Episode 821 Invest in Others - Interview with Stacy Henry – Part 2
[00:00:00] Scott Maderer: [00:00:00] Thanks for joining us on episode 821 of the inspired stewardship podcast.
[00:00:07]Stacy Henry: [00:00:07] I'm Stacy Henry owner and coach at center branch, where we grow great leaders. I challenge you to invest in yourself, invest in others, develop your influence and impact the world by using your time, your talent and your treasures to live out your colleagues.
[00:00:27] Having the ability to deal well with change is key. And one way to be inspired to do this is to listen to this, the inspired stewardship podcast with my friend, Scott Maderer.
[00:00:39]what happens as we're looking at, growing organizational roofs and really strengthening that service orientation by reading with service. And that doesn't necessarily mean going out and doing formal service projects. It can, but it means how am I [00:01:00] as an individual? Being of service.
[00:01:03] Scott Maderer: [00:01:03] Welcome. And thank you for joining us on the inspired stewardship podcast.
[00:01:08] If you truly desire to become the person who God wants you to be, then you must learn to use your time, your talent and your treasures for your true calling. And the inspired stewardship podcast, we'll learn to invest in yourself, invest in others and develop your influence so that you can impact the world.
[00:01:29]in today's interview with Stacy Henry from central branch. I asked Stacy about how knowing our own central branch can help us lead others in times of change. Stacy. And I also talk about how the identification of values is a useful activity for organizations and Stacy also shares with you the values that we adopt and how they can enhance our relationship with others.
[00:01:54] One reason I like to bring you great interviews. Like the one you're going to hear today is because of the power [00:02:00] in learning from others. Another great way to learn from others is through reading books. But if you're like most people today, you find it hard to find the time to sit down and read. And that's why today's podcast is brought to you by audible.
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[00:02:42] Stacy Henry is the owner and founder of center branch, a people centered leadership business dedicated to helping both companies and individuals perform to their highest potential with services that include keynote speaking and workshop, facilitation, women's development and leadership and executive coaching [00:03:00] center branch enables people to be the, their best so that they and the companies they work for may flourish.
[00:03:06] Stacy brings 25 years of experience to center branch from a variety of global industries as an executive coach and HR business partner for C suite leaders in 2020, Stacy worked directly with the chief financial officer, chief communications officer and the head of strategic development at Collins aerospace.
[00:03:24] When it merged with Raytheon technologies prior to founding center branch, she was the head HR partner for the central functions at Collins aerospace, a Raytheon technologies company. She's also the author of get rooted, helping you identify values so you can understand your roots and using that foundation deal better with change.
[00:03:47] So Stacy, last week, we talked a lot about doing that hard work of identifying our own values, identifying our center branch and rooting ourselves so that we can manage and deal with [00:04:00] change. How does that same process then also help us help the people around us deal with change as well. Because again, usually when we're going through change, So are, the people we work with, the people we love, the people we care, it's usually not just us by ourselves.
[00:04:17] It's usually a group of us going through it. So how does that help us with that?
[00:04:20]Stacy Henry: [00:04:20] It's the starting point, and as I had talked about in our previous conversation, when we're really clear, And we're really crisp on what are our roots and our values. We're able then to role, model that to other people.
[00:04:38] And so we're walking the talk and we're showing up exactly as we think we are. And so the hard work is done in yourself first. And then once you're. Rooted or you're working on getting rooted in the right places, because this is it's a work in progress. You're able then [00:05:00] to have a conversation with people around you and talk with them about their values and their roots, and really lead by example.
[00:05:11] It's, I shared a story before about a conflict that I had with. With a boss and how we were rooted in conflict versus love. And what happened in that story is that everybody around us then became rooted in conflict. And it, if you were to watch that situation from the outside in, you would see little by little, all of the people on the team.
[00:05:40] And it was a rather large team went from love. To conflict with each other, with themselves. And it really rooted itself in that particular group. And so I think getting rooted in the right thing, leading by example, and having open conversation with [00:06:00] other people about their roots is critical.
[00:06:03]Scott Maderer: [00:06:03] And so that kind of brings us to that idea of what about a group or an organization, whether it's a church, whether it's a business place, doesn't matter.
[00:06:12]Organizations are always made up of groups of people. Is this also something that as an organization is important to do, go through together and identify. Their own, what are they rooted in? What's their center branch. And how is that different for an organization than it is for an individual?
[00:06:31] Stacy Henry: [00:06:31] So I'll start by saying it is of the utmost importance to absolutely do it on an organizational level. And it doesn't matter, as you said, it doesn't matter if you're a fortune 50 or if you're a ministry, the process of the important is the importance is exactly. The same and it looks relatively the same as well.
