Leverage Your Team to Scale Your Business - PODCAST TRANSCRIPT

Editor's note: The following is the transcript of a live interview with Monica Vornbrock and Melissa Chapman from The GLO Group. You can read the interview below, listen to the podcast or watch the recording.

Heidi J Ellsworth: Hello and welcome to this month's RLW from RoofersCoffeeShop. My name is Heidi Ellsworth and we are here to today to really talk about how you can leverage your team to scale your business. This is a totally different way of thinking about how to grow that team in a way that offers retention and great recruitment.

So, let's get started in today's, a couple housekeeping comments. First, of course, this is being recorded and will be available within the next 24 hours on demand. We are going to have the chat and questions open the entire webinar. So, please, if you have any thoughts, if you just think it's a great comment, if you have questions, please be active in the chat and we would love it if you'd all let us know where you're from and what kind of business you have.

So, let's get started. I am very happy to introduce the GLOGroup. These ladies have started a company that is going to change is and is continuing to change this industry, and it is all about the ability to leverage your team to scale your business. So, starting with introductions. Monica, I am so happy to have you here today. Can you introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about what you do with the GLOGroup?

Monica VornBrock: Sure. Thank you for having us, Heidi, and it's nice to see you again. So, I am one of the co-founders of the GLOGroup. I'm also a personal corporate brand advisor and coach. I've been in the industry for about 15 years. Most of my experience is on B2B. And for the GLOGroup, I facilitate workshops, team workshops, brand workshops and leadership development workshops.

Heidi J Ellsworth: That's great. I'm so happy to have you on this RLW, Monica. You and I have worked together a lot in the past. In fact, you worked with RoofersCoffeeShop for a while. So, it's really fun to have you on the other side of the camera right here. And another person I've worked with for many years and am so proud to call a friend. Melissa, welcome to the show.

Melissa Chapman: Thank you, Heidi. It's always a pleasure to be with you.

Heidi J Ellsworth: It is so much fun. This is such a great topic.

Melissa Chapman: I know. Thank you.

Heidi J Ellsworth: So, introduce yourself and what you do, but also tell us about the GLOGroup.

Melissa Chapman: Sure. Well, my name is Melissa Chapman. I am the other co-founder of the GLOGroup, and we are a brand engagement and organizational health firm. What that means is we work with organizations of all sizes and help leadership align their teams, improve communication and collaboration and ultimately improve their profitability and employee engagement.

We've seen with our work with our clients that when we partner with them on their initiatives of investing in their culture and improving the overall vision, mission, goals of the organization and having everybody aligned, things just happen more smoothly. You have happier employees who then become your recruitment partners as well as you have happier customers. So, it's happy, what is that saying? Happy employees equal happy customers.

Heidi J Ellsworth: Yes. Exactly.

Melissa Chapman: So, that's what we really do. We work from the inside out.

Heidi J Ellsworth: Yeah. And there's no one like you, there's no one like you and Monica and the GLOGroup. You guys have really found a niche that is so desperately needed in the roofing industry, in construction overall and it's exciting to bring this kind of thought leadership to everyone out there.

Melissa Chapman: Yeah. Thank you. Well, we saw a recurring theme within our backgrounds in the roofing industry of either siloed departments and things like that. And we were just like, "We have an idea of how to fix that." And so, we pursued our education to solidify that.

Heidi J Ellsworth: And I will start out by saying that at RoofersCoffeeShop, we are actually working with the GLOGroup and we have been seeing some amazing results and it's been really great communication styles. Learned a little bit about myself. So, okay, everyone, I also want to say again, the chat is open. Hi, Tammy Hall, I see you there. And please, comments, let us know where you're at. We are very happy to have you joining us today.

So, let's start with the importance of culture. And Melissa, culture is a buzzword that I think sometimes has been used so much that people aren't totally understanding how important it is and that it's not just a buzzword. So, can you start out with the importance of culture and what it is?

Melissa Chapman: Yes, absolutely. Well, it is important to define it so that we all know what we're talking about. Culture is a shared set of, when we're talking about company culture, it's a shared set of workplace beliefs, values, attitudes, standards, purposes and behaviors within an organization. So, that's really how you define company culture.

Heidi J Ellsworth: That makes sense. So, why is it more important than ever?

Melissa Chapman: Well, honestly, we're in a very precarious position, not only in our industry but in general globally when it comes to the workplace. There's a statistic that was published by a Gallup study in 2023 on the global workplace and 6 in 10 employees fell into the category of quiet quitting. Quiet quitting means not being engaged, not really just doing the bare minimum of what it is that's required in their role.

