issue in the workplace. Yeah, a lot of companies don't see it as a priority, but they don't realize when it comes to overall productivity, this stuff is something we need to focus on. So we help build systems. All right. We always call three a framework that we use to help build systems where there's gamification, all kinds of fun stuff to make it hands on. And lastly, we focus a lot on organizational core value, because what we find is when employees as well as leaders and stakeholders operate, communicate, interact from a set of core values, that impacts the most important aspect, which is another component of what we do, the culture. And so that's what we do in a nutshell. I love it because it's like an artist. You start painting the picture, there's nothing there. Then also you got this beautiful picture, people coming together, doing things in a post pandemic way. So that's who we are.

Speaker A: Yeah. And you and I chatted before too, about the title of this podcast being the Mindset to Learn Podcast. And I know that you are really big on growth mindset. So, coach, you spent your career helping people grow. Like you just talked about, what does it mean to have a leadership mindset? And how has that mindset shaped your journey with the leaders that you're coaching?

Speaker B: Well, uh, first of all, I am a huge fan. Okay. Of Dr. Carol Dweck's book Mindset Psychology of Success. I'm going to tell you the truth, I've read that book at least 10 times. And five is a hardcover read in about five through Audible. And the reason why the book is so loaded with information, as far as how it helped me, I realized that all of us, if we're not attuned to this or intune with it, with this, we can definitely fall into the category of a fixed mindset.

Speaker A: Mhm.

Speaker B: Which means that we can operate pretty much our whole lives in a certain pattern that we've created that could be totally incorrect, but in our minds we think it is. And so that impacts how we interact with people, that impacts how we interact with organizations, customers. But, uh, when I started studying this and realized you have this thing called a growth mindset, I realized I'm not done learning now. I'm not done stretching myself. Yes, we've coached and trained thousands of people, organizations, but I want to grow. So I worked on what are those areas in my life that may be somewhat fixed that I can make an adjustment. Now let me clarify. Fixed is not always bad if it's something that's productive. You know what I mean? Like, routines aren't bad and patterns aren't bad. But a growth mindset is open to new ideas, innovation, you know, which is really the currency of our generation. Innovation is it you got to innovate today. So it's helped me to stretch myself to be a better leader. Hence, as I'm coaching and working with other leaders, I'm able to give them information from a growth mindset perspective, not a fixed one.

Speaker A: Mhm.

Speaker B: It helps them to better position their companies, their organizations and their staff to be a productive leader for them. So that's how it helped me. And it's definitely spilling over to the people we have an opportunity to interact with.

Speaker A: Well, tell me about that. Like, how is this mindset shift leading to like, real changes in their organizational culture? What have you seen as a result?

Speaker B: I guess the best way to say it is this. Then I'll give you an example.

Speaker A: Okay.

Speaker B: Okay. So. So I always say this. Either you lead by intentionality. And I want everyone to hear this very clearly, that's listening to this podcast. Either you lead by intentionality or you're going to lead by chaos. M. You're going to be led by it. And so when I walk into an organization, I can tell if there's chaos. It's easy. People aren't even talking to each other. They talk in passing or they're in their space and they don't really want to interact with anybody. Or when they're given an objective, it's not from a position of respect, of a job position is get the job done or all of that. So it's that hardcore thing. And you can see, okay, everybody in here is on eggshells.

Speaker A: I'm sure all of us have had that experience at some point with an organization we worked with. You just know if it's a good culture or not and if the leaders are being intentional about maintaining that or not.

Speaker B: And it's amazing because people mistake talent for leadership. So I'm a good salesperson. That don't mean I'm a good leader of people.

Speaker A: You know what I mean?

