Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Leadership isn't about titles. It's about vision, resilience and growth. I'm Erica Butler and on the Go Hire show we talk about the tools and strategies that help you lead with impact, grow your business and build teams that thrive. From real estate to cultural agility, from managing diverse teams to creating work life harmony Gohire helps you rise above challenges and step into your next level. Catch Go Higher every week on Now Media Television, we're streaming on Roku, Apple TV, SiriusXM, iHeartRadio and all other major platforms. Let's go higher together.
Welcome back to Go Higher. Want more of what you're watching? Stay connected to Go Higher and all your favorite Now Media TV shows. Live or on demand anytime. Download the free Now Media TV app on Roku or iOS and enjoy nonstop bilingual programming in English and and Spanish on the go. You can catch the podcast version right from our website at www.nowmedia.tv. from business and leadership to lifestyle, culture and more, Now Media TV is streaming 24 7. So we're ready whenever you are. It's very special to be here in Dubai for another segment with Marco Blankenberg, International Director of knowledgeworks. And we have Dan Yaros joining us from the Dan Yaros Agency. So welcome to the studio and thank you for joining me today.
[00:01:26] Speaker B: Thank you, thank you for having us.
[00:01:28] Speaker A: The special thing about this is we work together to build teams, to build high performing teams, to develop people and we're all very passionate about this. So that's why I'm extremely excited to have both of you in the room to share stories and how we are doing this together to help others in this space because I know we all are super passionate. So it's going to be a great discussion.
[00:01:51] Speaker C: Great.
[00:01:52] Speaker A: So our first topic, we're going to actually talk about entrepreneurship because all three of us are entrepreneurs and we've been living and breathing this for years. So I want the audience to have a chance to hear your stories and your success stories, your challenges. So let's dive in.
I think it'd be good for them to hear a high level brief intro of your business. So Dan, do you want to go first and share a little about your business?
[00:02:13] Speaker B: Sure. So I'm Dan Yaros. I am a licensed insurance representative and financial advisor.
I have been in business for myself for the last six years and you know, for many years I ran businesses for other corporations and I got to the point in my life where I wanted to take a chance on myself and become my own business owner and really took that leap of faith Six years ago and I'm never going to look back again. It was the best thing I've done.
[00:02:39] Speaker C: It's great.
[00:02:39] Speaker A: It's great. Congratulations.
[00:02:41] Speaker B: Thank you.
[00:02:41] Speaker C: And Marka, I grew up in a retail family in the Netherlands and actually my dad gave me the keys to my first store when I was 14 for the summer and said, here you go, sell, basically. And that was like a baptism of fire. But it was really the beginnings for me of just loving the sales space, the customer engagement, et cetera. And then when we had the opportunity to launch Knowledgeworks in 2000, 25 years ago now, that early desire came alive again. So, yeah, never looked back.
[00:03:21] Speaker A: Nothing like being thrown into it. That's sometimes one of the best ways to learn. Sometimes. Cool. Thank you. I didn't know that about you, so I would love to hear one of the biggest challenges you've each faced running your own businesses and how you overcame it. So if you want to go first Marco and then Dan.
[00:03:39] Speaker C: Wow, there's so many.
Yeah, you have to saying so many. You just have to be ready to fail.
You cannot be an entrepreneur and avoid failure.
[00:03:52] Speaker A: Absolutely.
[00:03:53] Speaker C: So John Maxwell wrote a book called Failing Forward. And I've definitely experienced that.
And at the same time, it's also part of failure is also part of trying to getting back up again as an entrepreneur.
You also. I also have experienced that you need to be ready for a bit of loneliness.
[00:04:19] Speaker A: Sure.
[00:04:20] Speaker C: Sometimes people just. You can't share it with everybody.
You carry the load. If you're an entrepreneur, you carry the load. When the business grows, you can share the load. But that was also for me, I think in the early days, I was actually avoiding that because. Because having grown up in a family like that, I was saying, maybe I don't want that for me. But it kept calling and kept calling until I dove in 25 years later.
[00:04:45] Speaker A: You keep building, creating, you know, you're. And the trial and error. You're always trying the market with different things and that leads to success.
And Dan, what would you say about that?
[00:04:55] Speaker B: You know, Failing Forward is also one of my favorite books.
[00:04:58] Speaker A: I think it is a good company.
[00:05:00] Speaker B: John Maxwell is one of my favorite authors. And, you know, my trying time was during the pandemic. I had opened my business two months before the global pandemic.
So I was just learning, you know, the ins and outs of the daily business and then had to switch everything to a remote atmosphere. So failing fast and learning from it and doing things differently each and every day, making sure that I was resilient and the team was and that we were willing to, you know, try different things and, and figure out what worked. And that's what helped us get to where we are today.
[00:05:32] Speaker A: Yeah, I hear a saying, and I really agree with this. Being comfortable, being uncomfortable and when you can get to that place and every day is gonna be so different, it's okay. And then, you know, you both have amazing teams around you as well. And I think that helps having good people around you, that you do it together. You are alone at times, but the more people you meet that do this, there's a. My community has grown in ways I never expected because of being bold and doing this and being an entreprene.
So the next question I want to ask you both is what are the most impactful ways you have developed yourself and your team? Because that's an important part of all of this.
[00:06:09] Speaker C: Well, there's a book called the E. Myth.
[00:06:14] Speaker A: Love this one too.
[00:06:15] Speaker C: The Entrepreneurial Myth. And it talks about three roles. You have the visionary, the manager, and the operator. The person who delivers or makes things.
And I had to learn very fast. I am only two of those three.
So I'm the visionary and I'm sort of the operator. I'm very good at delivering product, I think, but I'm not necessarily the manager.