I mean, that equates to approximately $9 trillion of cost of employee inactive engagement or disengagement. I mean, that's the equivalent of like 9% of the global GDP, just to give some perspective. So, imagine the cost that it's having on all of these businesses. So, it's really important right now. According to another workforce institute report, 46% of middle managers reported they were likely to quit their job within a year due to stress.

Heidi J Ellsworth: Wow.

Melissa Chapman: 69% of the Hispanic employees reported at least a moderate level of burnout. It's a real thing. It has to be addressed in terms of people spend so much time away from their families and at work. And so, it has such an impact on their personal lives that we really have to invest in making sure that the time that they spend with your company is positive so that they can really be happy but also perform.

Heidi J Ellsworth: Yeah. Yeah. And I think it feels like there have been a little bit ... I mean it's always been this way, but even more so since COVID, especially now we have hybrid workspace, remote workers, plus we've always had in roofing the field and the office. So, Monica, what are some of those employee expectations that you see are changing?

Monica VornBrock: Well, like you said, the priority shift that happened with COVID, a lot of people reassess their personal versus professional life balance, and that's showing up in leadership as well as in employee wants and desires overall. So, being connected to a purpose and a why in a company and living that culture and feeling like they're valued and they contribute to the bigger picture is more important than ever because they need to have a why now. So, that's one of the things that we're observing in our day in and day out.

Heidi J Ellsworth: And how do you keep that connection between being out in the field or working remotely and still build culture around that? It's all about technology now.

Monica VornBrock: Right. And it's communicating. It's working on effectively communicating, communicating clearly. Again, connecting, explaining the why, not just decision, go do it, this is how this is going to benefit you. This is how you're connected to this and how you're impacting the rest of the team.

Heidi J Ellsworth: Right. Right.

Melissa Chapman: That's a really good ... Yeah.

Heidi J Ellsworth: Go ahead. No.

Melissa Chapman: That's a really good point because I mean, we all want to feel like we're part of something bigger than just us. And when you spend so much time at work, and for me, I'm passionate about being part of the roofing industry. I've been part of it for close to 25 years, so it's in my blood and I want to know that I'm making a difference. And I think a lot of people feel the very same way.

Heidi J Ellsworth: They do. Getting your employees engaged, not just within the company culture, but within the industry culture I think is something we've learned is so important because we have an amazing industry that people don't leave once they're here, obviously, how this all works. But it really does start and having worked together with both of you at different places in the past, it really does start with leadership.\

If it doesn't start at that level, it's really not probably going to happen that well. So, Monica, talk a little bit about the importance of leadership commitment.

Monica VornBrock: So, like you said, it starts at the top. So, you have to take a real look inside and inwards. Okay. How committed is my company? How committed is my leadership team to embracing a healthy company culture? And it's not just, "Hey, let's say that we're embracing it and let's tell the people that we're embracing it but not really stand behind it."

There was a survey that was done by the Global Leadership Forecast by DDI, which is one of the biggest leadership forecasts in the world, and 83% of businesses reported that leadership development was very important to them, but yet only 5% of them actually had a development program in place. So, are you walking the walk? That's the biggest thing. Are you really committed to change? Are you committed to giving support to your leaders and explaining to them what the benefit is of adopting a transformation because it is a cultural transformation.

It involves change, it involves commitment on the part of leaders and employees and being able to say that they're committed to giving the tools that they're going to need because it's an ongoing process. It's not a one and done.

Heidi J Ellsworth: Not one and done. I see that so much and I think one of the things, and just using my own experience is employees want this, but yet they don't. They don't want to be bothered. They don't want to have to take time away from their day, but yet at the same time they want this. So, Melissa, what are some of the ways that leadership can help build that buy-in and that engagement from employees? When it seems to be a struggle sometimes.

Melissa Chapman: Well, change is uncomfortable. So, that's really what happens with change. People don't want to get out of their comfort zones. But what happens is that's when the real growth occurs. To get employee buy-in is to really ask them the questions, what's important to them? What are their goals? What are their values? Where do they see themselves? How do they want to contribute? Are they truly being utilized in the most optimal way? Are there other ways that they could be contributing that you haven't yet tapped into?

So, it's really connecting with your employees and having a conversation. And as Monica said, it does start from the top. And when employees see that leaders are modeling behaviors that they wish to see in their employees, it's kind of hard not to adopt it because you're surrounded by it. It no longer becomes acceptable to behave otherwise.

So, that's why it's so critical to have leadership buy-in on this. Okay. We are going to really commit to making positive change for our organization because it will create not only a differentiator for you and your market, but it will also create longevity and sustainability for your business.

Heidi J Ellsworth: Yeah. One of the things that really makes me think about too is as the employees get involved in this, sometimes we hear, and I hear it, and I'm sure you do all the time, that they're like, I wish leadership would do something like this. And so, sometimes it does come from the bottom-up. What are some of your thoughts on leadership listening when they actually have employees asking to say, "Hey, we heard about this, we want this communication." What are some of ... How do you handle that?