Speaker B: It's like leadership has to be developed and created and most organizations don't even spend the time to do it except for Maybe a leadership training once a year. That's not how you do it. You have to make this intentional. It needs to be measured, it needs to be looked at, it needs to be discussed. Because if not, your company and organization is going to be a revolving door and you won't even know why. Quiet quitting will be the norm. Why are you leaving? They don't even want to talk to you about why. Because they've internalized something that you have never even recognized. Because you're leading from chaos. For instance, I'll give you an example. We had a team that flew us in this company, they're a diagnostics company. And uh, we flew into Dallas, which was difficult because I'm a Philadelphia Eagles fan, is never easy, but anyway, that's an arch enemy. But anyway, so we're a big beautiful place. And the executives from this firm, there's about 20 of them, came in and again, a diagnostic medical company. And we were looking at totally revitalizing their organizational core values. And the reason why is because they were making money, man. They made a lot of money. They went from zero to $5 billion in like two years, something like that. But, uh, when you walked into that organization, it was absolute pandemonium. It was chaos everywhere. This is just an example of, uh, growth, you know, when you mentioned growth and all that. So we were going through our two days of, um, think tanking and reanalyzing core values. And this was the hardest thing I ever had to do because the leader that invited me in, uh, the one that wrote the check for a company to be there, I was watching their interactions because that's what a good consultant should do. We should not just go consult. We need to watch. Mhm. Watching. And then I noticed something. I said, this team is amazing. They're fantastic and they're great people. They're interacting, they're communicating. Every time he would speak, he would stand up and he'd look out at him and he'd give him this look.

Speaker A: Shoot.

Speaker B: I felt intimidated. I was ready to say, yes, sir. You know, and then he would sit down and you can see the demeanor of his team go down. Um, and so I'll say this. So I had the wonderful task of saying, I gotta talk to him about this. So during one of the breaks, I asked him, could we have a conversation? And he said, sure. We went to a private place because I wanted to be private. I said, how open are you to the truth of leadership? He said, that's why I have you here. I want to see how we can do this from a team. I said, let me tell you something that's important. Yes, we're doing these exercises, yes, we're going to revamp these core values. But your team is not the problem. You are. Now imagine this is writing the check. This is the person that's saying, bring, come in and help my team and you tell them that they're the problem. And this is what I said to him. You have a fantastic team. You're leading them wrong. They don't need to be intimidated by you, they need to be supported by you. They're smart group of people. Obviously. Look what you've done in a few years.

Speaker A: Mhm.

Speaker B: Every time you communicate to them, you communicate from a position of high level authority that they need to respect. Now chances are you got that from some work experience you've had in the past. I said, but if you're going to lead this generation of people, that's not going to work. You will not retain them. They will go, uh. And that's what he said to me. Really. He didn't even recognize it. And so we were able to get him to recognize it. We put him on a six month coaching program and a miracle happened. He made the adjustments. The culture of the organization changed. They had a national meeting and 600 people stood up and gave them a standing ovation relating to the culture because one of the major leaders who had the greatest influence on the organization changed.

Speaker A: Mhm.

Speaker B: To me, when I talk post pandemic leadership, that's post pandemic leadership. I'm willing to make these adjustments. This is growth mindset. I'm not going to be offended because somebody's trying to make me better even though I'm a leader because all leaders need to grow. So I just wanted to give that example because that man went from a fixed mindset of dominance to a growth mindset of collaboration.

Speaker A: Yeah. Well, I know you also like to talk about that people centered approach. So it seems like that's what he did. He went from thinking about what his style is to really engaging with the employees that are working with him and finding out what their style is, Right?

Speaker B: Bingo.

Speaker A: If we think about the people centered approach, can you give us some more advice on what we could do to move from that results only mindset really, to that people center approach?

Speaker B: Well, I'm going to say this before I give you my response. If you don't, you're going to be obsolete.

Speaker A: Oh, uh, yes.

Speaker B: Companies are going to end up closing their doors. Let me give you a definition of what I Call post pandemic leadership and I'll answer your question. The old definition of leadership, if you look at it from the Napoleon Hills of the world and the people back in the days who were leadership gurus and all that, the old definition was. And it's not a bad one, Joni. And that is the ability to guide, govern and influence. That's not bad. I like that. But let me give you a post pandemic one, then I'll answer your question. This is ours. If anybody uses this, you make sure you give us credit. Don't take that away. This is trademark.

Speaker A: Trademark bar Coach D trademarked.

Speaker B: So the new definition of leadership is the ability to listen, understand and engage.

Speaker A: Mhm.