So learning to bring people around me who are not like me and who complement me, not saying, oh, that's my weakness.
That's the opportunity for us to become a stronger team.
And yeah, if you are an entrepreneur or you're aspiring, figure out very quickly what you are and what you're not.
[00:07:02] Speaker A: Yeah, you can't be good at everything and sometimes you feel like you have to be, but the sooner you delegate that stuff, the more fun it becomes, the easier it becomes. I couldn't agree more.
[00:07:11] Speaker B: I really think it's great that Marco learned that about himself because that is so important. You know, in order to be successful, you're only as good as your team. And equipping our team with a well rounded team is extremely important.
I also think in my business, continuing education is really important for me and really taking advantage of those and reaching out to peers who have done and run businesses such as mine longer and have a lot of experience. And then bringing that back to my team because it is a smaller team, it's really important for me to bring that knowledge back and share it with them and then encourage them to go out and. And continue to do their own education as well.
Whether it's through books or podcasts or intentional training that we may Set up. Just reinforcing that and knowing that it's encouraged and important for all of us to continue to learn.
[00:08:00] Speaker A: I love that you say that. I'm part of the scale up in entrepreneurs organization all around the world. It is, and that's one of their top focuses. You never stop training, developing. You always lift because people stay longer, they do better in their jobs. It's a win, win all around. And I know you guys really get that and you live it. Amazing going off of that. I love to hear a success story, a win, something that was really hard, that you're really proud of, that you could share with the audience.
[00:08:28] Speaker C: For us, I think there's multiple. On the one hand, it's successfully listening to potential customers, crafting a product, launching that product and seeing it succeed, seeing it transform people's lives.
To me, we've seen that cycle happen multiple times now, and it's so cool. It's really rewarding. And that's what we live for in our company, to be transformational in people's lives, in their businesses, in their families, even.
So I think to me, that's always a highlight.
[00:09:03] Speaker D: Love that.
[00:09:04] Speaker A: Great answer.
[00:09:05] Speaker B: And Dan, I think a highlight for me is when you develop other leaders and you see that knowledge click in them and you know, one day they've got it, they understand, they understand and they're more open to the feedback, they're more receptive to it, they're more willing to take it. And then seeing them spread their wings and step out on their own, I think, you know, for me, that's probably one of the most successful moments.
[00:09:31] Speaker A: That's a great example. We've all met people that don't want the feedback, but if they took it, they would grow and they would have such a bright future. So that's number one, you know, and making sure you hire people like that. But I agree, so much more is possible if people are willing to listen and try.
So that's good for our viewers, especially those that are just starting out. What's one thing you wish you knew as a new entrepreneur? What one piece of advice could you give?
[00:09:58] Speaker B: I'm gonna go back to what Marco had originally said is fail forward. You can't be afraid to fail. And until you're comfortable with failing, I think that's really hard. It's really hard to take the risk because you're afraid. You know, this is the first time I'm stepping out on my own. I don't want to embarrass myself. I don't want to fail as A business owner. But when you realize and you could laugh at yourself because you know you've done it right, you failed. And the, the thing is to fail forward and learn from it and don't repeat the same mistake and be comfortable failing and taking that risk and learning from it. I think that keeps me going.
[00:10:31] Speaker A: Yes. A saying I've learned from another amazing leader is don't be afraid to suck at something. You have to start somewhere. The first time posting on LinkedIn, whatever that is, you have to start somewhere and you get better. You get better in a few months, it's like you become an expert. Even so you have to start somewhere.
[00:10:48] Speaker C: Okay, Marco, I think for me there's two things. One is we use one of the psychometric tools we use is the disc profile. And that's been a lifesaver for us. So recognizing that for me to be successful, for the business to be successful, we need to hire people who are not me and using a psychometric assessment to do that and to not just recognize that, that it's important to have highly detailed oriented people, people who are harmony and stability oriented, but also to celebrate them, to give them space and to adjust my own style to work successfully with them.
I think that's been a big lesson because I'm naturally like things to go fast. I like to keep moving forward and I just had to learn that. No, for a team to be successful, I need to adjust my style as a leader and come alongside and work together with my team. I think that's been a huge lesson. The other thing linked to that is I need to stay quiet about my most visionary ideas.
[00:11:59] Speaker A: I love that. Oh, I'm taking that advice because I
[00:12:03] Speaker C: actually create disruption, unnecessary disruption in the team. I just need to quietly keep it and when the time is right, I can bring it to the team. But I really had to learn to just shut up.
[00:12:15] Speaker A: That's wisdom. You can focus on the current initiative.
Wow, that's so good. And you can be so strategic with disc of hiring the right people and be very specific what your team's missing and what you need. Amazing. Where can everyone find you both? So Marco, where's the best place to find you?
[00:12:31] Speaker C: Well, knowledgeworks with KX is our main website. So find us there or find my name on LinkedIn and let's start a conversation.
[00:12:42] Speaker A: Wonderful, Dan.
[00:12:42] Speaker B: And for myself, I would say on LinkedIn as well. Let's start a conversation.
[00:12:46] Speaker A: Awesome. Well, thank you so much. This was amazing. Can't wait for the next segment. Our next segment, we're going to Continue the conversation with Marco and Dan all about high performing teams.
We'll be right back with more stories, lessons and practical tools to help you rise in leadership, business and life. This is Go Higher on NOW Media Television.
And we're back. I'm Erica Butler and you're watching Go Higher on NOW Media Television. Let's continue the conversation that helps you lead live and love with purpose. Welcome back to Go Higher. I'm your host, Erica Butler. I'm very happy to be here today with Dan Yaros of the Dan Yaros Agency and Marco Blankenberg, international director and founder of knowledgeworks. Welcome again to the show.