Melissa Chapman: It's again about asking questions, asking leadership, where do you see our company relative to the market? How are we performing? How do you measure success? Is it just dollars? What are you doing to really look at your succession planning? How's your bench strength? Do you have the right people in place if someone were to leave or someone were to get injured or something catastrophic should happen? Do you have a group of people that you can rely on as your second string and third string?

What are you doing to invest in their development? And what are you doing to invest in your own development? Asking those questions without judgment, with true curiosity creates an opportunity for a really constructive conversation.

Heidi J Ellsworth: Yeah. And something leadership should hear. "Hey, they're asking really good questions. There's something here as you're going forward." And I guess it really does all come down to communications. As we know across the board, it always does. But Melissa, talk to us about the importance to culture and building this team for huge sales growth of communication upfront.

Melissa Chapman: Well, yeah, I mean, clear communication is critical to your business. We say words all the time, and a word may mean one thing to me and mean another to you. So, having that clarity is really important. Why? Globally, 20% of lost sales is just due to poor internal communication, 20%. So, imagine if you just shored up your internal communication, how that would impact your revenue? It impacts your productivity, it impacts your performance, meeting deadlines, all of these things and it impacts your customer experience.

So, ultimately, the more fluid and the more aligned your team is and the better they're communicating, the better experience your customer's going to have and the more consistent experience and you'll have fewer callbacks on the job. You'll have loyalists, people who are out there as your brand ambassadors for you referring business.

So, the opportunities are endless. If you can really tap into identifying where your challenges are internally related to communication. If you have different areas with different agendas and they're not aligning to the overall goal, you're going to have some serious growing pains, like pains that probably you could avoid. It probably shows up as finger-pointing or slow adoption of new ideas or processes.

So, if you see those kinds of signs, there's something that needs to be addressed and it can be, can be fixed.

Heidi J Ellsworth: As you go through it. And when you're really looking at clear communication, the thing I always think of is I think I'm being very clear, very direct and very straightforward and they're like, "Eh. We don't even understand Heidi talk." So, really, how do you define, Monica, clear communication in a way that allows people to get out of their own head thinking how clear they are, but they really aren't?

Monica VornBrock: Well, one of the things is that it's a technique called mirroring. So, asking questions. Saying, "This is what I understand. You said this, this is what I'm understanding. Is this correct?" So, that's one of the things, confirming that the message is coming across. The other thing is listening, practicing the pause. When people are saying something, don't listen to react, actually listen to what people are saying, always assume the best of intentions.

And that goes for everything. That's not just communication. That's not at work only. That's in your life. Always assume the best. And when in doubt, ask questions. More than likely, you're putting an experience or a tone to something that doesn't have it. And then being able to be respectful, create a safe environment where people are able to say, "Hey, I don't agree with that," and that's okay. Disagreements are okay. You can learn from a disagreement.

You don't have to always agree. That's not what good communication looks like. Disagreeing and being able to reach a common goal and understanding you're going in the same direction, that's communication and that's successful communication.

Heidi J Ellsworth: That's so true. And really, I mean, we've done DISC before, there's a lot of different programs, but I would love Melissa for you to touch on the personality testing and communication, really testing that you all do because it's a different way of looking at your personality and your communication style. So, I think that's so important too, to be able to communicate better.

Melissa Chapman: Absolutely. You mentioned DISC and Myers-Briggs, all of those are psychology-based assessments and they really talk about how you maneuver or how you perceive the world, how you maneuver in the world. And our assessment is really focused on communication patterns and communication styles, and rather it's how the world sees you based on your communication patterns and communication styles.

And what it does is it creates awareness for yourself in terms of, "Oh, I didn't realize that that's how I ... I see it now, but I didn't realize that's how I'm perceived when I am really showing up in a great way. And I didn't realize that's how I was perceived when I was not showing up in a great way." So, having that awareness is one thing. And then we also, we teach a vernacular that helps create opportunities to have conversations that would otherwise be difficult in a way that doesn't feel threatening, doesn't feel confrontational.

So, we're focused on the issue and not the person. So, communication is really important because that's really ... Communication styles is the root of all miscommunication. So, you can have a different style and connect with one person and then totally not connect with another. And then there's this misunderstanding. So, being aware of your style and leveraging that will create impact, but as well as being aware of other styles so that you can then cater or craft your message to create more impact for them is also great awareness.

And so, this assessment helps identify that. It also helps identify what team members are going to be more likely to work in it as a team versus being an individual contributor. Those are important things to know as well, so that you can put the right people in the right positions and really create opportunities for growth for everyone.