[00:06:53] And so I'll go back to what I've said, which is you have to start with yourself. And then what you're [00:07:00] going to do is work within a small group, as a larger group, within an organization. There's a bigger conversation that has to happen. And I actually just had this conversation yesterday with the ministry group.
[00:07:14] And I talked with them about their individual routes and some people have in common and others were wildly different. Then I said, okay, now that we know that, what does this group, this organization want to be rooted in? And it opened up a discussion that I thought would be maybe 30 minutes and it really lasted over two hours.
[00:07:43] The whole point of that was getting clear on as a cohesive, how can each of our individual roots help support what we want this organizational root system to look like? So nobody felt like they were not heard. [00:08:00] Nobody felt like because they had different personal roots that they couldn't contribute to the organizational roots I have.
[00:08:07] And from there we went into agreements. So now that we know our root system, what do we agree about that? How do we want to show up for each other and as an organization. I saw a light bulb going off as I was having the
[00:08:23] Scott Maderer: [00:08:23] conversation. I think it's important too, to recognize. So you're that values diversity as opposed to dismisses it.
[00:08:32]Which I think, I've been part of organizational change management and these sorts of things and, w they always come in and create a mission statement and a vision statement and sometimes not always, but sometimes in that process, It's, they're seeking uniformity as opposed to unity and those are different terms, and I think sometimes that can be very alienating if you are the, if I'll use an example, since I'm talking to you, [00:09:00] if you're the one woman in the boardroom. Yeah, which happens, or African-American person in a room full of Anglo Caucasian. And I've been in those rooms where there's somebody in the room, that's the minority and it's very easy to end up dismissing them without intending to.
[00:09:18] Stacy Henry: [00:09:18] It is. And I think, to that, and that's why it's so important to have the conversation as a group and as a collective and really state at the very beginning, we want everyone voice in this and together. We're going to come to a consensus now there's choice there. And part of the choice is I need to make my voice heard and I need to share my opinion.
[00:09:44] And so if that's not happening, that is also a choice that, that we're making. And when I think about doing this at a group or an organizational level, You can have that [00:10:00] conversation multiple levels down in the organization and it doesn't have to be just a, here it is. We the proverbial we've decided you can then keep filtering it down, but I've actually seen done, and it's paid dividends every single time.
[00:10:15] Scott Maderer: [00:10:16] We talked last week about how you pair up these values. You give love versus conflict and you go through the eight values and kind of highlight there they're opposite. Or that the opposite is probably not even the best word, but they're there. They're pairing. And. Yeah the idea is one of those that we talked a little bit about last week was relationship and disengagement.
[00:10:38]As we're talking about developing others and investing in others, all of them have something to do with that cause love and service and others do as well. But that one jumped out to me. How does that mindset help us develop our ability to influence and invest in others?
[00:10:57] Stacy Henry: [00:10:57] It's a great question.
[00:11:00] [00:10:59] And, as I had mentioned previously, when we think about the dichotomy of relationship versus disengagement the relationship side of the house and being rooted in relationship is very intentional. And it's an intentional, purposeful act of getting to know somebody. On a different level and at a different capacity than you have before.
[00:11:27] And when that happens, when you sit down with another person and you're leading from a curiosity mindset to build relationships, and you're asking them about themselves or what's going on in their life. And you're really taking that genuine. Interest in them, two things are happening. Number one, you're building relationship with each other.
[00:11:51]You're decreasing their potential disengagement. And of course, yours, you're also building that [00:12:00] influence that you have with that individual. Because when I know that somebody is investing in me authentically, and when I know that somebody cares about what is going on, In and around my world, I'm going to perk up a little bit more and I'm going to listen.
[00:12:19] And then I'm going to hear what the other person has to say. Usually without bias or without a filter of they're just air quotes, my boss, or my friend, or my family or whomever. And. That then leads to our ability to influence one at a time. And we think about the multiplier effect of that, how we can take that forward.
[00:12:42] It really is astounding. I will say with this, with the relationship versus disengagement, if this is outside of your norm, it might feel a little bit awkward, right? And it feels somewhat space to stay in our little bubble of. Transactional [00:13:00] and Oh, how you doing, how you do it? Because it's that's not relationship that's actually
[00:13:06] Scott Maderer: [00:13:06] especially when you don't meet it.
[00:13:10] Stacy Henry: [00:13:10] Exactly. I caution that. Certainly when I talked to last week about embracing change and sometimes it feels like you're grabbing a tactic. It might feel like that here. Because it might, it's a new muscle. It's a new root if that's not your norm.