[00:13:29] Speaker B: Thank you for having us.
[00:13:30] Speaker A: Thank you.
We're continuing the conversation and this time it's all about how to build and develop high performing teams. Between the three of us, I know we've all worked with and trained thousands and thousands globally and we've had a lot of experience. So I'm just so happy to have the discussion with you and share the knowledge and expertise. So let's start with the problem that there is out there to solve.
Why would you say so many organizations skip over and deprioritize training and development? What have you noticed?
[00:14:02] Speaker B: You know, in my mind it comes down to people think it takes too much time and too much money and you know, that really stops them from doing it. If they just step back and realize that, you know, training could happen day to day, it could happen job shadowing, it could happen 5 minute conversation here or there or a 30 minute conversation after work. And just realize, you know, if they would invest in their team, the return on the investment that they would get, I think they'd be fully bought into it.
[00:14:29] Speaker A: Absolutely.
[00:14:30] Speaker B: What have you seen?
[00:14:31] Speaker C: Well, one of the first things that we always say is, you know, culture is always created. So you're always creating a version of your team. And either you do it intentionally. If you don't, typically it's a downward spiral.
So if you don't develop, it goes down. It's the same in any relationship. If you don't work on your relationship, it goes in the opposite direction. So we always say, well, can you afford not to do it and what's the consequence?
So I love what you said, Dan, that, you know, it's in the moment, it's the little things that count. But at the same time there needs to be an aim, there needs to be a target to pursue.
And typically what we find is just deciding on who do we want to be sure is a super important question to answer.
[00:15:23] Speaker A: I don't know if people realize the tie between training and development, it gets put in this box, but it does impact culture so much it impacts every other area of the business.
So why do you feel this is so important? Why have you prioritized this in your careers?
[00:15:37] Speaker B: I think as an entrepreneur, when you put into other people, you know, you get so much more back for yourself and for you team. And as a business owner and a leader, you're trying to take your vision for your business forward. In order to do that, you need to bring the team with you and that's by pouring into them. There's so many tools out there today that you could do this with, but it's just so important.
[00:16:02] Speaker C: Yeah, well, one thing, you know, we've created a culture on our team.
The word creating multiple, that's our rally word.
[00:16:11] Speaker A: Love that.
[00:16:12] Speaker C: And that has consequences for the skills we need to bring to work. So a simple example. How do we create multipliers in our communication?
So the way we communicate on the phone, in conference calls, but also in email, what does that mean? Well, in our case that means that every email we try to send has the full details the receiver needs to act on it.
So we don't do one liner email ping pong because it doesn't fit within the culture of our organization.
So that's a small thing. But once you know what to aim for, then you can align your training, your development to what you're trying to aim for in the culture you're trying to create.
[00:16:54] Speaker A: You're all rolling the same way, you know, it's a lot more effective.
That is, that is. Well, can you define what is even good development?
So organizations that don't have that, what does good development even look like?
[00:17:08] Speaker B: You know, I think it looks different at every organization and it's what you make it and it goes back to those small conversations. It goes to one on one training, it goes to group training. And you know the tools that Marco had talked about, you know, such as disc and his ice training. I think there's so many things out there to help you to develop your team and bring them forward that it's crazy not to, you know, going off of that quick.
[00:17:36] Speaker A: One of the simple nuggets I learned from you Dan, over the years is your team listens to what you talk about as a leader and if you drive this, there are self development because also people have a responsibility in this. You can't do it all. They have to also want to and they have to show up ready to learn and develop themselves. And I love that. You can be talking about this your whole.
You have to. If you're not talking about it, there's a gap.
[00:17:56] Speaker B: Absolutely. They have to be accountable for their own developments as well. You could only do so much.
[00:18:00] Speaker A: Exactly.
[00:18:01] Speaker C: But it's also a two way street, for sure.
[00:18:04] Speaker B: Yeah, absolutely.
[00:18:05] Speaker C: It's also for me, trying to detect what else does my team need.
[00:18:10] Speaker A: Absolutely.
[00:18:11] Speaker C: In order to go to the next level or in order to pursue this new initiative or this innovation that we're trying to create.
AI is a great example.
The team was eager to get equipped to build our own engine and they did it, which is amazing. So you create the opportunity, but you also create the scaffolding to pursue that opportunity.
[00:18:36] Speaker A: We talk a lot about change leadership on the show and I know we talk about it amongst ourselves and do this all the time. And I think without that, that you're thinking ahead. What do they need? What are going to be the missed skills? Because there is so much fear and anxiety when it comes to change. And what. When you give them that, they really can get to other side and feel supported. So. Yeah, I agree. Wonderful examples. Thank you. I would love to hear a story of a time you developed someone or a team and got them to the other side of a challenge. Challenging time even in the organization.
Whoever wants to go first.
[00:19:11] Speaker C: We had a client where it was a very big change initiative.
And we recognized very early on that the skills to drive change were not present in the organization.
So either it was going to become a very costly project for the client, which we knew that wasn't the road to go, or we had to offer the client to develop their people inside.
So because it was a large organization, we could created a change team.
And we said, we need to talk to your bosses.
They have to release you at least 30, 40% of your current job. And we will commit to invest in your training and development so that you become the change drivers, change managers and champions that the organization needs. So it became a career opportunity for them.
[00:20:05] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:20:06] Speaker C: And the.
The negotiation with the bosses was sometimes a little bit of a challenge, but by and large they were released into that project and that project ran for over three years.
[00:20:17] Speaker A: Wow.
