Podcast Episode #36:
Architecting Your Culture

Overview of Episode #36 ---

• Suzie interviews Jeff Gray CTO/VP of Novologic
• Teachable Moments
  
• Culture Host
• Force Multiplier & Thoughtmosphere
• 3 Love Languages
  

Contact Jeff Gray

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeff-gray-a556551/
• NovoLogic Website: https://novologic.com/catalyst

Timing on Recording: @ 5:45  ---

Topic 1: Welcome; Getting to Know Jeff Gray.

• “Chicken Jeff” the breakdancing, clogging chicken
• “My job is to embarrass my kids!” 
• “Life is too short not to create memories and have fun! Laughter is a wonderful and therapeutic thing.”
• “Life is not a straight line, life is a bunch of different curves and different points.

Timing on Recording: @ 13:15  ---

Topic 2: Most Challenging Moment as a Leader.

• Speaking up when knowing something wouldn’t be fair or reasonable for my team. 
• Knowing something was going to happen at the end of a conversation that is going to take me in a different direction. 
• Assumptions do not go well in strategic meetings, things have to stay true. 
• Get clarity up front, know your swim lane, speak up when things aren’t on track, be authentic, transparent. 
• Letting people know you care, you have to have trust and credibility, people don’t care about what you know, how much do you care about succeeding and us is what matters. 

Timing on Recording: @ 19:30  ---

Topic 3:  Role Models.

• Manager Steve and Dad. 
• What they said and what they did were always connected. 
• Integrity. “Go be awesome.” Encouraging. 

Timing on Recording: @ 22:30 ---

Topic 4:  Most Rewarding Moment as a Leader.

• When I see people lead and start doing things without me knowing, they are just doing it while developing other people. 
• A leader should be handing off things, encouraging other leaders. You have the opportunity to make a difference in other’s lives. 
• “Sometimes you just have to snot bubble it”…it means that you have to try so hard that you have snot bubbles coming out of your nose. Sometime you are going to have adversity in your life but you just have to hold tight and power through and hold on!

Timing on Recording: @ 28:30 ---

Topic 5:  Journey as a Leader.

• High School - I was asked to lead things. 
• Career at IBM was asked to lead which required to take on a lot of responsibility. 
  
• Needed to get along with people, support and work well together. 
• Studied behaviors, what makes them tick, motivates them. 
• Servant-based leader - As a leader you are there to serve others, not have others serve you. 
• What is the brand? Leaders drive culture, culture drive engagement, engagement drives results, everything is driven by leaders. People model what you do. 
• Leaders are culture hosts. 

Timing on Recording: @ 35:45 ---

Topic 6:  How to Create Force Multipliers and a "Thoughtmosphere."

• Force multipliers – A relevant, meaningful dialogue constantly creates alignment. 
  
• A “thoughtmosphere” is balancing your brand promise internally and externally. What is important? “I need to be serving.”

Timing on Recording: @ 40:42 ---

Topic 7:  Culture Host.

• Be present and visible.  Leaders are “on” 100% of the time. 
• Culture comes from the top (most of the time), it can create positive and negative culture, culture can be bad or good. 

Timing on Recording: @ 43:00 ---

Topic 8:  Getting a Consistent Culture.

• There has to be different processes, people and technology as the company expands. 
• People want meaningful, ongoing dialogue. “I have to deal with you vs. we have a relationship.” 
• Systems of engagement. 
• Dialogue of coach and mentor. Buy into the culture, buy into the brand. 

Timing on Recording: @ 46:00 ---

Topic 9:  Switch in Engagement.

• Survival vs. wanting advancement/opportunity/competency of leadership/career paths. 
• You have to support a survival need and give people opportunity. I want my work to connect with something I believe in.

Timing on Recording: @ 49:00 ---

Topic 10:  How You Connect in Your Job.

• In culture people connect to their jobs through: 

1. Craft/fulfillment
2. Driven by cause/purpose 
3. Community of people where you want to be    

• Google is a: craft, community, cause. 
  

Timing on Recording: @ 55:00 ---

Topic 11:  Ethnogrophy.

• A form of anthropology, how people in the organization work through observation.
• Having anonymous conversations to look for trends. 
• You really start to understand tweaks that need to be made, game plans to sustain culture. 
• What their culture is, how people feel about it and how they can do better. 
• Finding the meaningful needs of the organization. Develop people. Willing to coach and have dialogue. 

Timing on Recording: @ 1:00:30 ---

Topic 12:  3 Things Leaders Can Begin Doing Right Away to Shape Culture, Be a Better Culture Host.

• Be present.
• Quit monologueing, Dialogue is more important.
• Get alignment with what your brand promise is as a company and the behaviors internally. A reflection moment. What are my non-negotiables as a leader?

Timing on Recording: @ 1:02:45 ---

Topic 13:  If You Could Put One Billboard Anywhere, With Anything On It, What Would It Say?

• “Where did grit go?” People not taking responsibility, quitting. Gratitude, Respect for self and others, Integrity, Tenacity. 

Timing on Recording: @ 1:05:45 ---

Topic 14:  What Advise Would You Give Your 25/30 Year-Old Self?

• Find a mentor earlier.
• Read more.    
• Push yourself/be open to more experiences.

Timing on Recording: @ 1:06:45 ---

Topic 15:  What is One Thing You Want Other Leaders to Remember About Creating an Engaged, Committed and Motivated Culture?

• Commitment to be intentional, it has to be part of your core strategy. 
• You have to commit and become part of the DNA, nurture, support, put processes, time, and investment. 
• A culture will not stay in tact, it will drift, you have to commit. 
• Culture is not a project; it is a way of life and doing business.    
  

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