Employee Asks Me About Personal Growth and Promotions | Ep 218 - Build with Leila Hormozi

Summary

Podcast Summary: Build with Leila Hormozi

Episode: Employee Asks Me About Personal Growth and Promotions | Ep 218
Release Date: December 13, 2024
Host: Leila Hormozi
Duration Covered: 24 minutes and 13 seconds

1. Introduction and Episode Overview

In Episode 218 of Build with Leila Hormozi, host Leila engages in a candid conversation with Trevor from the media team. The discussion centers around cultivating a resilient company culture, navigating promotions, advancing within an organization, and fostering personal growth among employees. Leila delves deep into the challenges and strategies associated with leading a rapidly growing business and guiding team members toward their professional aspirations.

2. Managing Ambiguity in Rapid Growth

Timestamp: [00:00] – [02:02]

Leila opens the episode by addressing the complexities that come with managing a company experiencing exponential growth—specifically targeting the $100M+ mark she achieved by age 28. She highlights the difficulty in long-term planning amidst unpredictable expansion rates. When asked about crafting a two-year plan in such a volatile environment, Leila explains,

"I think too many people rely on these fucking spreadsheets to predict what's coming next... how we react to what comes is more important than how we plan" ([00:00]).

This emphasis underscores the necessity for adaptability over rigid forecasting, especially when growth trajectories can render existing plans obsolete overnight.

3. Training Leaders to Be Reactive

Timestamp: [02:02] – [03:29]

Trevor inquires about Leila’s approach to training leaders to effectively respond to unforeseen changes. Leila shares her philosophy using an analogy of parenting:

"It's like, which kid is more resilient in 10 years? I bet you it would be the kid whose mom puts on a band-aid and says, get your ass back to school" ([02:02]).

She recounts her experience during the COVID-19 pandemic, where instead of providing false assurances about job security, she remained a stable presence. Leila emphasizes leading by example, demonstrating resilience, and managing stress, which in turn encourages team leaders to embody these traits within their teams.

4. Adaptability in Workflow and Leadership

Timestamp: [03:44] – [09:36]

Leila discusses her personal workflow amidst the dynamic demands of her role:

"I look at it as, what are my goals?... I'm trying to be a superstar business leader right now. And honestly, being a superstar business leader is the most important goal to me because it's the one thing that has continued to reinforce me over and over again" ([03:44]).

She stresses the importance of flexibility, acknowledging that routines must sometimes yield to the company’s needs. Leila distinguishes between maintaining a consistent schedule and staying adaptable to capitalize on opportunities, even if it means working extended hours temporarily.

5. Balancing Consistency and Flexibility

Timestamp: [06:00] – [09:36]

When asked if a leader’s day should remain consistent over time, Leila clarifies the difference between routine and rigidity:

"Focusing on what you need to do and doing the same thing every day are not the same" ([06:00]).

She advocates for scheduling priorities rather than fitting priorities into a preset calendar, allowing room for changes that align with evolving business objectives. Leila acknowledges the challenge in maintaining flexibility but views it as essential for leading a growing company effectively.

6. Personal Growth Through Goal Setting

Timestamp: [09:36] – [14:28]

Leila shifts focus to personal development, explaining her strategy for growth through setting ambitious goals:

"The only way I've even known how to grow myself is to go after a big goal that I'm not currently the person able to achieve it" ([09:48]).

She demonstrates high self-awareness, constantly identifying and addressing her skill gaps to meet her objectives. Leila describes her method of reverse engineering goals by identifying constraints and transforming them into strengths. This approach not only propels her personal growth but also sets a precedent for her team.

7. Creating an Environment for Growth

Timestamp: [14:25] – [18:54]

Leila outlines two critical elements for fostering growth within the company: feedback and opportunity. She explains the importance of establishing an infrastructure that offers internal growth avenues and provides consistent, constructive feedback to employees:

"If you have leaders that wake up in the morning and think, 'Oh my God, I know how I can help this person achieve their goals faster,' it makes everything else easier" ([16:30]).

By aligning individual career paths with the company's evolving landscape, Leila ensures that employees see clear avenues for advancement and understand how their roles contribute to broader objectives.

8. Proactive Leadership and Going the Extra Mile

Timestamp: [18:54] – [24:13]

Leila emphasizes the significance of proactive behavior in leadership and personal advancement:

"Do everything nobody asks you to do... it's the people who take those actions when nobody's watching that build your credibility with yourself" ([23:21]).

She shares personal anecdotes illustrating how going beyond job descriptions not only enhances individual performance but also strengthens company culture. Leila believes that true leaders demonstrate excellence in their current roles before seeking higher positions, thereby setting a standard for others to follow.