[00:20:18] Speaker C: And one of those ladies went from strength to strength, now runs her own business and is one of our partners today.
[00:20:24] Speaker A: Amazing.
But it's so great because those leaders are getting team members that are growing and being more developed and bringing that back to their team. So there is space spillover. Win, win all around. Great example. What about you, Dan?
[00:20:37] Speaker B: For me, you know, it was leading in business I had taken over and had the opportunity to run for a few years and realized that the units within the business were not functioning as one.
[00:20:47] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:20:48] Speaker B: So they really didn't understand the vision, first of all, so really needed to help them understand and see where the company was trying to go and how each of their business units impacted each other and how they got to work together.
So it was a lot of communication. It was trust and team building and educating around how each business unit functioned and how as a whole, they work together to drive the business. And once we were able to do that, which took a lot of time, over a year or two, we were able to succeed and hit our goals that we were trying to achieve.
But it comes back to that vision and you as being the leader, casting that vision and breaking down the pieces of how we're going to get there in incremental steps so that you could bring the team along with you on that journey.
[00:21:34] Speaker A: Yes. And it does take time, and that's okay. But you're rowing the boat in the same direction and you're building together. So. Amazing. If you could share one piece of advice to an organization that doesn't have development, doesn't have training, where should they start? Where's the one place they could start? What would either of you, both of you say?
[00:21:52] Speaker B: I'd say start with yourself and the person next to you. Right. Just take the person next to you. When you learn something, teach it to them and ask them to do the same, you know, and ask them to be your feedback partner. If it's not the culture, what a great way to start, you know, someone that you trust, you know, hey, I'm trying to improve as a leader. These are the things I'm working on. Help me with this. When you see that I'm not doing X, Y and Z, please bring it to my attention and help me with this. And if there's any other thing that, you know, you think I could learn from you, I. Please feel free to share. I think just starting there, you know, by two people, and then you'll bring the third and the fourth along with you.
[00:22:26] Speaker A: I love that. And going off of that. For leaders, if you ask your team for feedback, you're going to help them be much more comfortable also getting feedback. Lead by example. Such a good example.
[00:22:36] Speaker C: Well, we. We talk about micro improvements.
[00:22:40] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:22:41] Speaker C: So you're basically saying, you know, start small, start with yourself and the person next to you. The idea of micro improvements is the norm in sports.
There's always feedback.
You have a coach or a Fellow player, there's always discussion about, how did that go? How can we do that better? Why did we mess that up? And for some reason, I find some people just shy away from that in a work environment.
So to your point, make it normal to have these conversations and don't see it. Oh, we need to have a big bang training, and that will solve everything.
Micro improvements is how we do life better.
It's the same in sports, it's the same in rescue services, etc. Etc.
So make it normal.
[00:23:26] Speaker A: You're right.
[00:23:27] Speaker C: It's okay to say I struggle with something. I still remember one of our clients, people would not say, hey, I don't know what to do next. Can you come alongside me? So they made oops one of their values.
[00:23:41] Speaker A: I love that.
[00:23:42] Speaker C: And they had a sign. They turned it into fun.
It was a coding company, so they had a sign at each desk. If you raise the oops sign, the person who came to your rescue or came alongside you actually scored points.
And it became fun and normal to say, hey, I'm struggling here. And it became normal for your colleagues to rally alongside. And that's how they made less mistakes. It became fun to learn together, and it became fun to come alongside each other.
[00:24:12] Speaker A: And a bonus is, yeah, that's awesome. The relationships deepen so much when you have this feedback culture amongst your peers as well.
I think in our heads, it has to be leader to team. No, it's actually peer to peer. And all across the organization.
And just, I just have literally such good friends because we had cultures like that even a decade ago. Those are the people I trust the most. Those are the people I want to work with because they're the people that are good friends to you, the ones that tell you the truth. And that's not easy always, but it gets easier as you keep going and you get stronger together.
[00:24:45] Speaker B: Absolutely.
[00:24:46] Speaker A: You provided such good examples. You are both such incredible leaders. I respect and are inspiring to me. So thank you so much for coming on the show today. You did an awesome job and I think there's so much good advice and tidbits, golden nuggets that people can run with from this episode. Thank you, Dan. Thank you, Marco.
[00:25:03] Speaker C: Thank you, thank you, thank you.
[00:25:04] Speaker A: So you're watching Go Higher. I'm your host, Erica Butler, and I'm just so thankful to have amazing show today with these leaders in Dubai. So catch us next week for more exciting information and tools and resources to help you and your team go higher. Thank you.
We'll be right back with more stories, lessons and practical tools to help you rise in leadership, business and life. This is Go Higher on NOW Media Television.
And we're back. I'm Erica Butler and you're watching Go Higher on NOW Media Television. Let's continue the conversation that helps you lead live and love with purpose.
Welcome to Go Higher. I'm your host, Erica Butler. Today we're diving into a topic that impacts every leader working in a global or multicultural setting. Confidence in culturally diverse environments. Whether you're leading a team across borders, navigating new markets, or simply trying to understand the different people you work with every day, cultural complexity can often feel like walking on eggshells. Joining me today, I'm so excited. An amazing guest. She is someone who brings remarkable clarity and depth to the conversation. Nicole Regan White is the CEO and founder of the CreateSpace Group and a KnowledgeWorks partner based in Abu Dhabi. She has 15 years of global experience working across government, energy, finance and multinational organizations. She specializes in creative leadership, intercultural intelligence, emotional intelligence, and behavioral transformation. Nicole is known for helping leaders and teams grow with confidence, humanity and cultural agility.
And her real world insights bring both compassion, which is so important to all of this and important to our show, and practicality, to leadership development.