Heidi J Ellsworth: And I really feel it gives the tools to leadership to start down that path of transformation because if you haven't stopped the finger-pointing or understand how to communicate in a way that is productive, it's just too hard to go down there. As you're talking to the leaders in the companies that you're working with, what are you hearing from them after having those personality tests and really understanding their employees, both on how they communicate and how they like to be led? How has that helped companies, Melissa?

Melissa Chapman: Well, it's interesting. Earlier we mentioned the difference between the field and the office, and there tends to be a disconnect, generally speaking, in a roofing contracting business, between the field and the office. Or there could be, because there are a lot of Spanish-speaking individuals in organizations, people attribute, "Oh, well, there's a language barrier."

But in reality, it's not. It's actually the way in which you communicate becomes the barrier. And we have actual real examples, real-world examples of that. And what we've found with some of our clients, they are able to level up, if you will, how they show up because now they have the tools and resources to say, "Okay. I'm confident enough now to say, I see what you're saying as a solution to this issue, and I also have a solution that I feel might have some benefit."

And it gives people confidence and a level playing field in terms of how they communicate, because everyone knows that they're working towards the same goal. It no longer becomes, "You're questioning my authority or you're threatening my position." No. We're working together. We're collaborating. We're all in this to make our organization stronger and better.

Heidi J Ellsworth: Yeah. That's so powerful. That is so powerful. And when you look at it that way, when you take this leadership commitment, the communication, understanding it, it really does position you for company growth. So, Monica, can you talk about how you take these cultural things and then really position yourself?

Monica VornBrock: Absolutely. This is the one thing that it's very important for everybody to understand. Company culture, because it has been used as a buzzword, a lot of people think, "Oh, let's hold hands, let's sing kumbaya." And yeah, that's all great. But ultimately it rolls down to company growth and profitability. The effectiveness of a team, the profitability of the company, the customer experience, the employee experience. It encompasses so much more than just "Let's all be friends and hang out." That's not what company culture is.

So, companies that have a healthy company culture, they are 45% more profitable than their peers. So, I mean, this is measurable. This is something that actually does impact the bottom line. And companies that invest in their employees become more sustainable companies. You're more flexible and nimble during times of hardship. You're responsive to shifts. You create an environment of safety where people are able to ask questions when they hear word like acquisitions. Not everybody scatters and freaks out.

People are able to say, "Hey, so what does that mean for me? Does that open opportunities for me? How can I be part of this process?" It empowers employees. And what Melissa was saying with the languages, we've identified that you can translate word by word that there are tools that do that. But empowering employees to say, "Hey, I don't understand." Instead of saying, "Yes, yes," because they're afraid of the judgment of the people around them, that is powerful.

And that is the scalability, the sustainability and the responsiveness that a company can rely on from their employees. And what's great is that all these things can be measured with less callbacks using ... you can less recruit ... You have to spend less money on recruitment and training because you have more employee retention, you have less turnover. You can assign dollar values to all the things that you do get from creating a healthy company culture.

Melissa Chapman: And having a healthy culture is 10 times more important to people than pay according to the society of human resource management. So, think about that, 10 times more important than pay. So, if you're competing with the roofing contractor down the street over a dollar an hour, then you're missing the point.

It's more about that dollar. It's about the environment. It's about what kind of support are they going to get as an employee. It's about what kind of opportunities do they have for growth and where can they evolve as a person within your organization? Can they find a mentor? Those types of things, those are important to people.

Heidi J Ellsworth: They really are. They really are. And it's important to customers. And that's when I, at the company culture, a good one is going to automatically create great customer service. A bad one creates a bad customer experience. What are you seeing around those, that jump, because that's really where the growth comes is happy customers?

Melissa Chapman: Oh, absolutely. I mean, 94% of our clients have improved their profitability after one year working with us. So, I mean, there's a significant connection. It's measurable, as Monica said.

Heidi J Ellsworth: Yeah. And I think that's important because no matter how important we know it is emotionally, it still has to be economically the ... Right. You're doing it for many reasons. First of all, you're doing it because the right thing to do. But second of all, you want to grow your business and you want to scale it. And so, as you're looking at that, Melissa, really how do you process this or talk, really sell this, I guess, to the employees and helping them with understanding what it takes to scale a business?

Melissa Chapman: Well, again, it goes back to having that clear vision from leadership and that clear direction from leadership in terms of this is who we are, this is who we want to be, this is where we're going. And it's also important to have a real strong foundation of your culture because as you bring new people in, as you grow, they're going to come with their own set of experiences, their own influences that they're going to want to try to perhaps incorporate into what you're trying to build.

