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Because you can't lead a department, accompany people from tactics alone. At some point, you have to lift your head up and ask, like, am I building the right thing? Is this the right team to get me there? Do I even know where I'm going? And so, like, understanding, strategy, vision, people, talent. That is the Unlock the growth. What's up, guys? Welcome back to Build. And today I want to share with you five of my takeaways over the last. To say it was like, two or three weeks from doing quarterly review, doing performance reviews, and having just different conversations with people in my company. So this is definitely more a what's top of mind for me. But I really wanted to crystallize the things that I've noticed, the things that I was teaching other people, and the things that I learned in the last few weeks so that you can apply it for yourself as well. The first lesson I wanted to share with you guys is one that comes from one of my performance reviews I was doing with somebody in my company. And they asked me a question that I didn't realize until after why I had a hard time answering. Because essentially we were talking about between myself and that person was a situation that they needed to grow through, right? It's like, how can you grow through this situation? Let's look at how you've approached these in the past, and let's look at how this is a pattern and what we can do now to approach it differently. And after we'd gotten through talking about, like, here's the things we're doing in this situation, here's how we're going to approach it differently, this person asked me, they said, well, what do you think I can do to develop? And I felt bad because I didn't have, like a, oh, read this book or take this course or, like, you know, listen to more of my content. But I sat there with it, and I was like, well, this is developing. And I think it's interesting because I know exactly what they're looking for. Which is like. It's funny because, like, even for myself, I can get caught up in feeling, like, when I'm consuming things, when I'm taking courses, when I'm doing that, I'm learning. But learning means that you're in the same situation and you exhibit a new behavior. And so the best learning for that person would be approaching the situation differently this time. And that means that they'd learned. But I think we're taught that developing comes from, you know, consuming books, podcasts, you know, going to talks, going to conferences. But What I've realized over time is that development is actually what happens when you act, not when you read. And so if you think about it, you know, like reading a book, listening to a podcast, you know, like, what you're doing right now, all of those things are inputs, but development is actually an output. It's what changes because of your effort, changing, you know, feedback, failure, and uncomfortable conversation. That is all development. And I really think it comes down to this one thing that I was really thinking about, which is, like, you don't become a better leader or a better manager or a better contributor by watching somebody else do it right? You become one when you risk being okay, getting it wrong. That's it. And it goes to a lot of the conversations I had over the last few weeks with people about their development in our company, about where they want to go with their careers. And for a lot of people, what I realized is, like, the only reason they're not going to succeed is because they're so afraid of getting it wrong. They're afraid of looking stupid. They're afraid of thinking, oh, gosh, what is Alex and Layla going to think of me? They're afraid of what is my team going to think of me? What are people like? It's all this fake drama we make up, right? I think that it kind of comes down to understanding this one point, which is like, you don't need more frameworks. You don't need more information. You need to get more reps in. And the faster that you can get those reps in, the faster you learn the lesson. So, for example, like, I think the hardest lessons to learn are the ones that it's because they're less frequent, right? Because then we have less reps we can put in. It's like, well, if you've only fired three people in your career, and you come to me and say, like, why am I so bad at firing people? I'd be like, well, how many people you fired? They're like, three. I'm like, okay, well, that's why, like, the position I'm in, I'm exposed to having to make those decisions all the time. But that being said, I think that a great question that we can ask ourselves is. And I think this is actually, like, what a lot of people do. What are you avoiding doing? By reading more about it, by consuming more, by, quote, learning more. Because I think a lot of times we fool ourselves and we say, like, no, I'm learning more before I. It's like, you don't. You don't get Ready until you do the thing. Like, you become ready by doing it. And so you don't get ready to do something, you become ready by doing the thing. And this goes for any skill. It doesn't happen when you're watching the game. It happens when you're on the field. And so if you're looking to get better at a skill, really think about this. Like, how much time have you spent reading something? How much time you