Nicole, it is such an honor to have you here with me today. Welcome to the show. Thank you.
[00:26:57] Speaker D: Wowza. What an intro.
[00:26:59] Speaker A: Well, you lived it, you did it, and there's much more we could say. So congrats on all you've accomplished and I know our audience will learn a lot from you today. So truly, I'm happy that you're here. So, so many leaders feel unsure, anxious, or overly cautious in culturally diverse environments. It often feels like the stakes are so high, misunderstandings are very easy and one wrong move can damage trust. So this segment is going to explore how leaders can build confidence, reculture dynamics accurately and reduce friction through humility, awareness and practical tools.
So I have so many questions for you today, but where I want to start is how can leaders build confidence when leading across unfamiliar cultures? What do you advise them?
[00:27:43] Speaker D: Wow. Good question. I think, I think the first place to start start is just remember to be more human. I think taking a childlike curiosity. Right. In terms of understanding or wanting to know more. And understand, yes. If you think that you know it all or that your cultural lens is the best way of doing something, that you're probably setting yourself up for things, failure, it's actually staying curious, asking questions, trying to understand something from somebody else's point of view or some of those really big hitters. For helping you to just understand and succeed going forward.
[00:28:15] Speaker A: It sounds so simple when you say it. But. But so I. Working internationally as well and living internationally like you, so many people don't do that. And I have. I didn't do it. I had to learn to do that, you know, so I. You hit it spot on the head. I agree.
So what tools help leaders read the room, even when it's very multicultural, even when they don't know who's there, where they're from? What tools do you have or recommend?
[00:28:40] Speaker D: Yeah, definitely. Great question, I'd say. I mean, the first thing is probably to understand is some intercultural frameworks, right? Understand some of those prompts with maybe how people build relationships. Are they more task orientated, relationship orientated? How do they make decisions?
How do they view time? Is time quite fluid or do they like to control it? I think if you start to understand some of those factors there, you're going to start to identify some different areas or things that motivate people or stress them out. And when you do that, you can start to then flex. If you kind of got that intercultural intelligence with those different types in the room and be that one person or a thousand people, if you really got that mind to flex and be curious, then you're setting yourself up for success in the future.
[00:29:28] Speaker A: Yeah, absolutely.
So good.
So with that, can you share a success story that provides an example of that, where cultural confidence changed a leader's path and what was your role in that?
[00:29:41] Speaker D: Yeah, definitely. So an organization that I worked with recently, in the last couple of years, there was a leader that came in from South Africa. They were looking after the whole, in the middle, Middle east and Africa.
And you can imagine there's not one nation or nationality in there. Every single country they were working with or office had so many different nationalities, cultures, genders. There's so many different points of view in there. And what that person did when they came in was like I said at the beginning, they were curious. They went in and set up listening circles. They really wanted to understand their leadership teams, what motivated them, what stressed them out and what was coming up. So through that and really listening, asking for ideas and asking for input, again, you're opening up the doors to be a more successful leader because not everybody, not every leader knows it all as well.
[00:30:31] Speaker A: I love that. And the listening circles. So you know, in the United States a lot of times we call. Are you saying focus groups when you're saying listening circles? Tell me more about that.
[00:30:40] Speaker D: And yeah, so I'd say Focus groups. When I think of that, I think more of a sort of a global Pulse survey. And then you have focus groups that follow after that. I'd say listening circles, it can be anything that you want to be. Right. Who are the people that you want to connect with more?
If you're coming in as a leader for the first time, how well do you know your leadership team? It's having individual, you know, maybe that's a listening circle between two individuals. It might be between your leadership team, between middle management graduates that are coming in as well. So you can create listening circles at every level, every different kind of micro culture within the company to really get a good understanding of where culture is, where the pain points are, and how to alleviate them going forward as well.
[00:31:24] Speaker A: It sounds much more personal than a focus group. You know, that seems more formal. But listening groups about anything, getting to know someone, getting to know a team, I love that. That's really awesome. Thank you for sharing that concept.
So, going on, what does cultural humility or why does it matter? Should I. Why does cultural humility matter just as much as cultural knowledge?
[00:31:44] Speaker D: Great question.
You can know it all.
Doesn't mean you always apply it, though.
[00:31:50] Speaker A: We know people like this. Right. Maybe I was at one point too.
[00:31:53] Speaker D: But yes, I think it's the difference between IQ and EQ as well. Right. You can know everything in the world, but if you're not emotionally intelligent or you don't have that empathy or compassion and you're applying it, what's the point in knowing it really? So I think humility goes down to empathy, being more human.
And that's another thing as well. It's not just human doing, it's human being.
[00:32:18] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:32:18] Speaker D: Right. So that goes with that compassion and understanding and humility. Especially in the the age of AI that we're in right now, being human is more important than ever. So just think about that. Human compassion and empathy.
[00:32:30] Speaker A: Yeah, that's a great example and answer. Thank you.
So what is one thing leaders should stop doing immediately because it increases cultural challenges or people feel unhuman or not heard?
[00:32:43] Speaker D: Yeah, I think I alluded a little bit to this earlier, but stop thinking that you know it.
[00:32:50] Speaker A: All.
[00:32:50] Speaker D: Right? Because maybe your cultural lens isn't the way that everybody sees the world actually. So maybe think and reflect yourself. What am I missing?
What does this person need right now? And I might be wrong. There's a great book about by a monk saying, you know, I could be wrong and I might be wrong. So actually asking your question, what do you not know? And what do you need to know is really just going to help you be more curious going forward.
