Better Team Culture Starts With You as a Leader

Team culture does not come from compensation packages, slogans, or performance metrics alone. It comes from the way people experience leadership every day. In this episode, we discuss why motivation often breaks down when people lack clarity, meaning, or trust in the environment around them.

Ryan and Heidi explain a framework they use with businesses, sports teams, and families that starts with identity and moves into mission, standards, and accountability. The conversation focuses on helping people understand their role, feel connected to the purpose of the environment, and know what is expected of them.

The episode also explores why younger generations respond differently to leadership, how psychological safety affects communication and performance, and why culture influences retention more than most leaders realize.

If this episode resonates, subscribe, share it with a leader or coach, and leave a review.

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Transcript

Welcome Back And The Big Thread

Heidi 0:00

Welcome back to the show.

Ryan 0:01

I'm back. You're back. We're back. Let's go.

Heidi 0:04

What are we talking about today?

Ryan 0:06

We're going to continue the conversation from last podcast. We had a uh a question come in about how to lead the younger generation that sparked us talking about uh some culture, how culture is more important than compensation. And uh we unpacked a little bit about basic human needs and the need for connection and role clarity and different things like that. So we're gonna continue that conversation. The thread is you are the environment. You, as the manager, as the leader, as the coach, as the parent, you are the environment. Starts with your nervous system, starts with how you explore who you are. So, this is one to me, the most important questions any of us can ask. Like, who am I? Right? And um, that's a whole thread we could go down, but we're not going to. So, who am I? Uh, really knowing that personal stance, that personal standard, that personal ethos of who you are and what you want to create as a culture. And then we talk about, we're gonna go into a little bit of just unpacking the importance of laying this foundation of culture before you set the performance aspect. All right. And um, that might actually open the door to us talking about the difference between performance mindset and learning mindset. So we'll see if we go down that thread too. But let's just start there. Let's start there and see what unpacks. A little bit of a tidbit about me. I I have so many of these ideas in my mind that I have really sometimes have to control myself from rabbit holing.

Heidi 1:42

Yeah.

Ryan 1:43

So it takes a ton of self-awareness, it takes restraint.

Heidi 1:47

It is an adventure. It's an adventure being with you.

Ryan 1:50

It's okay.

Heidi 1:50

I love being with you because we always I never know what's gonna happen.

Ryan 1:55

Yeah, nor do I. So um, so here we go. So here's the here's the thread I want to start with. We live in a performance culture, we live in a performance society. We think of performance first. We think of the goal first, we

Identity Before Metrics

Ryan 2:15

think of the outcome. The outcome. And you maybe have heard this if you're plugged into the idea of like sports psychology, people talk about all the time. Process over outcome. Well, culture over compensation is from our last conversation. I just came up with that. That's kind of fun. Uh, this is the foundation, this is the process, is identify your identity. And it's always amazing to me when I work with an environment and they truly stop all of the performance metrics for just a moment, or maybe a week or two, and they really focus on those questions. Who are we? So let's just start there. And who are you, who are we outside of the metrics? That's the question where we have to start. If you remove so let's just sports are always so much easier. If you if you remove the wins and the losses and the actual game, the stats, the stats and the game and all of the playing, the competing, all the performance metrics, right? Uh, the clock, the refs, the fans, everybody. If you removed the whole thing and said, who are we independent of our performance, of our execution, of our uh of the outcome, answer that question. Right? And it forces you to be like, well, why do we exist? Why do we exist beyond just, you know, as a family? Why do we exist beyond just paying the bills? Right?

Heidi 3:54

So what's the impact you're here to make?

Ryan 3:57

I'm gonna just I'm gonna go back and poke the initial question. Was like, okay, a chiropractor, tell me why. Who are you? What what got you into this?

Heidi 4:10

Yeah.

Ryan 4:11

What motivated you to become a chiropractor in the very beginning? So you have an office and you have employees, and maybe you have three or four other chiropractors working for you, or whatever that may be. I'm just that's the you know the theme I'm going with right now. Going awesome, why are we doing this? Who are we? Like, what is the bigger like question, the who the who am I question behind before you open the door?

Heidi 4:36

What's the impact? And then what is for you and who you're becoming, what is the challenge bringing forth?

