How Great Leaders RESET A Culture // Andy Elliott - Andy Elliott's Elite Mindset Motivation and Sales Training

Summary4 min read

Podcast Summary: Andy Elliott's Elite Mindset Motivation and Sales Training

Episode: How Great Leaders RESET A Culture
Release Date: November 25, 2024

Introduction

In the episode titled "How Great Leaders RESET A Culture," Andy Elliott delves deep into the dynamics of leadership and organizational culture. As the CEO of The Elliott Group, Andy leverages his extensive experience in training sales professionals worldwide to illustrate the pivotal role leaders play in shaping and transforming company culture. This episode serves as both a motivational guide and a practical roadmap for leaders aiming to elevate their teams to unprecedented levels of performance and cohesion.

Key Discussion Points

1. The Power of Leadership in Culture Transformation

Andy emphasizes that the onus of resetting a company's culture lies squarely on the shoulders of its leader. He begins by asserting, "Who's in charge? Who's the leader? You are. You're in charge" (00:00). This declaration sets the tone for the episode, highlighting the indispensable role leaders play in initiating and sustaining cultural change.

2. The Importance of Apologizing and Building Trust

A cornerstone of Andy's approach is the necessity for leaders to acknowledge past shortcomings. He provides a compelling example of how a leader can apologize to their team to foster trust and openness:

"I want to apologize, first of all to everybody here. I want to say I'm sorry... I've been doing a lot of reflecting... I want to ask you guys if you'll forgive me..." (04:30)

This vulnerability not only humanizes the leader but also paves the way for a more authentic and resilient team dynamic.

3. Self-Correction as a Catalyst for Change

Andy stresses that transformative change begins with self-correction. Leaders must first adjust their behaviors and mindsets before expecting their teams to follow suit. He states, "You must self correct yourself in front of them. Reset the culture, reset the bar" (12:15). This approach ensures that cultural shifts are rooted in genuine improvement rather than superficial mandates.

4. Setting and Upholding New Standards and Core Values

A significant portion of the discussion revolves around establishing and maintaining new standards. Andy suggests creating tangible reminders of these values, such as writing them on the wall or using them as screensavers, to keep the team aligned and accountable:

"We're going to live by these values together and we're going to push each other... to keep us in line with these new standards." (18:45)

This strategy fosters a shared sense of purpose and continuous improvement among team members.

5. Encouraging Team Accountability and Personal Growth

Andy advocates for a culture where accountability is mutual and ego-free. Leaders should empower their teams to hold each other accountable, including holding themselves accountable to one another. He offers a personal commitment to this ethos:

"If I fall out of line with one of these standards, I want you to tell me, and I will say, thank you, I owe you, and I will change." (23:10)

This reciprocal accountability reinforces a unified and committed team environment.

6. The Role of Coaching and Higher-Level Accountability

In the latter part of the episode, Andy underscores the importance of coaching and higher-level accountability in achieving sustained success. He invites listeners to engage in one-on-one coaching to further their personal and professional development:

"Everybody needs a coach, a higher level of accountability to go to the next level." (28:20)

This call to action encourages continuous growth and the pursuit of excellence both individually and collectively.

Notable Quotes

Leadership Responsibility:
"Who's in charge? Who's the leader? You are. You're in charge." — Andy Elliott (00:00)
Apology and Trust-Building:
"I want to apologize, first of all to everybody here. I want to say I'm sorry... I want to ask you guys if you'll forgive me..." — Andy Elliott (04:30)
Self-Correction for Cultural Reset:
"You must self correct yourself in front of them. Reset the culture, reset the bar." — Andy Elliott (12:15)
Establishing Core Values:
"We're going to live by these values together and we're going to push each other... to keep us in line with these new standards." — Andy Elliott (18:45)
Mutual Accountability:
"If I fall out of line with one of these standards, I want you to tell me, and I will say, thank you, I owe you, and I will change." — Andy Elliott (23:10)
Importance of Coaching:
"Everybody needs a coach, a higher level of accountability to go to the next level." — Andy Elliott (28:20)

Conclusion

In "How Great Leaders RESET A Culture," Andy Elliott masterfully outlines the essential steps leaders must take to transform their organizational culture. From taking personal responsibility and apologizing to setting new standards and fostering mutual accountability, Andy provides a comprehensive framework for leaders aspiring to elevate their teams. His emphasis on continuous self-improvement and the value of coaching underscores the perpetual journey of leadership excellence. This episode is a must-listen for anyone committed to driving meaningful and lasting change within their organization.