[00:33:17] Speaker A: Yeah, absolutely. So for leaders out there that are very new to this concept, or maybe they worked just in more homogeneous groups, you could say, what one piece of advice would you give to them to start? I mean, you're giving some good advice, but just if they do nothing, where is a starting place, a book, a resource you would refer them to?
[00:33:38] Speaker D: There's so many and there's not one framework that is better than another. But I think to be culturally, culturally relevant as a leader going forward, you've got to be curious, right? So just start looking at everything, start learning about everything and get to know your people.
[00:33:53] Speaker A: Okay?
[00:33:53] Speaker D: Every single business and all of your customers are human beings. So get to know them and start building relationships there.
[00:33:59] Speaker A: Relationships drive business solving and building trustworthy relationships. That's what business is. That's the essence of it. Right? If you can do those two things. So speaking of business, tell us about your business, the CreateSpace Group. What are you doing? What are you working on right now?
[00:34:15] Speaker D: Thank you. Yeah, so I'm an entrepreneur. I'm based in Abu Dhabi, but I'm global and across the GCC. And after 15 years in corporate, I decided to go solo and set up the CreateSpace group. So we focus on coaching, leadership development, team development and people skills. And people skills can be anything from the things we've talked about today, like intercultural intelligence to behavioral psychometrics, managing conflict. There's so many different things, but we really have bespoke approach. So we partner with companies like knowledgeworks who are based in the GCC and they've got some fantastic tools that we help bring to our clients to help develop communication skills. So like Everything Disc, which is a wily product, huge fan.
[00:34:59] Speaker A: Well, I think we're certified on many of the same things. So we have so much in common. The DISC and ici and it really. Yeah, I love it.
[00:35:07] Speaker D: Exactly. So it's, it's creating customized approaches to really help clients with their challenges. And again, I've got to remain curious and ask clients, you know, what your biggest challenges, what is most important to you right here? So it's kind of becoming a coach rather than just an advisor and creating and helping to create and foster a solution that's really going to help solve their challenges.
[00:35:28] Speaker A: I love that you're so customized and you use these tools to dive into the understanding first. I can hear you saying that you understand, understand where they are to help them go forward and just you don't skip that step? I think so many times I get skipped. But you go deep. I love it.
[00:35:42] Speaker D: Absolutely. Because how else are you, you really going to help solve their, solve their problem on the solution. That is what I'm focused on.
[00:35:48] Speaker A: Yeah. So where can people find you, Nicole?
[00:35:50] Speaker D: Oh, thank you. So you can find me on LinkedIn. So, Nicole Regan White. But also on the Create Space Group website as well.
[00:35:57] Speaker A: Okay. Awesome. Well, I'm so happy you're here. We have another segment coming up. We'll dive deeper into this. So we'll be right back. And we're going to be shifting from cultural confidence to the heart of global leadership humanity. We touched on it a bit, but I can't wait to go deeper with you. We're going to explore how leaders can stay grounded, compassionate and deeply connected, even in high pressure environments, which is not always easy to do. So we'll be right back.
We'll be right back with more stories, lessons and practical tools to help you rise in leadership, business and life. This is Go Higher on NOW Media Television.
And we're back. I'm Erica Butler and you're watching Go Higher on NOW Media Television. Let's continue the conversation that helps you lead live and love with purpose.
Welcome back to Go Higher. Want more of what you're watching? Stay connected to Go Higher and all your favorite Now Media TV shows, live or on demand anytime. Download the free Now Media TV app on Roku or iOS and enjoy non stop bilingual programming in English and Spanish. Are you on the go? Catch the podcast version right from our website at www.nowmedia.tv. from business and leadership to lifestyle, culture and more, Now Media TV is streaming 24. 7 ready whenever you are. So welcome back to our next segment of Go Hire. I'm here with leadership expert and intercultural strategist Nicole Regan White. In our last segment, we talked about building confidence in culturally complex spaces. Now we're shifting into something deeper. What it means to lead with humanity in global leadership roles, especially when pressure and complexity threatens to drown out empathy. So the topics we want to discuss today are about leaders across the world struggling in this how, when the demand is so high, can we stay cool, stay humane, stay people first?
So as responsibilities grow, empathy can fade. This segment explores why human centered leadership is vital in multicultural contexts and how leaders can stay grounded, compassionate and connected to the people behind the work.
So the first question I have for you in this segment is why is human centered leadership even more important in global or multicultural environments?
[00:38:14] Speaker D: Wow, what a loaded question.
[00:38:15] Speaker A: It is.
Should we just do that the whole segment.
[00:38:20] Speaker D: Why is being a human being important? Important. Right.
If you look at any company right now, can you name or identify a company that is mainly based or mainly has one type of nationality or culture? Right. Or their. Or their customer base is one type of nationality or culture?
[00:38:39] Speaker A: No, we think it's. We're talking about different countries, but any country now is so integrated, really. It's. It's any company, even if they're in one country.
[00:38:47] Speaker D: Yeah. I mean, like, globalization has been around for a while, Right.
[00:38:51] Speaker A: The world is flat. Do you remember that book? Years, decades ago.
[00:38:53] Speaker D: So jump on board this train, because if you don't, there's so much you're going to miss out on, essentially. So if you wanted to be. If you want to be the leader of tomorrow and the leader of the future, and you want your children to be the leader of the future, Right. Then you've got to have this intercultural hat and curiosity because if you don't, you're going to miss out on a huge market way to build relationships with people.
So it's not important. It is absolutely vital and integral to your success and future.
[00:39:20] Speaker A: Yeah, absolutely. I think it's very easy to just not know the world values and then you miss really important cues and then you lose people that would have been on the team and move with you. But yeah. Without knowing this important information.