Speaker B: That's leadership today. So to answer your question, leaders have to become students of people. They have to understand their style, their personality. Style is not the only style that causes an organization to succeed. Some people think that if I'm a driver personality, everybody around me needs to be drivers. No, not everyone has to be. Yeah, a lot of people can succeed in their style, be it an amiable person or a demonstrative person or an analytical person. And so leaders are guilty of what most people are guilty of. It's not just leaders. They think that their style is the style. But that's uh, a good leader, a great leader says, let me study the styles of the other people and that'll help them become stronger in that, that's a growth mindset. That's uh, this generation leadership. Because if not, what happens is you got a bunch of puppets. And we don't want puppets. We want producers. We want people that are going to go out here and use their giftings to the best of their ability. Great leadership wants to produce great leadership. That's the legacy of leadership. I uh, want people who are sitting under my leadership to say, 10, 15 years ago from now, I'm the leader that I am because of XYZ person. So people are going to say you were a detriment to their leadership. They're going to say I'm um, the reason why I'm the leader.

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker B: So just to seal it, the greatest leaders of today, when we look at leaders 10, 15 years from now, that's the ones today that do that. We'll be talking about them then.

Speaker A: Yeah, just a really quick recap, timely redefinition here is you need to listen, understand and engage. Okay. So when you are introducing that model to a leadership team, what's their typical reaction?

Speaker B: Mhm. You know, the thing about it is a lot of companies have been built upon a rigid way of doing things. And so that's why when you mention soft skills, these environments, you're frowned upon because the idea of empathy and, uh, compassion is considered to be a form of weakness. But these very same people can't figure out why they can't keep people. You know, And I'm like, okay, you lost 10 great people in the last month, yet you're going to hold on to your style. It just doesn't make sense. And so what they have to understand is when you're a great leader, it's not trying to create this culture of toughness. I've been in a company like that, you know, with sales, you got to be aggressive.

Speaker A: Yeah, but don't you also also have a way of using the data to show the value of compassion?

Speaker B: Yes.

Speaker A: Tell me about that.

Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, because, you know, there's all kinds of research out here now. Organizations like the Conference Board, you know, Gallup always put out research. Deloitte had a good piece of research on that recently, and they showed examples of companies that changed. The data showed that we shifted, but we're actually doing better off. We're not as bad as we used to be. So for those who are still a little bit stoic in their styles, you're right. That's where the data comes in. Because, you know, a lot of times people always try to frown, oh, uh, too much data, you know, paralysis by analysis. But you look at that. But you're right. Thank you for interjecting that point. The data is showing that these type of companies, all right, are doing a lot better at retaining their people. I'm gonna give one example. Salesforce, which is a big company a lot of us know about, they ran with the pandemic and said, okay, we're shutting down offices. Folks are gonna work from home. Home. You know, we'll have some gatherings and every now and then, we're going to give people flexibility. We're going to give them paid time off. Managers are taught to interact and engage. Do what I created. People are stealing as well. Virtual cups of coffee. If I'm not seeing you once a week, we're going to just sit down on it. And guess what? Their company is just exploding. Yeah, Google's exploding. Why? The people are never going to leave. They're like, why would I leave this? They take good care of me, they pay me well, and they care about me on a personal level. So the data is out there. I'll say this as I conclude, you gotta be willing to go through the process of that change.

Speaker A: Yeah. And that was gonna be the next thing I was thinking of. We know what a good leader should do, what it looks like, how they have that emotional intelligence that employees value. Right. But for the leaders that are struggling with making this change, what's the mindset shift that you recommend? Are, uh, there specific areas of emotional intelligence that they should prioritize first?

Speaker B: Yeah, answer that question. I've been interviewed on this topic quite a bit. I say they should just, just retire.

Speaker A: Wow.

Speaker B: I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding. You know, because. But no, emotional intelligence is one of the biggest components of all. But it goes back to study and research. You got to take the time to study this stuff and you have to take the time to be willing to be coached by it. And so because some leaders think, this is who I am, I always tell people, you're not who you are, who you became. You know, we all have the ability to change. So there's two areas of emotional talents, because there's five. The one is what's called self regulation. In self regulation, my, my. One of my consultants, Pierre Campbell, has a phrase that, uh, nails it, and that is simply this. My response is my responsibility.

Speaker A: Oh, nice.