Timestamps

00:00 – Introduction to leadership responsibility
04:30 – Apologizing to the team
12:15 – Importance of self-correction
18:45 – Setting new standards and core values
23:10 – Encouraging mutual accountability
28:20 – The role of coaching and accountability in growth

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Transcript1 lines

[00:00]
A
Okay, guys, in this video, I want to talk to you about how to create a culture that's so crazy that literally you can have a company that runs. That's so amazing. When people walk in and they see it, they say, this has got to be a cult. I've never seen anything like this before. They don't know what to say because for the first time they've seen something and they can never forget it again. And they can. They can't unsee it because some of you right now listen to me. You've got a team right now. You may have 20 people and you're watching this and you're a great leader. And you're like, man, I'm going to go to the next level. Man, I'm ready to go. Listen, when you go back to your team and you watch this and you say, all right, guys, we're not good enough. We got to go to another level. We got to do this. You know what they're going to do? They're going to be like, dude, who the hell are you to tell us this? You've been this person the whole time. All of a sudden you watch a training video and now this is the life that you want. No ways. So can I talk to you about how to self correct a culture first? Okay, number one, who's in charge? Who's the leader? You are. You're in charge. Now, if you're in charge, who's the person that needs to be apologizing for the culture that currently exists? You are. Can I show you? It goes like this. Hey, guys. Hey. Let's all have a meeting. Number one, I want to talk to you guys. This is a meeting that's going to be a little different than some of the meetings that we had before. You may find a different tone with me. You may look in my eyes. You may see a different person. It's because I woke up and I had an awakening. And I just want to apologize, first of all to everybody here. I want to say I'm sorry. I'm sorry because you guys are an amazing team. You guys are incredible, and you guys are great. And I haven't been the leader that I should be for you guys. Like, I know that, like, I've been doing a lot of reflecting. I've been doing a lot of looking in the mirror and I've been doing a lot of, like, self developing, and I've spent some money on myself now and training and studying leadership. And I'm not anywhere near where I want to be, but I'M going to be. And I want to ask you guys if you'll forgive me and if I can look at all you guys in the eyes and you guys will accept my apology for not being the best version of me for you, will you guys forgive me? I want you to look at me and I want you to understand I'm dead serious when I say this. It's embarrassing for me to do this. It's very humbling for me to do this, but it's very important for me to do this. The reason why is because I think that our company is a goldmine. Matter of fact, I know it is. And I know that all of you here are capable of so much more. I'm looking at you, Dan. Dan, you're amazing. The way that you talk to people and then I'm looking at where you're at, like production wise. And Dan, you're the best in the game. I know you are. Your heart's in the right place. You love people. I just haven't spent any time developing you. I haven't spent any time coaching you. You know, Dan, when is the last time I positively peer pressured you to reach for more? When's the last time we've sat down one on ones? Dan, I've done so many things wrong with you and your potential is so high. I look at all you guys right now and I just realized that I am blessed with the greatest team. We have the greatest foundation in the world. We are ready to build a house as long as the leader is ready. Okay? Because everything falls and rises on the leader. So I want to say, number one, I'm sorry and thank you guys. Thank you guys for hearing me out there. Now, number two, stop getting distracted. Are you ready to turn your annual income into your monthly income? If you want to make more money in 2025 than ever before, you want to recreate your life, you want to put a financial fence around your family, you're ready to change. You got to be like my boy Tommy here. He's training on the Elliot training academy. Listen, it takes a couple things. Number one, life coaching, leadership training. The quality of your life will always come down to the level of your leadership. So the life that you have now is because the leader that you are, it's time to change. If you're ready to change your life. Download now. I want to ask for permission. Can I ask for permission when I go to push myself, can I ask for permission? Since you guys have so much potential, is it okay if I push you guys to your Potential and your standard. And can we all together as a team and a company, commit to a new level of development? Can we all together positively peer pressure each other to be better every day for our families, for each other, for our kids, for our wives, for our husbands and for our customers? Can we. Can we do that? Who's with me? Raise your hand. Everybody's