And while some of their ideas can be great and can be added into what it is that you're doing or complimentary, ultimately, you don't want ... By having a strong culture and being really clear on who you are and what you deliver and what makes you different and unique, that when you bring new people, you don't have that muddy the waters. You keep people aligned. You indoctrinate them, for lack of a better word.

You have to have a clear onboarding process. You want to know exactly how they're experiencing your organization as they come on board and making sure that they are experiencing what it is that you're trying to convey who you are. It's one thing, as Monica said, to say it, it's another thing to do it. So, you have to be really committed to seeing it through. It seems overwhelming at times. It's a lot.

And that's where you can lean on your employees. That's where you can leverage your team and their strengths and their abilities, the tools and resources that they would now have access to, to be your next level of leadership. Show up as a leader.

You don't have to have a leadership role to be a leader. And what that means for your organization and having that really clearly defined with each employee job description. This is what your job description is, and this is how you contribute to the overall goal of the organization. This is how you contribute to the culture of the organization. This is how we want you to show up. And when people understand it and understand the why and connect with it, the acceleration is like bonkers.

And when you have a whole group of people moving in one direction at the same time, it's a really powerful force. So, it creates a lot of amazing change and growth. And you can also have some people that might be naysayers or might want to sabotage that or don't feel like it aligns with who they are. So, it's also really ... It's important to be intentional about who you're hiring and understanding what their personal values are, and do they align with your company's core values?

If they don't, they may not be a good fit. So, looking at your hiring practices and not just taking, "Well, they have a pulse." Sometimes you feel that desperate. But you want to be intentional because it will impact the momentum that you're trying to grow and sustain.

Heidi J Ellsworth: Yeah. That is just so true. And that total engagement. By not doing this, I think you got to look at the other side by having poor communications or silos or finger-pointing. I know this seems obvious. But Monica, how does that sabotage a business who's really trying to grow?

Monica VornBrock: Well, one of the things is when you don't have a strong culture. In this industry, we all know we've been in so many different companies and we adopt a little bit of that culture, bring it in. One of the things is if it's not a strong culture, whatever culture you do have is going to be watered down by every person that comes in, because that's one of the things that happens.

When there are silos created, there redundancies information, you're losing money because you have multiple people doing the same thing. Then you have, again, finger-pointing, you have conflict that doesn't need to happen. You have people that are doing things that they don't want to do because they're not free or safe to say, "Hey, you know what? I would be really good for this. What if I help with this project?"

And then you also have people that are not staying in their lanes. So, you have that conflict. And then you have people with too much work and people with too little work. So, the division of that workload, it's not even. And then you reach the burnout, which then turns into low morale, turnover and just negativity all around.

Heidi J Ellsworth: And where we're at right now, there are a lot more jobs out there. And so, it's easier for people to move and make that change when they're not happy and they're not going through theirs. Melissa, what are you seeing along that lines, I mean, of people really leaving? But you said something earlier. Sorry. I'm going to say this back, because it was really interesting that people are quietly leaving.

Melissa Chapman: Quitting.

Heidi J Ellsworth: Yeah. Quitting.

Melissa Chapman: 6 out of 10 people are quiet quitting. And I mean, that's a scary statistic. So, you want engagement. You want people to feel like they have skin in the game, and you want them to feel heard and seen because when they do, they'll become your most loyal employee. It is the human condition to want to be seen and heard no matter where you are in life. And when you can have that at your employers, that's worth more than any paycheck you'll ever get.

And I think oftentimes as business owners or leaders, we forget how important it is just to take the time to listen to what others have to say, and it's really not a big lift or a heavy ask or heavy lift, big ask. So, yeah, we see it. I mean, we've seen after working with us, there's an 85% increase in employee engagement after working with us. And it's because people now understand the focus of the organization. They understand their role and how they fit into that overall goal.

They understand the importance that they have. They understand that their cog is as important as the other cog in the wheel. You need all the cogs there. Not one is more important than the other. So, being very intentional about communicating that with your team, it makes such a significance in terms of how they show up and how they perform.

Heidi J Ellsworth: Yeah. It's so true. And you can't scale a business unless you have everybody rowing in the same direction and working together.

Melissa Chapman: Totally.

Heidi J Ellsworth: So, I just want to remind everybody, if you have questions or comments or thoughts, the chat is open. Please let us know your thoughts or if you have any questions for these ladies. We do want to talk a little bit about ... And we've already been here, but it's even more so talking about employee retention and satisfaction. I think this is the key, obviously, bottom line.

So, Monica, how can companies really start getting their arms around employee retention and knowing that they're happy and they're not just there?

Monica VornBrock: Well, one of the things to get around in terms of retention, there was a survey, part of the forecast, the leadership forecast, where they interviewed HR leaders. And 33% of them are confident that because of the market situation, we're going to see a shrinkage in the external pool of candidates as the years are going by.