Speaker B: Yeah. And so when I'm doing self regulation, I'm controlling my response. I have a preset response that I'm working on because I'm not naturally wired to do that. So let's say I'm going to say something to employee that I know is going to cause mental anguish. What I need to do in that point with self regulation is say, okay, I'm reeling this in. I'm doing the 10 second rule. And if I'm not positioned to say something that's going to edify or strengthen this person, I'm just going to say it right now. I say, you know what, let's come back and talk about this later or I'm willing to listen and see. So it's not, it's not relinquishing power, it's just positioning how you're going to respond. And the next part of emotional intelligence is self awareness. This one is huge because most people are truly disattached for how, uh, the way they do things impacts other people. This is just who I am. This is, this is the way I do things. That's okay if you live by yourself. That's okay if you have a business and you're the only one in the business, it's not okay when you're working with people, because if you're not Aware that your actions are damaging or causing chaos when it comes to your folks, that's when we start having problems.

Speaker A: Well, do you have an example or a story about where a lack of emotional intelligence created a problem or it wasn't resolved?

Speaker B: Yeah. Well, again, it goes back to that story I just shared with you that that person kind of had, you know, a lack of emotional intelligence. But there was this one company we worked with that was a manufacturing firm. This, you want to hear about a number? This person had, I think 75 unfilled positions. He kept losing and his company was only like 250 people. And again, going back to this model with this other leader, that leader was just dealing with people from a position of power. On, um, this, when I speak, you listen when I tell you to do things. Uh, you know, John, let me tell you this. I'm m gonna digress for two seconds, I promise.

Speaker A: Like that body language and tone, all that body language.

Speaker B: If I gotta walk into my boss's office and my stomach is in knots all the time, I, I get every now and then, but all the time that's not a good thing. This leader was actually a part of a cohort of leaders that we were coaching. So it was a small group. I asked him why are you having such issues? And he was blaming everything. You know, people were doing this. People. It was always the people. And I said, so when all these people are leaving, it's them.

Speaker A: Reflection time.

Speaker B: Yeah. And then you get real quiet, it's them. He said, what are you trying to say? I said, I'm trying to say if you just lost this many people, is it them? I said, why are some people, companies keeping people and others losing them? I told him m. I said, let me explain something to you. People aren't. Numbers are not things. They're human beings with emotions, feelings and things of that nature. If you're going to be a great leader to keep those folks on board, you're going to have to analyze you and analyze your management team and you're going to have to analyze what kind of culture you have. Because people don't leave good cultures. They just don't. Now it may be because of pay or something. It's not because of a good culture. They just don't. People will stay. I know a firm out in Kansas, one of the Pepsi bottling companies. They got like a 98 retention level. Wow. Because of the culture. Yeah. I remember one time telling a manager I knew and this wasn't a customer, but manager was talking about people and I said, I'm just curious. Let's take work away from this. Let's not talk work for a moment. Let's talk human beings. If you walked up to me and said something smart or hard or snide, and how do you think I'm going to respond? I said, you, uh, can still be in a position of authority, but you can ask questions in such a way that the person doesn't feel marginalized or disrespected. You can even let someone go in a respectful way. Everything doesn't always have to be aggressive and dominant. There was a customer we worked with. We had them do virtual cups of coffee. 25 leaders we were coaching medical doctors. This is during the pandemic. All of you go out, find five people on your teams, virtual cups of coffee, and then three, two weeks from now, let's come back and talk. A couple of them brought the employee with them. And one of the employees, she worked for the director of operations. She said, I had never in my 20 plus years had a conversation with my director like that. Oh, wow. In tears. I learned things about this person that I didn't know and they learned things about me. Now when we interact, it's not just work, it's the human element. This is one of their employees. And then the director said, we got to work at this. So the point I'm making is what we're asking people is not to weaken their leadership. You're not giving up anything. You're gaining everything by treating people like human people. Centric, whole person type models work. But we gotta get that other stuff out of our heads because that's what we had for so long.

Speaker A: Well, I think this is a good transition though, into talking about the difference between company values and anchor values, because there is that time of transition that they're going to have to make eventually. So tell us in your expertise, how do you see those two things being different and then how are they like guiding leaders?

