Becoming an Exceptional Leader and Creating A Success Culture

Hello. My name is Matt Bros of Lockton. In my role, I consult with employers all around the country related to their employee benefits strategy. We're in conversations all the time about how to attract the best talent and get the best out of their people. Work ethic integrity? Those are all traits of people that pursue excellence and it doesn't even stop there. From the boardroom to the storeroom, we're gonna find out what drives those people? Welcome to the Excellence culture. This is gonna be an excellent adventure. Hey everybody. Welcome to the Excellence culture. I am here with a good friend of mine, Clay Scrogans, Clay, I just wanna be able to sit down with you for five to ten minutes and just talk. And You picked an excellent setting for this is an excellent setting. I agree. I agree. And thank you so much for taking the time when you're in town and But would first love for you to just kinda introduce yourself a little bit to the audience. Maybe tell them what your background has been thus far, and and a little bit of what you're doing now. Sure. That'd be great. I majored in engineering in college quickly realized I don't need to be doing that. So I I became a pastor who actually went to moved to Dallas to go to seminary. He met my wife here, studied her more than I was studying theology. She's a good Dallas girl. Right? She's Tyler. Tyler texting. Tyler. Yeah. East time. I moved it was back to Atlanta for me and I worked for the last twenty years in the church world in Atlanta. Worked for a large church in Atlanta, the senior pastor there's Andy Stanley, so he was my boss for a long time. Two thousand seventeen, I released a book called How to Lead when you're not in charge, and that book has had pretty good amount of success and has given me a lot of opportunities to talk to companies, talk to organizations about leading without authority. I like the I I call it authority deprivation. What do you do when you don't have title you want or don't have the job that you want, don't have all the power that you want, but you still wanna get things done. So I spend my days now speaking to organizations, talking about that topic. I've since released two other books, one called how to lead in a world of distraction, which is really about emotional, how to become an emotionally healthy leader And then just last year, released a book called the aspiring leader's Guide to the Future. Okay. But I spend the most of my time talking about the one. Yeah. That seems to be the book that's resonated the most thus far. Yeah. Who knows. Right? I mean Surely, there's a blockbuster to come But, yes, that's the one that has resonated most. Well, I think just that concept and you know we're talking about excellence and I have a passion for excellence in the workplace. You know? And and would really like to really hear from you like what led to that that just concept of that book? Did you have something going on in your life or anything like that or experience that you had with a mentor or anything like that that might have, you know, sparked that. Yeah. I was the the opening line of the book is I've always wanted to be a leader, and it's amazing. I have the that's a side note, but I have a writing who he was like, we need to get the first line because the first line really does help you set the story, tell the story. And he was true. I mean, that that has been my that's been my journey working in the middle of organizations, feeling like I was stuck in the middle. But I wanted to move things forward, and I always just thought, oh, well, if I could get my boss's job, then I could get some stuff done. And then had a couple of was fortunate, I have a couple of promotions early in my career that were in a way they created more disillusionment than they did satisfaction because it kinda I think I've I just thought, oh, now that I emit this position, I can do what I've always wanted to do as a leader. But it just it it taught me a really important lesson that it's not about the title. It's not about the position. It's not about the amount of authority you have or you don't have. It really is about your ability to create excellence wherever you are. And most people I've just found out. I was right there with most people. Most people spend all of their energy frustrated about what the boss is or isn't doing, what their peers are or aren't doing, what the other department's not doing, and the place that they have the most the most control, and ultimately the the place where they can create and to generate the most influence for themselves, is with the part that they are in control of, what they are in charge of. And if you can create an oasis of excellence with that, it it is the it's the habit or the rhythm or the behavior that sets the stage for creating excellence for the organization. Sounds like that's a conversation you're having with a lot of people right now. Yeah. And I mean, I find going to restaurants, going to, you know, the car wash and that kind of stuff. It's never there's never been a time where excellence stands out more than right now. You know? I feel like for the most part, I go to a restaurant, I feel like I have to apologize for asking for service, you know, sometimes. I'm sorry that I love to catch up on these fries. So sorry. Yeah. And but then there are some people that you run into where it's just like, wow. They stand out. They care a lot. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, what are just your thoughts around that? Like, we're in this time. Why do you think we're in a time where there's such a lack of excellence right now? Well, we're definitely you know, we're in a our our society loves immediacy. You know, we love instant fame, instant success. And I think there's there's so many examples of that, obviously, social media, you know, what YouTube has created. You know, the kind of the the Justin Bieber approach to career. You know? I just a couple of videos out there and usher finds me. And all of a sudden, I'm a worldwide celebrity. You know, a lot of people want that story. They hear that and they think, oh, that that's all I've gotta do. Well, that's just not the path for most people. For most people, it's putting in the work right where you are. It's creating excellence right where you are and that's the thing that's gonna help not only it's the thing that's gonna help you develop, but it is the place where you're going to be discovered I like the the simple illustration of you remember back in the day when we used to when you had you took a picture and you wanted to get it developed, they would take it into a dark room. To develop the photo. Right? I mean, development happens. It happens best in the shadows. It happens best in those places where we're not in the limelight. And so to your point, to see somebody at a restaurant, to see somebody who's an hourly employee at a hotel, or You know, you mentioned before we even started the guy at subway that made your sub with just such excellence. It's passion. Yeah. Passion. It is so remarkable to see because it's contrary to the way our society is moving. But I really believe that it is the path to having more influence in your life, wherever you are, if you can decide, alright, I'm I'm gonna take all the frustrations and concerns about everything else, and I'm gonna I'm gonna table all of that, or I'm gonna channel that frustration to be able to create an oasis of excellence. It is I think you're absolutely right. I think stands out in our culture right now because there just aren't it's not a very coveted path, but it really is I think it is the most well traveled path for men and women who are experiencing success. So do you think let's say those type of people like that person that I was able to engage with at subway. Do you think that that's a more nature or nurture? Oh, that's a great question. Yeah. And I know I'm going off script right now. Yeah. I like that. But, you know, or both. Right? But would love to hear your thoughts about that. And kinda because I wanna dig into somewhat the origin. Yeah. There's a lot of these people who are pursuing. Where does it come from? You know, like and we don't have to figure it out right here, but yeah, where does it come from? And is there from an employer standpoint? Right. Something that they can be looking out for that's that's just some of those characteristics where this is gonna be somebody who's gonna be excellent, you know? Well, my first thought about that question. That that's it's a very thought provoking question. Is it nature? Is it something you're born with or is it something you can learn? I don't know that we'll ever really know. And I think there's plenty of researchers who've tried to prove it on either side. And the answer is, we don't really know. And so then you're left with the options. Well, can you develop that or can you not? I would just like to believe that you can. Because if you can't, what are we all doing anyway? Right? It just feels like an utter waste of time. And so I just choose to believe that, no, it is possible. From wherever you are, whatever seat that you find yourself in today, that you can create you can cultivate influence for yourself, and you do it by creating excellence right where you are. Whatever you're doing right now, the place where you start and cultivating influence for yourself is I'm gonna be the best subway sandwich line chef possible. And and the fear that people have is they go, well, how long is it gonna take me to get noticed? Right? I mean, when is the manager gonna notice or when are they gonna give me my own store? And the answer is when it's time. I think people are discovered from all parts of organizations, but it's going to take time to invest in your craft to invest in what you're doing, to build relationships. So people tend to prove that, you know, that you have what it takes to be able to handle more. I love the, you know, the the simple line that Jesus gave. This is one of Jesus's biggest leadership principles. He said, if if you wanna be trusted with more, you start right where you are, that he who is faithful with little is showing that he or she can handle more. And it really is the answer. It's the pathway. I think it was former CEO of IBM, said nothing so can occlusively proves your ability to lead others as what you do on a day to day basis to lead yourself, that the place you start is right here with what you're in most in charge of, that you can lead yourself well. You can create excellence right where you are. You can bring the kind of attitude that's that is an attitude of forward thinking, hope, filled, anything is possible, positivity to your what feels like a dead end job, if you can bring that today, if you can bring critical thinking, adding value to others, thinking of ways that we can make our culture better, create a better organization, Those are the kind of men and women that eventually will get to lead more. So is it is it nature or nurture? I just would like to think