spent watching something? How much time have you spent going to courses, mastering all these things? And then ask yourself, how much better have you gotten at the skill? Like, people ask me all the time. They're like, where have you learned all this? I'm like, listen, I don't know. I don't know. Like, I don't know how to say this in any other way. Like, it's not that I read a ton. It's that I do a ton. And I learn from the feedback I get from my environment. How did that situation go? Did it come to the outcome I wanted? Did I get the ideal outcome? If not, how can I change my behavior? And I just ask myself those questions. I learn way more by taking more reps than I do by reading or learning or listening to any gurus. And the same is for you, is like, that is where the development comes from. It's not from opening up a book or even listening to my podcast. Like, if you listen to my podcast, but your behavior hasn't changed and you don't see a difference in your business. Fucking turn it off. Go learn. Go do some shit. Because, like, you have to work. Like, you have to do things to develop, right? And of course, like, this person who asked me, this is one of the hardest workers I know. So that wasn't the issue, but I understood it was just their frame about it that was. It was just a false frame. Because we think that learning comes from reading books, courses, et cetera, but learning comes from doing the thing. So that was my first takeaway. Now, my second takeaway was that tactical excellence only gets you so far. Now, this is something that I know, but it's. It's. I didn't realize how many people you know in my company and that follow me. Don't. Don't get this. And I'll tell you where it came from, is that I was speaking to one person. They were talking about their boss, and their boss is amazing, critical thinker, a great leader, you know, very thoughtful, proactive, you know, can paint the vision of the feet, like, all these things. But they made a comment about how their boss can't do their job better than them. And so because of that, they have a hard time listening to them. And I'm going to be really honest, the first thing that came to my mind is like, this is why you're not in your boss's position. Like, you're not in your boss's position because you think that your boss should be better at your tactical skills than you. But that's not their job. You have separate jobs. The job of the person above this person was like, paint the vision, be proactive, do the planning for what tech, what people, what processes, what resources get us ahead, you know, solve problems. Or I would say instead of solving problems, they should be preventing problems. Right? And this person is just in an execution seat. But we were talking about why they're not in the other seat, and it's like they couldn't even see past it because they're so tactical that they only respect people who have tactics. And it's funny because, like, for me, this is what I've realized more and over time is like, the smaller the business owner, the smaller the entrepreneur, the less mature the person in the company, the more they value tactics. Because they think, well, if this person is much better than me, they should know these tactics. It's like, yes, but at some point the tactics don't matter. And I know a lot of people, don't get me wrong, that have gotten really far being exceptional tacticians, you know, because they get a lot of shit done. But the truth to that is that they also, the fact that they're so tactical is what caps them. Because you can't lead a department, accompany people from tactics alone. At some point you have to lift your head up and ask, like, am I building the right thing? Is this the right team to get me there? Do I even know where I'm going? And so like, understanding strategy, vision, people, talent, that is the unlock to growth. And I think the reason a lot of people avoid this, whether they know it or not, is because it's so much more gratifying to be tactical. It is. I remember, I mean, like, I loved when I was making sales, when I was writing copy, when I was, you know, doing the things myself. It's super gratifying because I get gratification in the moment, but that's not going to take my business somewhere easy go. And so, you know, for example, we had one of our portfolio CEOs, and she was great at operations, but growth in her company stalled. Now why did it stall? Because she was Operating the machine, not designing the machine. So once I explained to her, I was like, dude, you can't run the machine, you've got to design the machine. She started thinking like a strategic contributor in the business again. And that's when things started moving because she said, oh, I get it now. Like, I literally have a job. And it's like your job as the head of the department or the head of the company, me, is to build something that can operate without you. Like, that is the hallmark of somebody who's a great leader. I had, I want to say, three plus conversations with people over the last couple weeks where they're asking me where they can grow and they think it's in the tactical, they think it's being a better technician. And for a lot of them, I said, I was like, listen, your growth, there's zero growth for you over there. Because the position you're in now, where you want to get in