Speaker B: Well, essentially I just did a training on that with a big group of leaders out in the West Coast. And anchor values is again, another one of those terms that we came up with. But, um, trademark. Yeah, I'm real creative. Core values are those values that companies create really to get folks to adhere to a culture that they're trying to create. So if we say we're going to be a culture of integrity, of a, uh, culture of respect, a culture of, uh, teamwork, whatever it may be, that's what we want the world to know us as. So when we working with our customers when we're working with our stakeholders, when we're working with our stockholders, no matter who it is, these are the things that we are going to communicate on a daily basis. Okay? Um, so for instance, I always like to use a company like a Chick Fil A. I said, how do you get 16 year olds to smile at you? 60 year olds aren't too crazy about smiling right now. All right? Not trying to stereotype all 16 year olds. You drive up and these kids are smiling. How can I help you, sir? Anybody? Huh? Um, you know, 16 year old. But see, they've created that culture. Now, anchor values are values on top of the culture, the core organizational values. These are two or three things I'm going to do. On top of that, I'm going to do honest communications, I'm going to valuing others. And so I definitely work hard to adhere to the company values because the company benefits when we do. But it's like, it's like a value add. You know, this is a value add. I'm, um, adding this extra because I want to go over the top. We ran some programs in Delaware some years ago in the workforce. We were doing these workforce job placements and training the organizations that work in that space. And I had all of my team do their anchor values on top of our organizational core values. I'll never forget this. We started getting recognized for being a value based company. And so much to the point that the U.S. department of labor sent one of their top brass out to research us because they didn't believe it. And when that person left after a week of looking at our numbers, went back to Department of Labor and said, this is one of the top programs in the United States. And it was basically because of what that person experienced. Oh, the way we interacted with our clients, the way we interacted with each other, the way we interacted with collaborators, agencies that we work with, uh, he said they were just consistent across the board. And he said, when we fund programs, this is what we want to see.

Speaker A: Well, that makes me think about like our younger or emerging leaders. How can these organizations better support our next generation? We want to build those people first. Leadership skills. Um, you just mentioned the younger 16 year olds at Chick Fil A who are learning great communication, how to work not only with their colleagues, but with clients or with customers. So how can we create this space for that kind of leadership growth?

Speaker B: Uh, I love that question. The reason why I love it is because when you talk to a lot of young leaders in any capacity, again, it could Be multiple industries. You know, Joni, I asked him, have you been trained or coached or anything for leadership? Nope. I was promoted.

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker B: So a lot of their leadership development is trial and error, which is not the worst thing in the world because you learn and grow as you do it. But it goes back to that statement of intentionality or chaos. It should be a top priority of every organization, every company to invest into the leadership development of, um, anyone they put into a leadership position, be it a middle manager, because you're doing them a disservice if you don't. Their learning curve may be five years instead of one because you're just throwing them into the fire. We have a contract with this organization, and that's what they just said recently. They said, you know, we get promoted, but we don't get any attention as far as what we need to do. This promoted position.

Speaker A: Uh, yeah, I hear that all the time.

Speaker B: It's terrible. But you know what it is? Most people, they're just looking at the bottom line, but it's the people that's going to make that bottom line happen. Yeah, we forget that, like, the bottom line doesn't make itself happen. I. It just doesn't. You know, the billion dollars don't want to say, hey, I'm going to go make another billion, you know, or a million. It's people. It's the people. It is the human being. You hear this term, and people don't even take it seriously. It's human capital. It's humans. It's the most valuable, viable commodity component, whatever you want to call it, are the people that's doing this work. You don't have to be perfect. So these leaders all need coaches. They need mentors. They need somebody in the company that has the capability to mentor them and coach them. A go person. And I'm going to give a plug for people like us. We come in and partner so we can come in and be that partner for you in that process. We look at what you want, what your goals are, what your values are, and then we help that leader shape into that person. I'm not the only one. There's other people out there doing this work. But what I'm saying is, be it through a coach like us, be it through your own internal systems training departments. Do not leave that person hanging.

Speaker A: Yeah. Well, I think we just went full circle back to talking about human centered leadership.

Speaker B: Yep. Yep.

Speaker A: Well, we're getting to our time. But I always like asking this question, especially with leadership. If you could define your leadership legacy in one Sentence. What would you hope it would be

Speaker B: if I could define my leadership legacy in one sentence? Mhm. Easy. This is a statement I've been saying for years, so it's already there. It's not what I do, did or do that counts. It's what others can do as a result of my leadership.