[00:13:27]Scott Maderer: [00:13:27] And I'll add to that a little bit.
[00:13:29] One of the things I've found, cause I'm a, I'm an introvert. And I am not a hi, I. I want a few friends and there that's it. And I really don't, but I'm also in a business where, you know, as a small business owner, part of what I have to do is build a relationship. And when I was in corporate world, part of what I have to do is build relationships with clients, with my own, with people that report to me, And so on.
[00:13:53] And so it is, there is a degree to which you just have to accept that. Oh no. This is actually part of what you're called to do, and you need to learn [00:14:00] how to do it and you can learn, it is a skill. You can learn how to do it. It's not
[00:14:07] Stacy Henry: [00:14:07] absolutely I'm chuckling because I think we're in the same group.
[00:14:12] So we're the. Yeah, recovering perfectionist and the introvert group together. Hi, my name is Stacy, and to be honest, I struggled. In my early career influencing other people. And it didn't matter if I had a manager or a leader title, I'm such an introvert that it felt so much more comfortable to stay in my lane and do transactional work and talk to people when I had to.
[00:14:41] And when I had to move past that it was wildly uncomfortable and pills. I realized the power of truly investing in others meant that I was creating that one-on-one and it was [00:15:00] something that you just said I was called to do. So I learned how to do it now on a scale of zero to seven, seven being like super introvert.
[00:15:11] I'm a seven and I've learned how to navigate through that. All right. In the intent of investing in others and helping to influence how they can then go forward and invest in others as well.
[00:15:25]Scott Maderer: [00:15:25] And like one of the things I did when I was a manager and, I've told this story on the podcast again, up before, but I use the disc model as a way of thinking about people and communication and I'm a high C and a high D so I'm very task oriented, very detail oriented, get things done, oriented, very transactional.
[00:15:46] I don't really think about the people side unless I forced myself to. But I literally had an event on my calendar that popped up on Wednesday afternoons that said go visit. And it would have three or three people's [00:16:00] names and I would get up from my desk and I would go out of my office and I would walk down the hall and I would stick my head in their cube or their office.
[00:16:09] And I would say, Hey Tom, How are you doing? Can I talk to you for a second? Yeah. So how are the kids, how is the baseball game last week or whatever? And it was always a rotating, it wasn't the same three people every week, but I had a list and they rotated through and what's funny.
[00:16:23] I told them this, I didn't hide it. I told them I've created an event and I'm going to come by and you can expect me to come by about once every three or four weeks. And I just want to check in, because I know it's important to you because they were very. Wired where the fact that I knew their kid's name, I knew who played sports.
[00:16:42] I knew all of that. I had to force myself to learn all that stuff. Literally I, if I went with the way I felt, I couldn't, I didn't care well, but I did care cause I cared about them, you know it, and so it was important to them. So now I'm going to do it even though it's uncomfortable for me.
[00:16:59]And you know [00:17:00] what, they, even though they knew it was literally a pop-up, they'd be sitting there in their cubicle. Yup. I know Scott's coming today, it's my Wednesday and and waiting for the visit because it was important to them. They loved it. So even though it was, I turned it into a process because I had to, and there's
[00:17:18] Stacy Henry: [00:17:18] nothing wrong with that.
[00:17:20] And I love that. I love. So I love a good process and a good check box. So I'm loving the fact that you created a process out of this because you identified, okay, this is a weak route. This is something that I need to strengthen. You came up with your own way of doing it. And what that did as you were investing in others, uncomfortably for you at first, was it helped to grow the team relationship and the team trust and that team.
[00:17:53] Joy, if you will. There was probably, I would say there was probably people that were really joyful in that mindset of [00:18:00] I get to have this conversation. So I love it. Thank you for sharing that with me. I'm going to give that to, I'm going to shamefully steal it and give that to a few of my friends in engineering, who I'm currently working with.
[00:18:12] Scott Maderer: [00:18:12] And it's funny, but it's you can't turn anything into a process. Ultimately you can And again, it didn't devalue it. Because I also believe that I'm not going to lie to foe, but here's the thing. If I had left it to just quote my own desires or, I'm just going to work on this or I'm going to willpower it and it never would have happened.
[00:18:32]I know myself no, I would not have done it. I would have made an excuse. I would have let it fall off. I would have done it for a few weeks and then quit. That's what would happen?
[00:18:42] Stacy Henry: [00:18:42] You make me think of like the other side of that. And as a leader, you are investing in others, which is hugely applauded, but I think about the individual on the other side, who may be in the same shoes as as an introvert who at a [00:19:00] discomfort level of that relational engagement.