Ryan 4:46

Okay, so that you just opened up another can of worms. So this is what I mean by you are the environment. So easily and so quickly, as a parent, as a coach, as a business owner, I very quickly think about the outcome I want my team to get, right? Certain revenue number, uh, I uh you know, a certain level of like awareness or success for my children, and I want them doing well in school and all the things. But if we come back to this theme that is true beyond true, that our nervous system, who are we, creates our culture and the environment. So that's the first piece that we have to be get really, really clear about if we're going to create something intentional. So be able to answer that question.

Heidi 5:33

So we're flipping it inside out, flipping it inside out. Something we call heart first.

Ryan 5:37

Well, I guess, oh wow, look at that popping

The Culture Pyramid Framework

Ryan 5:40

up. It's heartfirst. It's you. Start at home. We did this with our family. When we started doing this with teams, with organizations, we're like, well, we gotta be authentic, we gotta be integritous.

Heidi 5:51

So this is our what we like to call this our home team.

Ryan 5:54

Our home team. And we create what's called a pyramid. A pyramid which has identity and then visionslash mission, which whatever word you like better there to me, I could care less, then standards that which we operate in, that are observable behaviors, and then we can talk about goals. So, like I started the conversation with most people go into building a business and be like, okay, well, this is what we do.

Heidi 6:23

Yeah, or this is the goal.

Ryan 6:25

And we want to generate X, and how many clients or how many houses do we have to paint to generate that deal, right? So, whatever market that you're in, be able to answer that question first. Who are you as an individual, as the leader? You better know that because your nervous system, how you operate, is going to create the type of environment uh that either it's either going to create motivation or it's going to diminish it based upon the environment, based upon the culture. Does that make sense?

Heidi 7:02

Yeah, I think those in your orbit can feel your intentions and your energy, and so you have to get to a clean place with all of that first before you start. Um before you can have a positive impact on other people, you have to get right with yourself in terms of your identity and uh being in integrity. Yeah. Yeah. And it's not always easy to do. Uh we fail many times.

Ryan 7:28

And we can't all the time. We gotta go from assumption, right? To to to making sure that we are clearly communicating. Being stated, like we come into an environment and we just assume that people know. Like, well, this is what we're doing here. So you should know how to operate, so you should know how to treat people, so you should know how to lead, so you should know how to execute, so you should know how to communicate, so you should know, right? We think our kids grow up that you they should just know. Why don't they just but they have to have that center pole of identity, and you can bring faith into this conversation. That's what even if you look at our logo, heart first, there's little prayer hands. Like we're very spiritually driven human beings, there's something greater than us. So even as you take that identity, and here's the other piece with the identity component that we can talk about later, is if your identity is in something bigger than just the outcome or the performance, it's going to allow for you to operate in a way more flexible way that drives well-being. And well-being and performance are interconnected into one. And if we're more flexible with how we can see how we can create the actual experience and the impact we want to make, it's going to make us to be more adaptable, which is going to make us feel safer. It's going to make our nervous system feel safer. It doesn't have to be this one specific way for us to live our identity. We can live our identity in multiple different ways.

Heidi 9:07

Yeah, absolutely. I just was actually looking at my coffee cup. It on the inside of the coffee cup, it says progress over perfection. And that is that idea that we can be flexible in how things show up. We can't be so rigid with like a specific goal or outcome that we're wanting to have. And when we do that, when we focus on, I'm just going to say beingness, who you're being in the world, and that coming from inside, from her first, and then allowing that signal to um, for lack of a better term, influence those around you. You're going to find yourself actually in a better place than you would have been had you been focused on yourself as the center of the universe. Like we have to be able to broaden our viewpoint to include what's best for everyone else as well. But we first we need to start with knowing who we are and what we stand for.