this company, like, I don't give a if you know more tactics. I don't give a if you know more about this. Like, I give a shit what kind of person are you? How do you show up for the team? Do people look up to you? Do people respect you? Can you get other people to learn tactics? Can you get other people to be leaders? That is a more valuable skillset is much harder because why? Leadership is a million tactic tactics bundled together. Whereas a tactic is just one single thing and oftentimes it's unrelated to a skill that's going to drive the company forward. And so at the end of the day, I think a really good way to ask yourself if you're focused on the right stuff, if you're in a position where you are not getting paid to be tactical, right? Where if you're in a position where you're being paid to be a leader, you're being paid or you're getting paid by your business to grow the business is to ask yourself. It's to ask yourself, where do I spend my time? Am I spending my time constantly on tactical things like audit your calendar, like, what does it actually go towards? Because for me, I'm like, okay, I want lots of time spent on strategy and vision. Are we going in the right place? Do we know where we're going? Do we need to adjust it? Like, are we course cracking, like steering the ship, essentially. And then the other place I spend it is with people. Do I have the right people to get there? Do I have the right stack of talent? Am I developing the people that I have? Do they have the right skills, are they thinking the right way? And are they aligning their mini ships with my big ship? And if you're spending more time on tactical things in your business than that, that's why you're not growing. The third takeaway I had from this week was that you get what you tolerate, right? I had many people come to me and they said, layla, I had different leaders. They're like, I don't understand why this person's still acting this way. I don't understand. Like, I've told them this, I've said this. And, like, they're still exhibiting this behavior. And I just looked at this person, I said, did you get what you tolerate? If you're wondering why someone on your team hasn't changed, look in the mirror. People respond to pressure, not preference. So if you've, you know, quote, brought it up, but they still aren't changing, that's because you have not drawn a line in the sand. There's no consequence. There's no behavior change. There's no shift, and there's no reason for them to change. The only thing that happens is if they don't do what you want them to do is that you say words at their face, and then that's it. We go back to doing what we're doing before. It's like, you know, many times if somebody comes to me in a relationship, I don't know why he keeps cheating on me. I'm like, well, what do you do when he cheats? And they're like, I just. You know, we fight and this and then we make up. And then. But, you know, I said, it's not okay. It's like, okay, well, actions over words. You did not exhibit that. It's not okay. You just said, it's not okay. I don't believe you. Actions speak louder than words. And so I think a lot of times we think, oh, well, I'm just being nice. I don't want to put them down. No, you're being unclear. You're being unclear and unkind because they don't understand what you actually want, and they're never going to know how to change to get there. So it's like the kindest thing that you can do is draw the line in the sand and say, like, this is what we tolerate here. And if you can't do that, then I can't have you here. And they're like, thank you at least for being clear. Because a lot of times people are like, dude, I just want clarity. I just want to understand what do you want from me? And I think oftentimes we make it complicated and think like, we have to, you know, have this big conversation with somebody and it has to be this big event and it has to be this big deal to tell them what we need to get out of them. Or we could just give them a small piece of feedback and say, like, hey, I don't like that. Do this instead. Hey, that's not okay. Do this next time. Anytime I deliver feedback, like, I've been in meetings where somebody has said something and it's just not fucking okay, and I just look at them, I say, don't say that again. That's it. I don't need to make this into, like, oh, my God. I've gotta, like, do a whole thing and sit down, conversate. It's like, no, you show them what you tolerate. And I've had times where I've told people, leave the meeting because I'm like, I won't tolerate this. I don't tolerate you talking to people like this. So go. I think a great question that you can ask is, where are you currently tolerating something that you know you shouldn't? We all tolerate things thinking they'll get better without us saying anything and without us expressing our expectations. But the reality is nothing is going to get better unless you make it better. And you make it better by putting consequences in place so people understand what's okay and what's not. I tell my team all the time, values do not exist if we don't hire and fire by the values. And so I show people what I tolerate by the people I bring in, the people I kick out. Why is that? Does it seem harsh? I don't think so. Because I tell people that from the get go. I'm upfront about