[00:19:04] And so I would challenge other folks to say, It's not just the responsibility of the leader to go out and engage. It's absolutely the responsibility of each individual to engage with the people on the team to build those relationships. Otherwise you'll find yourself like I did early in my career.
[00:19:25] Disengaged and feeling like, why am I not a part of the group when I actually had created that without even knowing
[00:19:34] Scott Maderer: [00:19:34] yeah. You'd left yourself out and not even realize you had, so you talk a little bit too about service and selfishness, and we talked some about that last week. Again, I think.
[00:19:45] That's another one. And we, and I could probably, we could do all of them but I want to just highlight a few how does that one work within an organization in terms of building, building that common root for the organization? What does that look like?
[00:19:59][00:20:00] Stacy Henry: [00:19:59] This is just my opinion. I believe that a service oriented mindset or said differently, servant leadership is the crux of how you demonstrate organizational roots. Like as a leader, both of self. And of others. Our plant should always be towards service of others. I think, I believe that's the gift that we are given as a leader and what happens as we're looking at, growing organizational roots and really strengthening that service orientation by leading with service.
[00:20:43] And that doesn't necessarily mean. Going out and doing formal service projects. It can, but it means how am I as an individual being of service to my, myself, my team, [00:21:00] and the greater organization. And when we ask that question purposely every day, we're strengthening that route and people will see that and they'll know it and they'll feel it.
[00:21:13] Otherwise we show up. And selfishness. And I think we've all probably either have Ben or worked with that leader or that person who was rooted in selfishness. And it's like grading, on sandpaper. It's tough and people don't want to work with him where they don't want to work with you, or if they have to, it's a have to not a want to.
[00:21:40] And so when we're. Really strongly in service of others. And truly we want to do that. That speaks so very loudly. And I've seen that catch wildfire in organizations that were high we're selfish [00:22:00] shift by a single person who made the choice to be of service and take that risk
[00:22:06]know. And I just want to expand on one thing. Sometimes it does feel like a risk to be an invest in others with service, because it leaves us a little bit exposed. And the question is selfish question that comes up is what happens if, what if this is wrong or what happens if something goes bad? And when we put that aside and say, it will, something will go wrong and we're willing to accept that.
[00:22:37] Being of service
[00:22:38] Scott Maderer: [00:22:38] to others. And it's, again, I part I'm part of a business networking, international BNI, and, the fundamental philosophy that BNI puts forward is givers gain. Which is, if I give and Zig Ziglar said it with, if you help enough people get what they want, then you inevitably get what you want, but that feels risky because it feels but if I help other people get what they want, [00:23:00] someone's going to take advantage of that. And the answer is probably, someone will, that's probably gonna happen, but enough people won't that it still doesn't matter in the bigger picture.
[00:23:10]Cause, cause not everyone is going to take advantage of that. There's always a few, that usually don't last on the longterm.
[00:23:17] Stacy Henry: [00:23:17] They don't and I've had people say to me the what if or what if somebody takes advantage exactly what you're saying? And I would say, yeah, life like that happens.
[00:23:29] And we can't control all of that. But what we can control is whether we're being in service and of service to other people, and that. Is what outranks in the long run. That's what comes back and the
[00:23:43] Scott Maderer: [00:23:43] bigger picture that comes back more often than it doesn't. You'll win out in the end, even if you, if, even if you risk it in the short term, it comes back in the long term.
[00:23:51] Yep. You can follow Stacy over on LinkedIn as Stacy, Henry Oh one, or you can find out more about [00:24:00] her on her website@centrebranch.com. Of course I'll have links to all of that over in the show notes as well. Stacy, is there anything else you'd like to share with the listener?
[00:24:11] Stacy Henry: [00:24:11] I just want to say, thank you so much to the listeners.
[00:24:14] And, I trust that you've taken a nugget or two through this, and I implore you to get really clear on your roots and then multiply that forward.
[00:24:23]Scott Maderer: [00:24:23] thanks so much for listening to the inspired stewardship podcast as a subscriber and listener, we challenge you to not just sit back and passively listen, but act on what you've heard and find a way to live your calling. If you enjoyed this episode please do us a favor. Go over to inspired stewardship.com/itunes rate.
[00:24:51] All one word iTunes rate. It'll take you through how to leave a rating and review and how to make sure you're [00:25:00] subscribed to the podcast so that you can get every episode as it comes out in your feed. Until next time, invest your time, your talent and your treasures. Develop your influence and impact. .