Ryan 10:06

Yeah. Because I mean, we go down

Nervous System Signals And Fit

Ryan 10:10

a like frequency vibrational conversation. We are we're vibrations as human beings. My nervous system is vibrating, it's it's sending out signals. You are consciously or unconsciously in my environment, picking up on that signal or vibration. And if it's not a vibrational match, right, whether you're looking for that frequency or vibration, like that's what attracts you to me as a as I'm a business owner and you're an employee, let's say, for a moment, right? And like that's the energy I'm looking for. That's the environment I'm looking for. That's the vibration I'm attracted to. The same thing works when, like we we mentioned in the last podcast, I think that we just recently had lost an employee who was only with us for a couple weeks. What that tells me is one or two things like I mentioned in the last podcast, but I reflected upon it a little bit more and I thought either we didn't do a good enough job of of really illustrating our environment and our culture, or that person came into it and realized, hmm, I'm not what I'm looking for. I'm not a fit here. So their vibration didn't match ours, which could mean either way, good or bad, right? But if it's not a match, you don't belong. You want to create such clarity of the identity of who you are and what you're creating beyond outcome that it attracts and or repels right to create the culture you want to create. It attracts the recruit, it attracts the employee, it attracts the friends for your kids to come into your home. It repels the ones that do not fit. The people who are like, oh, and they might even go in some sort of like, oh, it's not worth it or whatever, right? You know what I mean? But I don't love it anymore, I don't love the game anymore, I'm I'm gonna go find something else to do. They might have whatever story they're gonna have, but it's fundamentally because there's not a vibrational match.

Heidi 12:06

Yep.

Ryan 12:06

There's not a vibrational match. So identify that identity. And then the next step, once you have identity, identity is how do we live it? If we lived this identity a hundred percent authentically, like we lived it out, right? If you lived that personal identity, which we're not gonna be perfect, I fall short all the time. But I'm attempting to live in integrity with the identity that I have formulated that is rooted in a very deep spiritual conversation and believing there's something much greater at work than I, then if I live it, what is the vision? What's the headline if someone were to write a an article, right? Or write a magazine uh article or whatever.

Heidi 12:55

I was just doing this with a client.

Ryan 12:56

Were you?

Heidi 12:57

I said, what if your life was a movie? What would the title be? Exactly. And then who would you be in that movie?

Ryan 13:03

Yeah, would you be the hero?

Heidi 13:05

Yeah.

Ryan 13:05

Yeah. And what role what role would you play? Yeah, what part would you play? So if we live this out as a family, if we live out this identity, if we all live our personal identities and ethos and we live out that identity, man, what do we create? What's the vision? What comes alive? Right? Because we're living that. Create a headline, right? What's the mission behind that identity? So vision and mission to me are interchangeable. Some people like one word more than the other. Uh, you know, to me, it's the same, right? Um, so knowing what we're actually engaging in. So let me give you an example, right? And I'm not gonna go word for word here, but our residential painting company, we're an environment of growth, right? Where we truly want to create an environment where it's best for everybody, where they be people, people's lives are better because they came in contact with that company.

Heidi 14:03

100%. Right.

Ryan 14:04

The mission is very clear to raise the standard of service industry companies of how they treat their employees, of how they treat their customers. And we just had a a review back just the other day that they actually said that. In the review, they said they're changing, they're raising the standard of customer service, which legitimately gave me chills. Just gave me chills just now to say that back.

Vision Headlines And A Real Example

Ryan 14:30

If we were to read that whole review, you would you would you would you would if you read that review, which is I think it's number like 264 five-star reviews on Google for that company, you would see the identity.

Heidi 14:43

Yeah.

Ryan 14:43

You would see the mission, and you would even see the standards that we have identified. So once you identify the identity, you identify the mission, the vision, and you do this together, right? This is where I think something too, where leaders think, well, that's my job to just to identify it and then present it. Here it is, here's who we are. Here's the mission, here's the vision. And as a visionary, I've done this, I've made this mistake. Here's the standards, now go live them. Versus making it a conversation, sitting down with your family, sitting down with your team, sitting down with your leaders and organization, sitting down with your sports team, and being like, Who are we? Why are we here? What what what's the vision? What's the headline? Right? I once I once took a team through this. It took us about four weeks worth of meeting for about 45 minutes to an hour per week to flush out the entire pyramid of identity, mission, standards, and then we set goals.

Heidi 15:39

Powerful.

Ryan 15:39

Yeah. So then the question becomes, once you have the identity and the mission and the vision, then it's what are the standards that the be the observable behaviors that we're gonna operate from that's going to bring those to life, that's going to bring the vision, the mission to life, and that's going to that's going to make it so we automatically spontaneously live this identity that we've identified.

Heidi 16:04

Why do I want to make everything a cycle? Because what I see in that is you you identify, right? You get the identity piece, and then the the mission or vision, and then now you have the standards, the observable uh behaviors or habits that you're doing, and that feeds right back into the identity. It's like that loop for an organization, for a team, for a family, for an individual, can actually perpetuate whatever self-concept that leader or organization has in in the way of like a supportive or a damaging loop.