it, I'm forthright about it, and I'm doing what I have to do to protect the entire team, not one person. Now, the fourth takeaway I have from this week is one thing that I got from my surveys that I do with my teams and when they do, essentially manager reviews. And what I learned is that there were some people in my team that were not very responsive. And that lack of responsiveness essentially painted a picture of disengagement for the rest of the team. And the reason for that is because the higher up you go in business, the higher up you go in an organization, the more you become the bottleneck. So what does that mean? It means if your team is waiting on you, they're not able to produce. They're not able to do their job. And so the job of a leader is to not be reactive, but to be responsive, to be available enough that you don't slow down the entire machine. So if people are waiting on you for days to push something forward, that's a problem. If people are waiting on hours because you're in meetings, that's not a problem. But part of being a leader in a growing organization is understanding that you do need a level of responsiveness that other people don't have. And I. You know what I fucking hate? I hate the shit where people are like, oh, once I become a leader, no, I need to protect my space and my time. It's like, ask anybody in my company. I respond probably faster than most people. Why? Because I never want to hold up why something in the company isn't moving forward. And I'm not an idiot, I can discern the difference between the things. But I know something's going to hold up somebody's day, week, month or just even an hour for them. And I can use that to decide when I'm going to respond and at what pace. And so we don't want to mistake of course like being busy for being useful. But I think a huge piece of being a leader is making time and adding in buffer so that you know, you can be available to respond to people, to help things move along. Now the last takeaway I have from this week is hiring is like gas. Okay? Gas expands to fill the room, it expands to fill the space that you give it. So what does that mean? That means if you don't cap headcount, it will balloon to fit whatever you allow to happen. Like if you want to have a 500 person team, you can find a way to have a 500 person team. If you want to have a hundred person team, you can find a way to have a hundred person team. Like whatever it means for you, right? More people does not always mean more output. In fact, sometimes it just means more meetings, more confusion, more people to fucking manage. As I was doing these exercises with people, and it's funny because I say like, what is blocking you, what you need? It's like every single person that is not in leadership, when I ask them that, it's like the number one go to is like, we just need more people. Here's the thing, guys, it's not their fault, they don't know they have to audit because you have to be the one to take that and say, okay, they're lacking something. It could be prioritization, it could be time management. It could be a resource, it could be a project, it could be a tool, it could be. But people don't know. And so they just say people. And the number one thing that I realized from growing my first company is that when people say people, I first think to myself, is it a person? Is it a project, Is it a process, Is it a tool? It's one of. Usually, almost like I say, 99% of the time, it's one of these four things. And seldom is it. We need to hire a full time person indefinitely to help with this. Maybe we need a contractor, maybe we need an implementation specialist, maybe we need a different tool. Maybe we need to help them prioritize their calendar. Maybe they're actually doing shit that other departments ask them to do. That's not a priority for them. Okay? We have to put caps and put constraints on our leaders so that they think more clearly about what you actually need in the company. And so something that I did this quarter was that I tried a new way of doing headcount forecasting, which is I said I'm going to do it from the top down, which is like I'm gonna decide what I think is needed in the company rather than first gathering feedback. And then I will present what I believe is the most necessary to grow the company to the rest of the team. And the irony of it is like there was actually three, four roles that got removed and nothing that got added. I think that again, GAS expands to fill the room. Think about this with everything. You know, it's with problems, it's with time, it's with money. It's like you have to force constraints on yourself and on your team. Otherwise you'll just continue to take more and more and more. And you're business is its machine. It wants to keep getting fed. So those are the five lessons or takeaways I've had over the last couple weeks. I'm definitely jammed right now, doing performance reviews, doing quarterlies, trying to get us prepared for Q3. So I just want to get on here and quickly show this to you guys or share it with you guys. But I would say this, pick one of these takeaways to implement this week. You know, and not to your thinking, but to your behavior. Right. Because that's how we actually learn is we change our behavior. And I will do the same. I will see you guys on the next one.