9. Notable Quotes

On Managing Ambiguity:
"How we react to what comes is more important than how we plan" ([00:00]).
On Leadership Resilience:
"You teach by demonstrating. I set the example for what good looks like for them" ([02:02]).
On Personal Goals:
"Being a superstar business leader is the most important goal to me because it's the one thing that has continued to reinforce me" ([03:44]).
On Proactive Growth:
"Do everything nobody asks you to do... it's the people who take those actions when nobody's watching that build your credibility with yourself" ([23:21]).

10. Key Takeaways

Adaptability Over Rigidity: In fast-growing environments, the ability to respond to change is more valuable than strict adherence to long-term plans.
Leading by Example: Demonstrating resilience and stability encourages similar traits among team leaders and employees.
Prioritizing Goals: Aligning daily actions with overarching business and personal goals fosters effective leadership and personal growth.
Creating Growth Opportunities: Providing clear paths for advancement and consistent feedback cultivates a thriving company culture.
Proactive Behavior: Going beyond job requirements and taking initiative are critical for personal and professional development.

Conclusion

In this episode, Leila Hormozi provides profound insights into effective leadership amidst rapid growth, emphasizing adaptability, proactive personal development, and the creation of a supportive environment for employee advancement. Her experiences and strategies offer valuable lessons for leaders aiming to build resilient and unshakeable businesses.

Transcript

A (0:00)

What's up, guys? Welcome back to Build. Today I'm going to sit down with Trevor, who is one of my teammates from the media team and he's going to ask me questions about building a company culture, getting promoted in a company, moving up in a company, and personal growth. Let me know what you think. Right now we do have a lot of new leaders. Many people are having to learn that skill of like, how do you manage the uncertain, the unknown, times of ambiguity? You know, even one of like when we're hiring and people are saying, hey, people are asking like, what's our two year plan for this department? Like when you're growing 100% quarter over quarter, you'll have a two year plan mapped out. Right now we're just trying to map out what are we doing in the next two quarters. Like from a functional standpoint. I think there's a lot of just learning how to manage that ambiguity and then accepting that that's part of what this looks like right now. When a company is much more stable and predictable and it's not in such fast growth, it's much easier to forecast. When your company doesn't grow quickly. You could forecast anything because it's like, yeah, you grow 3% a quarter, but when your company is taking leaps and bounds, you're like, holy shit, we've surpassed our goals more than anything that we could have anticipated. What happens next, nobody really knows. So the best thing we can do is try our best to plan and predict. I think too many people rely on these fucking spreadsheets to predict what's coming next. When it's like, in reality, how we react to what comes is more important than how we plan for what comes. Because often what happens is our plans are destroyed within a period of time. We recognize something better than we could have hoped happens, which means that we have more demand on the business, which means that now those plans are irrelevant. So how we react to what happens is much more important than how we're planning in this point in time. In a period of time where we have sustained incremental growth. I think planning is more important than the reacting. But right now I think that the reacting is more important than the planning. Does that make sense?

B (1:56)

Makes sense, yeah. How do you, how do you train leaders to be reactive to the change?

A (2:02)

I think I have to tell them it's okay. I say this to people all the time. This is like my phrases, that's normal and to be expected. It's like when a kid falls down and their parent looks at them and they're like, oh, my God, are you okay? Like, that looks like, really, we should go home. Let's take you out of school. Versus the mom who's like, does that hurt? The kid's like, yeah. And she's like, that's okay. Let's put a band aid on and let's get back to school. It's like, which kid is more resilient in 10 years? I bet you it would be the kid whose mom puts on a band aid and says, get your ass back to school. I look at it the same with, like, managing change and managing transitions in the workplace, which is like they. Everyone looks to the leader at, how are we going to react to this? I learned that when Covid hit. I remember when we pulled the meeting together. I pulled it together the next day after everything happened, because everyone's freaking out, right? They were all just waiting and so anxious for what I was going to say. And I didn't promise job security. I didn't promise what was going to happen tomorrow. I didn't. I said I didn't even know what the was going to happen in a week. But I did show up as somebody who was stable, somebody who could manage their stress, and somebody who said, we're going to figure it out. I might not be able to tell you what happens tomorrow, but I can tell you I know how I'll show up to what happens tomorrow. Whether it's terrible, whether it's amazing, or whether it's in between. That's what I've learned to do to teach people is you don't teach by telling. You teach by demonstrating. I set the example for what good looks like for them, and they set the example of what good looks like for everyone under them.