Ryan 16:42

It's a it's a mirror.

Heidi 16:43

Yeah.

Ryan 16:43

It's a mirror.

Heidi 16:44

I just like we're thinking cyclical like that.

Ryan 16:47

We say that in our program, one of the very first things we talk about is life is a mirror. So, like if you're not getting the outcome or the the or the the results, but also if they're if the people in your environment aren't having the impact and the experience that you intend, to me, I'm way more about impact over outcome, right? Because I believe the impact and the environment you create will create the outcomes that you desire. Even the idea that you said a moment ago, perfection, what did you say? Prop progress over perfection. Like, I love the idea of process over outcome, but I'm I'm way more focused on like, yeah, process, yes, but progress, the pursuit of something, we're pursuing something, we're pursuing this identity, we're pursuing this vision, mission, we're pursuing to live these standards, we're not gonna meet them all the time. And how are we progressing within that? Which becomes part of the once you identify the identity and the mission, the vision, the standards, then it becomes how are you communicating? What type of we call feedback loops? Communication are you creating that makes it to where we're saying, yes, this is it, great job, and this is where we're falling short. We need to keep growing. And that be makes a culture, a living, breathing reinvention. And the moment that you feel like you're struggling to reinforce or uphold those type of standards, you're struggling with the accountability around that, that's when I would say you come back and question the start. You come back and question the identity, you come back and question that piece, you come back and question the mission, the vision, you come back and question those things, you get reconnected to those things, you rewrite the standards, you rework those, you re-communicate those, and you figure out how we can communicate effectively to make sure that the environment feels safe to actually go out and take the risks to explore, to grow, right? Because again, this whole entire podcast kind of series that we're unpacking here started from the conversation of how do we motivate younger generation? How do we get people for retention? Well, this is it. If they feel like they know what they're a part of, they know the mission, the vision behind it, and they know the standards that which they operate within that type of structure makes somebody feel safe. They know if I stop, they know where the line is. I do it, I try to do the best job I can with my kids with this. Like, here's the standards inside

Standards Accountability And Safe Feedback

Ryan 19:10

of that box. Freedom. Touch the line that we have identified together that's outside of that, and you're gonna get zapped. We're gonna know, you're gonna know that that's the line we don't cross. That's the that's what's not okay. Let's come back over here and make it playful, yeah. Make it joyful, make it you know, um uh even blissful, whatever, right? Challenging, hard.

Heidi 19:40

Within that, fall short. Within that, learn the lessons, within that fail good, right? Like exactly what we what we say is like within that ethos, go out and test things, take risks, do it, but know why you're doing it.

Ryan 19:59

Yeah, so then so then the next step, once we've identified the identity, the mission, the vision, standards, how we hold each other accountable to them. And there's a lot, I mean I'm I'm skipping over this.

Heidi 20:09

This is it's a big topic.

Ryan 20:10

This is weeks worth of content. Uh, if I were to actually present it to a team, right? Because you have to know how you're gonna communicate. You have to have then you have to know how to communicate. And so there's some other things there, but then then set the goals that you have for the organization, team, corporation, whatever, and then set the goals for the person from that so they know where they live inside of that pyramid, that cultural pyramid of identity, mission, vision, standards, accountability protocol, right? If I know my role, then it comes down to how well am I doing it, executing it. If there is not clarity around my role, around how I'm held accountable to it, that is going to create an environment where it lacks meaning. Right. And if you're able, again, I'm using the chiropractor, let's go back to that for a moment. Like if you are looking for someone

Role Clarity Creates Meaning At Work

Ryan 21:10

to run your front office, let's say, and it's just them answering the phones and booking appointments, sending, you know, billings, billings and and dealing with insurance and whatever, it's gonna feel rather meaningless. And they're probably not gonna see the value in it and feel like they're not being compensated appropriately or whatever, right? And uh, and and or you know, the money is not gonna be enough to motivate them. But if they feel like they're a part of something, something special with a clear identity and a mission, and they feel like they're playing a role in that. Like they know how, like, wow, if I don't do this, then that can't happen. And then these people aren't gonna be out of suffering. Like, these people are suffering, physically suffering, and they come into This office and and their source of safety and re and an escape from that suffering is this office. And I'm the one who is helping to manage to get as many people as possible through these doors so we can help more people. And all of us, I mean, I'm vibrating right now, just even talking about this. I'm not a chiropractor. But like I'm thinking to myself, like, yeah, yes, I want to be a part of that. Yes, I want to own that. I want to master that.