Speaker A: Oh, nice.

Speaker B: I want countless people saying, I am what I am because I was led by this person. I was coached by this person. If I can do that, then I've hit the jackpot. Let me share this. I got a chance to sit down. President, CEO, big petrochemical company out of Brazil. I said, mark, what is it that you want with all of this? And he said, coach, that's a great question. You know what? As the CEO of this company, you know what I really want? It was beautiful what he said. I want people 20 years from now talking about the work we're doing today. Mm. I, uh, swear I jumped through the freaking roof when he said that. I said, mark, that's one of the most beautiful things I've ever heard. He said, because we're setting it up now so that people throughout the generations could benefit. I said, and that's what makes you a great leader. Mhm.

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker B: That's what makes you a great leader. Can I give you one term before we go? One, just sure. Leadership term. Study a person named John Wooden. And he was the coach of the UCLA Bruins, and they won seven NCAA championships in a row in basketball, 10 total. And when they asked him the question, what made your teams so great? Everyone that's listening to this podcast, please write this down and study it. He said, customized leadership. Man, that's powerful. Then the interviewer went on explaining, he said, I don't coach all my players the same. Some players need hugs, some players need push, some they. Some players, I got to sit down and show the playbook. They want to see the data break down why this is going to work. Coach, you know, he said, I train all my frontline leaders to do the same. So all of our players are given 100% based upon how they're wired.

Speaker A: Yep.

Speaker B: Gets no better than that. No better than that.

Speaker A: The individual person, not the collective, the collective.

Speaker B: And I. I'll digress and I'll conclude with that.

Speaker A: Beautiful. Coach D. Everything that you shared today was fabulous. Was speechless because your stories are fantastic. And I know that all the listeners are going to take what you said, pause and reflect and just think, what type of leader have I been working with? What type of leader do I want to be? Can I use some of these principles and help support some of the leaders that I'm working with now. Because that's what it's all about. We have to work together.

Speaker B: We do. We do. And I'll say this too. There's a quote that I used and that is this. You can't see the picture if you're in the frame.

Speaker A: Mhm.

Speaker B: You got to step out and look at this. Because what you're creating as a leader is a beautiful piece of artwork. But if you're in in the frame, you can't see it. And so we got to step out, see it so we can know this is the, that we're trying to create here. And then like you said, that's where the beauty kicks in. That's where the, the employee engagement kicks in. That's when the quiet quitting fades away. That's when the culture feels good and that's when you start building these winning teams.

Speaker A: Yeah. It's a great analogy. Thank you so much, Coach D. Thank you so much.

Speaker B: And can I share with folks if they want to touch base, any questions?

Speaker A: Yeah. And I'm going to have the information in the show notes as well, so go ahead.

Speaker B: Yeah. So if you want to touch base, I'm not saying for customer sake or anything like that. You may just want to brainstorm.

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker B: You may just want to share ideas because I'm looking to grow too. You can go to one of my two websites. It's www.coachd speaks.com coachd speaks.com then I have another website because this is such an isolated area. Self Care empowered.com Self Care empowered.com or connect with M Me on LinkedIn. I'm very active on LinkedIn. Daryl Coach D Andrews on LinkedIn. Coach D speaks. But I'm here to serve. I always say the folks that we do work with, it's not selling for us. They know there's a need and we just partner, but we love what we do. I've been doing this 20 plus years. We're very passionate about this. Thank you for the opportunity and I hope people got a lot out of this. I really do.

Speaker A: Yeah, I think they did. Thank you.

Speaker B: Thank you.

Speaker A: Wow. What an incredible conversation with Coach D. I'm still thinking about so many of the powerful moments he just shared. Coach D reminds us that great leadership starts with self awareness, emotional intelligence, and a willingness to grow. So if you're feeling inspired to lead with more heart, more intention, and more emotional intelligence, then this episode was for you. Another huge thanks to Coach D for bringing his wisdom and his stories to the show. Before you go, don't forget to check Check out the show notes for the resources, tools and topics that we mentioned. You're going to find links to connect with Coach D, explore his websites, and revisit some of the standout moments that we covered in the conversation.