So, being able to understand that everyone in your team right now could be a potential future leader is very important. Fostering your internal people, growing and developing your internal team is more important than ever, especially as you build a culture these people already have ... they're already going to be part of that culture. They believe in it. They're going to be your best hiring tools as well, your best referrals. They are your eyes and feet in the field.

They're hearing what the competition's doing. They're hearing what the customers are complaining about, what they want. So, understanding that this is such a valuable asset in your company, it's probably the most valuable asset is your people. So, it's investing in team building, investing in growing your team, investing in connecting the dots for them so they understand how they contribute, how they impact, doing things correctly and doing things incorrectly, impacts everybody else in the team.

How does that work and what's in it for them so that they actually want to be engaged and have ownership of what they're doing. Investing in coaching, investing in celebrating their wins. The people who have right now, are you only meeting when you have an issue? Are you meeting to say, "Hey, you know what? This went really well. We need to duplicate this. We need to do this again."

And then establishing really clear roles and responsibilities so people don't get that burnout, so people understand to stay in their lanes, but are also willing to offer help and don't feel like their job's threatened. They don't feel like they have to take on other people's burdens. That's really important with the internal team right now.

Heidi J Ellsworth: Yeah. Oh, I see that all the time. It's so true. And Melissa, listening and employees being heard and valued, even when they don't maybe agree, or maybe they don't see that mission, but they're still being heard and you realize. So, how important, and what are some of your tips for leadership to really be able to listen and to get engaged?

Melissa Chapman: Well, first of all, it's creating that safe environment that we talked about, letting the team or their team know, "Listen, what you say will never be used against you. This is an open forum. This is an opportunity for us to learn and grow." And when you approach it that way that ... You have to establish trust. It's just so important to have trust within an organization to be successful. You want your peers to trust each other so that they know that the work is being done, and you want to be able to trust your team that they're doing what they need to be doing.

So, that's really important. But also asking open-ended questions. Not making assumptions, really asking open-ended questions and asking questions that are rooted in curiosity. Explain to me what you meant by that word, because that word means this to me and I just want to make sure that we're saying the same thing. Or asking, "How did you feel when this happened? Or what did you learn from this experience?" Those kinds of questions will give you a lot of insight.

Creating that safe space also, as Monica said, celebrating those wins, but also taking the time to analyze when things didn't go right and where was the breakdown so that we can address it moving forward. We can then avoid that moving forward. Learning from our mistakes and being okay with learning from it, rather than just being angry at someone or pointing a finger or holding something over somebody's head. That's not an opportunity for growth and for learning.

And by doing that and by creating the safe environment and by asking these questions creates opportunity to strengthen your bench as well. And what we've found is there's actually a statistic that companies with stronger benches of 22% more women and 36% more backgrounds with diversity. So, also look at having who is on your team? How can we get different perspectives, different experiences, different ages, different genders, different races, whatever ... You want a mix bag, because that's where you're going to get the magic. That's where you get all these different perspectives. That's where you can really elevate your game.

Heidi J Ellsworth: Yeah. Yeah. I love that. Diversity of thought.

Monica VornBrock: Embracing that age difference. Instead of looking at it as a bad thing, look at how cross mentorship can work. Look at what the new generation does bring to the table. We are different, but they're bringing knowledge that some of us don't have. So, how do we leverage that? And that's the beauty of diversity. You have cultural differences, languages, age differences, gender differences, all these different ... People come in with a different experience that adds to the company culture, and that's value.

Heidi J Ellsworth: And I think exactly what you're saying is it goes back to that listening. Because if you're really actively listening and trying to learn, then every generation has something to offer and every person has something to offer as you go through that. But sometimes your day goes so by so fast. So, it's important to do strong leadership development. So, let's work our way through this of how this leadership development works. Melissa, start walking us through that.

Melissa Chapman: Well, with leadership development, we work with company owners or leadership teams. Again, it's really all about what are your goals as a leader. There are different styles of leadership. They work in different types of scenarios. Being very intentional about how you show up as a leader every day can really either make or break your day. So, if you wake up as the owner of a company, and today I am going to lead with servitude, I'm going to be a servant leader, I'm going to ask all my team what is it that they need? What can I do to help them achieve their goals today? That is so powerful, just having that intention.

So, we really tap into that self-awareness. It's really important to create self-awareness from leadership. So, we provide coaching, individual coaching, leadership team coaching in that regard, how to get the best out of one another and how to get the best out of yourself. It's really a partnership. We don't really ... You have all the answers as a leader. You just sometimes need some help or guidance in getting to that answer. So, we assist in that.