Heidi 22:30

But that's a huge difference from the leadership perspective, too, because the the mission of the office could be let's get as many people in the door to make as much rev ex revenue, right? That's the that could be someone's goal. Um, or it could be something much deeper than that, like you said, helping relieve suffering, getting people to feel better. And when people feel like they're part of something bigger like that, it brings the meaning.

Ryan 22:55

Well, with that thread, Heidi, that's wonderful. Let's unpack it just a little bit more. We're gonna do like two or three more minutes here, and then we're gonna go to the next episode. When you're hiring somebody, are you thinking about how that's gonna create comfort for yourself?

Hire For Growth Not Comfort

Ryan 23:10

How you're gonna get to delegate certain things, you're not gonna have to answer the phones anymore. All right, or are you thinking about okay, how can I create the best possible environment for this role that I'm hiring for? And how can that person grow in that role?

unknown 23:26

Right?

Ryan 23:27

How can I make it about growth for them? Right? Because when I'm talking to young people and they ask for advice on what they should do next in life, I say pursue growth. Find the thing that creates the most amount of resistance and pursue it. Approach it, go get it, challenge yourself, right? Don't try to don't seek comfort. And this should be true for all of us. I just one of the conversations that we had with our with our team, when I say team for our team, I'm talking about our painting company, that's another company that we own. With them, I made them see the entire vision, the hierarchy of leadership, and how the person who's brand new starting that day or they're one day old, how they're just as important to that mission, to the vision of where we're going and who we're becoming and how we operate, and how we change the standard in the service industry, and how that person is just as important as the person at the top who's managing the whole entire thing. Because without that person who just came in who's making it so possible for us to expand to a fifth crew, that it doesn't give the other person in the leadership role of quality control or whatever that is. It doesn't give them that role. That role doesn't exist without the person there. You are a coach without the athlete. There is no team. You're not a business owner without the employees, you're not a parent without the child. Right. And yet, but we we take on this power stance and authority, right? That says, well, just do the job because I said to. That's just the job. Just be grateful for it. Versus, I want you to be a part of something. I want you to be a part of something special. Here's who we are, here's what we're embarking upon, here's how we operate, here's your role in that. And if you master that role, guess what? That means we're all gonna grow. And what's good for you is good for me. Therefore, then that's gonna turn into opportunity for you, either in this environment or in the next. I want to know that people or whoever are a part of my culture that I'm that I build, means that they are setting themselves up to either grow in that culture or the next opportunity becomes possible for them because of who they became. And if you can sell that, then the compensation becomes fourth or fifth on their list of priorities, right? That's what's going to create retention. That's what's going to be you vibrating at a frequency that attracts the right people and that keeps the right people and it makes sure that we're all growing. And with that thread, one more quick thing that has popped in my mind. When I'm hiring for that role, how am I creating that role to where they're gonna grow and the opportunity for them? But also, am I trying to pursue comfort by hiring that role? Or is that a decision for me to challenge myself in new and different ways? For me to delegate something and for me to be able to then go, okay, how can I get better at mastering my role? So not only am I creating or hiring or building a team where it's best for those in that environment, the employee, the athlete, whoever, but I'm also taking complete ownership and living my own personal ethos to make sure that I am pursuing growth, which means usually pursuing some form of discomfort. Right? So yeah. Any last any last thoughts, Heidi? Takeaways? Way to wrap it up?

Heidi 27:02

Uh just a great conversation. I'm excited to continue it on in the next episode. But if you're listening and you have some feedback for us, if there's something that sparked some curiosity, question, uh we want you to text us. We have a link in the show notes that you can text us directly. You can leave

Listener Messages And Closing Reminder

Heidi 27:20

us a voicemail if there's a topic that you would like to hear about, if there's a question or a comment or feedback around this episode or another, uh, just send us a message. We'd love to interact with you and hear from you. And we just might mention anonymously if you choose your comment or question here on the show.

Ryan 27:39

Semi-anonymously.

Heidi 27:40

Yeah.

Ryan 27:42

Yeah. Thank you so much for listening. And uh just remember culture is created by choice, intentional choice, not by chance.

Heidi 27:51

Kind of starts with it. See you next time.