So next question is, how can leaders stay grounded and compassionate while navigating diverse teams?
[00:39:40] Speaker D: Wow. Okay, loaded question again.
Let's start with human behaviors first. I mean, everybody or a lot of people know Maslow's hierarchy of needs, right?
[00:39:50] Speaker A: Oh, yes.
[00:39:50] Speaker D: We have more in common with each other than separates us. Right. We want to feel loved, we want to feel nurtured, we want to feel safe.
So start with those human values that really connect us first because then it's going to be easier to understand what motivates us, what stresses us out, and then that opens up the way. And so it paves the path to then be more curious about intercultural differences. Right. But you know that it doesn't matter if I'm. I'm from the uk, I'm connecting with someone else from Russia. There's so many different things that we have in common. Or from India to South Africa, there's so many things that connect us, but the main thing is to, to stay curious, understand what makes people tick, what's the same about us, what's different, what can we find in common and just understand and learn about each other.
[00:40:37] Speaker A: You know, I know you really live this and believe it deeply. And it's really cool to talk to you and just you're lighting up the passion. I just wish the viewers could, you know, I hope you see the passion here because this really works. And we're going to talk next about real life examples and the experience you have. So can you share a moment where leading with humanity created breakthrough for a leader or team that you worked with one of your clients or back in corporate America?
[00:41:01] Speaker D: Yeah, definitely.
I think it's always really interesting seeing new leaders come into either, you know, roles within country or across the region. Right. And I think that's where you see challenges.
If, if they don't learn to adapt and be curious and say it's my way or the highway, that's usually where you're going to come up with friction.
So the ones that I've seen be most successful is to, to be open, to be honest, to ask questions. And actually a lot of leaders think that being vulnerable and being open is a sign of weakness, when actually it's not. It takes a lot more strength to be vulnerable and to open up and say, I may not know everything. I'd like to hear your point of view and what's working. What are the pressure points? What are the bottlenecks to help move forward? If you don't ask those questions, you're missing out on a huge piece of learning how to be a leader.
[00:41:58] Speaker A: So. Good. And also the impact for your team. They feel they can be vulnerable as well. You're opening the door when you lead that way. They can be vulnerable. They can bring their true selves to work and it's really powerful. It's a great example.
[00:42:12] Speaker D: It's do as I do. Right. Lead by example. What kind of leaders do you want to encourage and grow going forward in your company or in your life as well?
[00:42:22] Speaker A: Yeah, absolutely. One of my favorite practices is new leader assimilations and just spend. Have you know about this? Of course, three hours in a room just getting to know each other and again, that gets skipped so many times. But the, the trust that comes from that and the, the, the team gelling is like so fast because they had a chance to do that and be vulnerable. Talk about what's working, what's not, what is your favorite flavor of ice cream, even goodness sake, you know? Yeah.
[00:42:45] Speaker D: Whether it's a new, whether it's a newly formed leadership team or you've got new members coming in, you need to make time to get to know each other as human beings because otherwise there's going to be miscommunication and lots of challenges further down the road. So making that really important up front is just going to help pave the way for success.
[00:43:02] Speaker A: Yeah, trust from the beginning. It really starts there. I love it. So what practice help leaders stay connected to people behind the work instead of being lost in the process. How do you keep people connected?
[00:43:14] Speaker D: Yeah, I mean if you look at, I think on a more nuclear basis, the immediate leadership team, Right.
It's about one to one relationships. Even if you're a middle manager, you look after a smaller team or a bigger team. It's understanding those individual relationships and taking time to invest in them as well. Make sure it's not task orientated, it's relationship based.
Make time for stories, ask questions about their life, you know, within reason that feels that they can talk about it.
Take time to pause. You know, look, look at the energy in the room or what's, you know, is there a difference or is there a change there? If you don't know what's going on, ask for clarity. Ask how someone's doing. Again, it's taking more steps and being more human that can help you be a better leader.
[00:44:06] Speaker A: So practically morning till night, it feels like many jobs and these executives are so much crossing their desks. So for them to pause and do this, do you have them block their calendars? What advice are you giving to make sure that that's part of their regular routine?
[00:44:20] Speaker D: Yeah, well, great point.
[00:44:22] Speaker A: Right.
[00:44:23] Speaker D: I mean it's like coaching. People think that coaching takes loads of time to do. You can coach in 10 minutes or less with one of your team members. Right.
A pause can be as quick as 5 seconds, 60 seconds. What do I not know right now that I need to know? How is my team member feeling? That doesn't take long. Okay. Empathy is putting yourself in someone else's shoes and understanding their point of view. And if you don't know that, ask them.
[00:44:50] Speaker A: So even using the systems in place, you have a one on one meeting about work. Just starting with how was Bobby's game this weekend? Whatever, you know, just something, a connection point and seeing how they're doing, I
[00:45:01] Speaker D: noticed, you know, your energy's changed a little bit.
[00:45:03] Speaker A: Read into that.
[00:45:04] Speaker D: Yeah, you know, you got time for a coffee, let's sit down. You know, and taking an interest as
[00:45:09] Speaker A: a human being, a best practice. I learned from entrepreneurs organization, this incredible like scaling organization of entrepreneurs. Obviously they start a meeting with one word and they just have everyone quick go around a huddle or like one word could be I'm great today. I'M tired. And then you follow up later as a leader and you know, wow, Susie seemed off today, so I love that it's. Yeah, you're so quick. But it's little routines like that that give you a better pulse and you
[00:45:33] Speaker D: lead better and it gives you insight.
[00:45:34] Speaker A: Yes, absolutely. Absolutely. So what is one humanity based leadership habit that helps leaders rise higher in the global context?