that a lot of it really is nurture that you can learn how to do it. You can develop to become a person of greater influence, and I I love that you're bringing into this conversation, because so much of it is deciding to be excellent right where you are. And what do you from an employer perspective, obviously, employers are looking to get people who are excellent. Employers are looking for the best talent that they can get, but they've gotta retain that talent. Right? And so you get someone who comes in and they kill it. You've either got an opportunity for upward mobility for that employee, or they're they're gonna find They're gonna click on another Zoom one to change jobs. Right? Yeah. And I mean, that can be a challenge. Right? I mean, should an employer be thinking about ways to retain those people even if there's not upward mobility opportunities, or should an employer just realize that's part of the game. Yeah. And that's part. We If we're the first step of somebody who's excellent, that's great. It's great for that person. More focused on that person, right? So interested in your thoughts around Well, the last thing you said there, should I just think about it? Alright. We're gonna be the first step. I mean, that that is I I think that's a that's an abundant mentality. Right? So I think I think it's always better to have an abundance mentality versus scarcity mentality. Right? That old adage of you know, well, what if we develop this person and then they become even better? And then other people start poaching them and hiring them to their company. Right? And the know, the the option is, well, what if we don't? What if we don't develop them, right, that they're just gonna stay stagnant? So I, you know, obviously, I care deeply about leadership development. It's what I do for a living. And so I just deeply believe that the way you retain your employees is to make sure that they know that you care about them personally, and that you are investing in their future. And if you can do that, people will stay. If in fact, I tell employees when they're thinking about changing jobs, well, does the organization you work for? Do they care about you as a person? Are they investing in your good? And if the answer is yes, then stay. If the answer is no. No. No. No. No. No. No. I mean, you should Go, get another job. Life's too short. Go do something different. So, yeah, I believe this is a a massive this is such a significant conversation for retention is what you're doing to develop your employees in the role that they're in, but also to become better humans, better people. Because the best kind of leaders are the best people. The the best kind of employees are the best people. It really is it's people development. It's it's it is talent development, it's professional development, but ultimately, it's people development. And yeah, if you're not in the game, you better get in the game because it is it's one of the greatest ways that we retain our best employees, is by developing them by investing in their good, investing in their future. That's so good. I feel like we're just scratching the surface. We'll have to have around two at some point for sure, and maybe it's actually during around the golf or something. That is a great idea. You should do that. All the course, you know, you should come with your own little segment. But man, is there anything else that you would like to say? Any kind of parting words that you'd like like to Yeah. I'm always sensitive to the person that's saying that's going, oh, alright, whatever. You don't know how hard my job is, or you don't know how discouraging life is. And so I would just say to the person that's watching or listening that feels like all that's, you know, all that's great and if my boss was better or if I had an organization that cared about me or if my company cared about me as a person, like, you have no idea how hard my life is. I would just say to that person, this season you're in right now is so important, even when life is discouraging. Even when it's hard because it is only when life is hard that we experience resistance. And resistance is what builds muscle. Resistance is what creates strength within us. And so if it feels hard or if it feels discouraging, I would just say keep moving. Keep doing the right Keep trying to create excellence right where you are, because it's making you better, it's creating opportunities for your future, And ultimately, it means that you are on the pathway towards experiencing a better life. On the other side of the job that you're in right now, you're not gonna be where you are forever. Nobody is. But where you are right now is where you are. And so you may as well create as much excellence. Create an oasis of excellence right where you are even in the face of discouragement, even in the face of challenge because it really is the pathway to experience success on the other side. Well, man, thank you so much. I know that you're doing some consulting with companies around the country. What's the best way for people to be able to reach out to you? Well, my email is just clay dot scroggins at gmail dot com. So hit me up. Right? I love you. Yeah. No. I'm it's a it's an honor. You're on LinkedIn to On LinkedIn website is clay scroggins dot com. Yeah. But I'm yeah. I would be totally honored to connect with any any friend of yours -- Yeah. -- genuine friend of So I would be honored to get to connect. Well, thank you, man. Thanks for your friendship and welcome to the Excellence culture. Thanks. Yep.