We look at, okay, so your organizational goals are this in this timeframe. Okay. So, what are you working with now? And we look at what you're going to need then and how do we get from here to there? So, we work with the team to help create that plan. We look at the bench, who do you have on your team? Where are the gaps? Where are the opportunities for people to elevate? Where are their redundancies? Those kinds of things.

And then we partner with our clients to help create a plan. What does that look like? If you want to hit this goal, you're going to probably want to move at a faster pace. If you have a longer time to hit that goal, then we can be a little bit more ... We can ease into it. It really also depends on the demographics of your team. If it's an older team, it's going to take a little bit longer for adoption.

So, looking at all of those different dynamics that are happening within the organization is important. And really, it's very important though as an owner or a leader of an organization to have a leadership team that is supportive of your vision and goals and what you're trying to accomplish. If they're not on board, it will never work. So, you have to get everybody on board and they have to understand the importance and the impact, how it's going to make their lives that much richer. So, that's really important.

Heidi J Ellsworth: And when you're talking about succession planning, there's so many different ways out there. There's the generational within the families, private equity, all of these just are you going to raise your employees up to take your spot when you leave, whatever that may be. And this is all levels. But Monica, as you're looking at all those different ways of succession planning, but also you and Melissa have done a lot to help companies look at that too, that long-term goal. Can you talk about that a little bit more?

Monica VornBrock: Sure. So, we have. One of the things that we do is we help them identify who their A teams are. Who here is going to help you carry the load that exists right now? Because one of the things that happens with developing, implementing these things is people look at all the things that have to be done and they freak out and they're like, I can't handle this. Of course, can't. You're one person or you're five people.

So, how are you going to then look at the team that's under you, and how is the team under them then going to help them support the initiatives, the plan. And then that frees up some of the time that needs to be spent on, "Okay. What's my plan? Where am I going? Working on the business is they're working in the business?" That's a big one.

A lot of the owners that we work with, they're buried in their business and they're proud of it, and they should be. But they don't have time. How do you plan your exit strategy when you can't even plan what time you're going to go to lunch?

Heidi J Ellsworth: Or if you even have lunch?

Monica VornBrock: Exactly. Or if you have lunch. If you're one of the lucky ones. Yeah. So, that's one of the things is we help them step away from what's happening the day in and out so that they're able to actually think strategically and think bigger.

Heidi J Ellsworth: And I would love to how you do that. Melissa, maybe talk a little bit about, is it through ... with the communications you have, the personality testing, is there also leadership testing or is it interviews? How do you do that?

Melissa Chapman: Well, again, it goes back to being certified as a professional coach. Anybody can say they're a coach. And we went through rigorous training and education on how to coach people in a way that helps them achieve their goals. So, what we do is we really connect with what your goals are and then help you develop the plan in order to achieve that goal. And so, our coaching is a really key piece in that puzzle.

We've been part of ... We've been where many of our clients have been at some point or another, whether it's going through an acquisition or whether it's hiring new people or building something from scratch. I mean, we have firsthand experience in all of those things, so we understand and can empathize with the pain and discomfort that can come with that, but also the excitement and the thrill as well.

So, we take our experience, we take our education and we marry the two in helping craft a plan that is unique for each individual and each organization. This is not cookie cutter. This is not one-size-fits-all. This is really unique to your business. Your business needs, challenges. And we take that all into account and we look at it from a holistic approach. We don't just, "Yeah, we look at the people, but we also look at the processes and we look at the platforms."

Is everything working together harmoniously or is it working at its best? Who's assessing whether it's working? Are you even measuring if it's working? So, those things, you'd be surprised, but not many people ... They're just, "Well, it's working." Well, how do you know it's working? They don't really know. We're trained to ask the right questions so that we can get the most out of the people that we work with.

Heidi J Ellsworth: Yeah. That is so cool. We are coming to the top of the hour. So, if anyone has any questions on how, what, why, please share those with us. But I do want to talk a little bit about getting started. And I think this is one of the hardest things to do is to take your time, like you already said, out of your job and take your company employees away from their job to do this planning and communications and growing. But wow, it's really worth it.

So, Monica, start out on how you help. First of all, getting started, just note everybody here, there's a QR code, if you'd like a 30-minute free consultation. But how do you get started when you start with a customer or a client to help them reach these goals?

Monica VornBrock: Well, we first establish that we are there with them. That we are going to hold their hand as much as they need us to, and as much as they want us to, understanding the challenges that they're facing, understanding where they want to be, where do you want to be in 5 years? Where do you want to be in 10 years? What are your goals? Not only financially, but also where do you want your company to be? Where do you want to be, personally? Where would you like to be?

