Meet Cathy Mott & Dr Toni Flowers

It’s rare to be able to benefit from authentic leadership insight from both a manager and one of her team members. But approaching the leadership model of the future in action from both sides of the discussion is the key to real change and growth — and this applies just as much to automotive as management in any other industry.

In a truly unique take on gravitas and the power of management, leadership coach Cathy Mott returns for a discussion with her ex-“ssob” (boss spelled backwards) and now lifelong friend Dr. Toni Flowers, who refused to be called a boss by her team.

Dr. Toni not only has an eye for talent, but sees nurturing her team as a privilege leading to great things in the future. “She allowed me to go to this program which was such a gift,” Cathy says. “And here I am — many years later — as an executive coach running my own business, because she believed in me and gave me that gift.”

Dr. Toni is driven by a powerful vision which took her — in her own words — “from the broom to the boardroom.” Born to be a healer, her destiny led her down the path toward truly authentic leadership and its gifts by unlocking what was already inside herself.

Meanwhile, Cathy sees herself as a beneficiary of this on her own journey in helping executives and others in management to harness the true power of leading with authenticity.

On this special episode of Finding Gravitas, Dr. Toni and Cathy share how their professional and personal dynamic supercharged their work together and took them both to new heights in their respective careers as authentic leaders.

Themes discussed on this episode: 

• Spotting and nurturing talent to unlock the hidden potential in new hires
• How great feedback can be a source of joy and inspiration
• How having a powerful vision of yourself defines your future
• How failure can be a source of growth and opportunity if you’re willing to be introspective
• Working with leaders at all level for real authentic leadership insight
• How gravitas is actually a privilege — to impact people’s lives for better or worse
• Being a continual learner and an active listener to keep growing

Featured Guest: Cathy Mott

What she does: Cathy Mott is the mind, body and spirit behind CWC Leadership, offering executive and leadership coaching. With diverse experience across the automotive, education and healthcare industries, Cathy wants to bring her very best to encourage authenticity in a confidential space for her clients.

On Gravitas: “Mind, body, soul and spirit … it's all about bringing 100% of myself as a gift to other individuals…. I always want to bring the best version of myself to my clients. And I love creating the space for people to be truly authentic in the moment in the space of coaching.”

Featured Guest: Dr. Toni Flowers

What she does: As Chief Diversity and Social Responsibility Officer at LCMC Health, Dr. Toni Flowers shares her gifts as a leader with a keen eye for innate talent across her teams. 

On Gravitas: “It is acknowledging that you have a privilege, and that [that] privilege is impacting the lives of those that support you, those that report to you [and] share your work, and execute your vision. And recognizing that [that] privilege can be misused [and] abused, or embraced.”

Episode Highlights

Timestamped inflection points from the show

[6:35] On hiring talent: Dr. Toni explains the special traits Cathy had that made hiring such an easy decision. “The thing about Cathy that stood out to me and still does,” she says, “is that Kathy always appears fearless. And whenever she does something that is amazing to her, it's not surprising to me, because I always expect her to do great things.”

[11:21] On gravitas: “Cathy would go down to the CEO’s office,” Dr. Toni explains, “because she already knew his schedule, and she would close his door, and she would give him the truth. And that takes a lot of guts and gravitas.”

[14:56] On the pleasures of receiving great feedback: Cathy talks about how Dr. Tony is “so good at giving feedback, you want her to give you feedback on how you can improve.”

[18:20] True colors: Cathy talks about Dr. Toni’s unique method for coaxing the best out of people. “I will never forget that: that someone knew me that well [and] cared enough about me to get me to a good place, so I could do the best work possible. She was amazing.”

[20:00] The essence of leadership: “There’s a growing consciousness and recognition that it’s not about treating everybody the same,” reminds Jan. “You’ve got to meet people where they’re at, and you’ve got to connect with the individual on a human to human level. That’s what great leadership is.”

[20:29] From the broom to the boardroom: Dr. Toni shares her origin story and determination to shine based on her personal vision. “While I was sweeping floors and brushing toilets clean, I knew that I was the best nurse in the world,” she says, “I just hadn’t achieved that yet. So I think your perspective of yourself, and knowing what your goal is, really helps to establish who you are in spite of where you are.”

[26:27] Executive coaching insights: Cathy talks about what she’s learned from her experience with numerous leaders at all levels, including what she’s learned from her “ssob” (“boss” spelled backwards) Dr. Toni. “The number one emotion that I coach for is fear,” she says.

[30:51] Failure as reality check: Dr. Toni and Cathy talk about how failure can lead to opportunities for growth, but it requires real introspection. “When you are authentic,” Dr. Toni says, “people can see it and sense it and smell it and taste it. And when you’re faking it, it just stinks.”

[38:47] Listen and learn: Dr. Toni and Cathy discuss which of the 21 traits of authentic leadership resonates most, landing on curiosity through continual learning and active listening.

Top quotes

[4:15] Cathy: “I feel like I am authentically doing what I was created to do. … I happily will say that a lot of that is because of having the privilege to work with Tony and her being able to see my natural gifts and talents that I necessarily didn’t see at the time.”

[12:14] Jan: “Often, leaders are reluctant to put people in a role that helps them grow and challenges them … leaders are looking for safety … it’s got nothing to do with that technical skill. It has everything to do with the caliber of the individual and all the traits that you just described. So we need to encourage people to do more of that.”

[22:56] Dr. Toni: “I never allow anyone that reports to me to call me boss, because we are a team. I happen to be the leader and the full responsibility is mine, but we all have to be accountable. And so for me, it was recognizing that I could not do my role alone: I had to be the visionary … but I need other people with other skills to help make my team successful. … It was that perspective that helped me to empower the people that reported to me because I needed them.”

[35:47] Dr. Toni: “Taking that time to really examine yourself is key to being a good leader, because your team needs you to continue to lead them, have vision, and also recognize where they have the opportunity for growth. And if you’re stuck in your head all puffed up, then you’re not really being a benefit to anybody.”

[36:47] Jan: “There’s a lot of fear of failure in the automotive industry, and it’s because of decades of a leadership model of command and control that's been in existence that we’re trying desperately hard to get away from. Some companies are making bigger strides than others.”