Wow.
[00:45:47] Speaker D: We post that and come back.
[00:45:48] Speaker A: Oh yeah, absolutely. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Right. That's the last one too because I don't even know the time.
How are. Do you know how we are?
Okay, good, perfect. So yeah, yeah, we just pause that and come back.
[00:45:59] Speaker D: Humanity based leadership.
[00:46:01] Speaker A: It's very easy having discussion.
[00:46:03] Speaker D: Yeah, I know. I've gone through quite a few things.
[00:46:06] Speaker A: Here's the. Here you can.
[00:46:07] Speaker D: What else can I say that's different?
[00:46:08] Speaker A: Okay, we can change the question too. We can just re. Do that part. Is there. Because I'm going to ask again where people find you because it's two segments. I want to make sure people have
[00:46:16] Speaker D: get that again because I've said a lot about asking, et cetera. Are there any other questions you would want to.
[00:46:22] Speaker A: Well, I should have put some. I mean. Yeah, let's see.
I was going to just close on this one, but
[00:46:32] Speaker D: h.
But you can do it on the fly if there's anything in your head.
[00:46:35] Speaker A: Okay, let me think for a second. What would be. I'm like, what will be most valuable to you know what I know about you.
Do you have any other stories that were really like impactful? It could be back in kpmg. It could be in your. In your current like stories are really the best. I always have at least one or two every thing. We only did one story. So is there any like, just like success examples of a new leader that struggled or. I don't know, anything that you, you are a part of or like being a part of organization that wasn't doing this well?
[00:47:04] Speaker D: Yeah, probably more of those.
[00:47:06] Speaker A: Okay, well maybe that we can say like a success story.
[00:47:09] Speaker D: Yeah. Oh, and like there's a big difference between IQ and eq.
[00:47:11] Speaker A: Right.
[00:47:12] Speaker D: And if you focus on the IQ and the knowledge and the skills, you're missing out on big bit about building relationships. So if you don't invest in that, especially with AI and where that is going and you have to.
[00:47:22] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:47:23] Speaker D: Even if you're some, you know, a tech entrepreneur and you don't integrate humanity into AI then do you want to
[00:47:30] Speaker A: share a story about that or do you want to. That was a financer too, I think
[00:47:33] Speaker D: in terms of the development or, you know, what's needed for humanity and leadership.
[00:47:38] Speaker A: Let's do this. Let's talk about how you, how you develop leaders in these areas. So, you know, you can pull out. Of course we talked about this. Ici, like, what's your approach in your company?
[00:47:46] Speaker D: What.
[00:47:46] Speaker A: Where do you start? Maybe I'll ask that so you can share something from your organization. Okay. So like I'll say you're new to a client. How do you assess this? Like, you know, maybe I'll ask that. Is that okay? And then you can share more about your organization. Okay.
Okay, one second.
Just pulling up.
Okay. The Create Space group. I want to get it right. I want to say it right and not. Okay, mouthful. Yeah. So at the, so at the crates. Space group.
[00:48:12] Speaker B: No, I like it.
[00:48:13] Speaker A: I think it's, it's nice.
How. Yeah, how do you create space? Did you say you like that? Okay, space for, for this when you have a new client. Okay, perfect. Okay, so. Well, you click the mouse and I know it's time.
And then. Yes. Not yet. Don't click it, I guess because I'm. Okay, I'm gonna say that in a moment. So I'm gonna say this part so you can leave it there and not touch it actually.
So I'll say that at the end. So. Okay, ready? Is this a recording?
That's no problem.
Oh, whatever.
[00:48:42] Speaker D: Okay, let's get used to it.
[00:48:47] Speaker A: So Nicole, my next question for you is at the Create Space Group, your organization, where do you start? How do you create space for this when you have a new client?
[00:48:56] Speaker D: Great question.
I start by asking what's the biggest challenge or pro, you know, challenge rather than problem they're trying to solve?
[00:49:03] Speaker A: Right.
[00:49:03] Speaker D: And how important is this?
And if they can't tell you that and you say, well, what's on your mind right now? What's keeping you awake at night? It's really asking those human based questions of what is the biggest challenge that you're facing?
What do you need to help solve it? Or even maybe if they don't know what they need to help solving it, asking those kind of coaching, open based questions, it's going to help you delve deeper into their challenges and then start to think about some of the ways you can help solve it as well.
[00:49:31] Speaker A: As a human, human being, I love that you added what keeps you up at night. Because what I found out of these tools de stress. Because when you read people better and you understand, you build better relationships, it takes a lot of stress out of the workplace. It's really powerful.
[00:49:43] Speaker D: Yeah. Absolutely.
[00:49:44] Speaker A: Amazing, Amazing, amazing information.
So, Nicole, this has been so valuable having you today. It's truly an honor and privilege to get this time with you.
So where can people find your work? What's the best place that they want to work with you and learn from you?
[00:49:58] Speaker D: Thank you. Well, people can connect personally, so it's Nicole Regan White on LinkedIn, but the CreateSpace group is also on LinkedIn and we have a website as well, so the CreateSpacegroup.com fantastic.
[00:50:09] Speaker A: Thank you.
Well, this was so fun. I learned so much as well. Your wisdom was amazing. And your insights remind us that leadership isn't just about strategy, is about people. And in a global world with diverse values, cultures and expectations, humanity becomes a competitive advantage. You win with humanity.
To our viewers, remember that confidence, cultural agility and compassion are skills you can build and they will elevate you and your team. You'll connect better, you'll grow more. It's just a win, win all around. So I'm Erica Butler and this is Go Higher. Until next time. Keep learning, stay curious, and lead with purpose.