Once we understand that bigger picture, then we go into the consultation part of it, which is, okay, well how are we going to achieve these things? What are the tactics that we're going to implement? Is it going to be team workshop? Are we going to start with your leadership team and do team development coaching first? We then establish what's the process that will fit that specific company.

Like Melissa said, it is very customized to each company because we do want everybody to get the most out of this process and identify what the right program is.

Heidi J Ellsworth: I think that's, as you're looking at that, that is key, because everybody so different and you work with so many different folks across the board. So, Melissa, let's talk specifically about roofing companies. So, roofing contractors who are thinking about doing this with their team. When you first meet with that owner, what does that look like? I understand, I mean, it's a lot of communications, but what kind of time should they expect? Give them that bigger picture?

Melissa Chapman: Sure. When we meet, initially, it's just a discovery call to understand the goals and the pain points. And that's usually, it can be anywhere from 30 to 60 minutes, depending. And then we basically then craft the program based on the information that we've gotten. We set up. Part of our process is we survey all of the people that are going to be involved in, let's say, if we do a workshop for a team, because we measure everything that we do so that we can then provide an ROI to our customers so they understand what they're getting in return for this investment.

And you mentioned taking everybody out for what that involves and everything. It's a short-term pain for a long-term gain. And you have to look at it as an investment and not an expense. And this is a commitment to your business so that you can, as a business owner, really provide the value that you bring and then have your team bring the value that they bring so that you don't have to carry it all yourself.

So, the process, honestly, is not that ... it's not a big time commitment, it's just the commitment of when you do need to be present, you're present. When you do need to be engaged, you're engaged. And being that consistent role model so that everybody else follows suit. And holding each other accountable. Show up when you need to be showing up. That's really all we ask.

When we meet with our potential clients, we ask certain questions to understand their level of commitment, to make sure that it's a right fit. They may want it, but they may not be ready. They may not be willing to commit resources or they may want to hand it off. Well, that doesn't work. We need everybody on board. So, that's why that consultation is really important to see if it's a right fit.

But the process is not a time-consuming, arduous process. And our workshops can range anywhere from one to three days, depending on what you're trying to achieve. Or we do retainer work as well to help with implementing and executing transformation. Because that's also ... We don't just come in for a workshop and leave. As Monica said, we're with you the whole way to make sure that you're really experiencing the impact of what you have set out to accomplish.

Heidi J Ellsworth: Yeah. I think that is so important. It's not one and done. And I can say that since we started with your communication workshops, and I see a long path that this is really going to open up and transform and help everyone communicate better and understand. And I have to say some major aha moments as a company owner that I was like, "Oh, I didn't even realize we were doing that." And so, it does really.

One of the questions that I had come in was, how does your program fit into the EOS? Because there's a lot of contractors who are operating as we are on the EOS system. How does that fit in?

Melissa Chapman: Well, this is more related to the human capital piece and really it's focused on individual leadership, individual growth, team leadership, team growth. It's more of the softer skills per se. So, it's things that most people aren't taught, especially men, in terms of how to communicate effectively. So, it's different than an EOS. It compliments an EOS, actually, that any organization is implementing.

Heidi J Ellsworth: That's what we've found. It's a huge compliment. And actually, as you start working through your people analyzer and your overall goals and everything this fits, it just gives you that data, that bigger picture to really empower the EOS system to work as well as it does. So, that's just my own personal estimate.

Melissa Chapman: Absolutely.

Heidi J Ellsworth: Well, ladies, wow, thank you so much. This has just been ... It's been great. I learn every time. This is excellent. So, thank you so much for being here today.

Monica VornBrock: Thank you, Heidi.

Melissa Chapman: Well, thank you so much for having us. We really appreciate it.

Heidi J Ellsworth: And I'm going to give everybody one more last chance. If you want to take a picture of that QR code, now is the time. And then I want to just again say thank you very much. Thank you all for attending today for being a part of it. This is going to be available on demand for you to share with your whole team within the next 24 hours. And of course, if you want to get more information on this, you can go to the GLOGroup directory on RoofersCoffeeShop and be able to find out what they have there.

They've also, thank you, Melissa and Monica, have done some amazing articles that really can help with your company culture along with a couple of podcasts. So, this is a great way to continue to bring that wealth of knowledge into your business and hopefully be able to take as everyone right now is so busy and going to help you scale to that next level.

So, last time, thank you, Monica.

Monica VornBrock: Thank you, Heidi.

Heidi J Ellsworth: Thank you, Melissa.

Melissa Chapman: Thank you so much.

Heidi J Ellsworth: Thank you. And thank you all. Have a great week. We will be back next week with Coffee conversations and another RLW. So, be sure to sign up, register, don't miss a single thing and be able to ... And please share this out to the whole community and the whole roofing industry. We will be in touch. We'll be seeing you next week. Thanks.