gonna raise their hand. What did I just do? I just reset the culture. One conversation, I apologize. And I said that this is my fault. Now, listen, I need you to do me a favor. I need you to rewatch this video. I need you to watch it probably 400 times until you understand exactly how I framed the room, to understand my empathy, my empathy for, number one, the mistake that I made and that it disgusts me. But number two, I realize it's not about who I am. It's about who I'm becoming. So I've made the decision which everything changes with decisions. Your future that you have, the life you have now is you have because based off the decisions you made yesterday and life you'll have tomorrow. And your future is based on the decisions you make right now. So everything has to do with decisions. So you're showing your team that you make a decision right now, right, to change and that. Tell them. It's humiliating. It really is. And there's like, no, don't be embarrassed. You want them to say, oh, don't be. No, I am embarrassed because I am so much better than this and I want so much more for you guys. And I don't know where I got lost along the way, guys. I don't know where I conformed. I don't know how I let mediocrity crawl on me. I don't know how I let society tell me I wasn't worth anymore. I don't know if it was me internally just not believing in me anymore. I don't know. But I know that it ends today. And I made that decision. And I want to say I'm sorry because you guys deserve better. But now, now I'm going to become a great leader now. Now I want to ask for permission as I go on this journey to greatness, as I go on this journey to change, as we go on this journey to build this great company. I want to ask for permission to positively peer pressure you guys while I do it myself with you guys, to grow with me. Who in here wants to max out their potential when they raise their hand? See, now all of a sudden, people like, oh, dude, I'm in. Yeah, I Want to do that too. You see that? You know why? Because literally you're not getting onto them. You don't have the right to get onto them right now. You don't have the right to self correct them right now. You must self correct yourself in front of them. Reset the culture, reset the bar. Empathy comes in, they forgive you. We all grow. Okay? Also, couples day, a couple days down the road, you also explain to them that moving forward, we are going to live by these standards, these core values. You may even say, hey, guys, we're going to cut off work an hour late or an hour early, and we're going to write down some core values and things that we need to stand by in our company that we can keep as reminders. I want to build one on the wall. We're going to use them as screensavers on our phones, and we're going to live by these values together and we're going to push each other. And if somebody's not following the standard, I want us to not have any ego. I want us to give each other permission to hold each other accountable, to keep us in line with these new standards. And listen, I give you all permission right now. If I fall out of line with one of these standards, I want you to tell me, and I will say, thank you, I owe you, and I will change. That's how to reset a culture, guys. By the way, if you don't change, and I mean, like, once I reset the culture, I have to change. Because now everybody's made the decision to change, but they're looking at me and they're like, now is he really going to change? If you go right back to being the same you after this meeting, they will go back to being the same. And you can't reset the culture twice. You only get one crack at it, okay? Or you got to get fired and someone else got to come in. You get one shot, okay? You know Eminem song, you got one shot. Got one shot. But once you make the commitment to self develop and change, you're going to do it right, okay? So you have nothing to worry about. And that's why you build this with your with your team. So, hey, guys, looks like you made it to the end of the video. You're the true 0.0001 percenters. Look, I know 1 percenters that can make it halfway through the video, but making it all the way through, you guys are the best. Now here's what I'd like to do. Number one, I want to get closer to you. The fact that you made it all the way through the video, you're like, man, dude, I want to roll with this guy. Okay? So I need to connect with you down below. There's a description box on this YouTube video. There's a link. It says, coach with me, one on one. Okay? If you'll go and you'll enter your information, I'll reach out to you in the next 24 hours. You can tell me what you need, help with, what your goals are, and we will crush it together. I would love to help you guys go to the next level in life. You can tell I'm changing my life really fast, and I know that you guys want the same thing. I'd love to go with you on that journey. So right now, if you'd like to partner with me, team with me, if you want me to help coach you and push you, Everybody needs a coach, a higher level of accountability to go to the next level. Go to the description box below. Click on the link, fill out your information. I'll talk to you in the next 24 hours. Let's kill it.