Lead Culture with Jenni Catron

There's nothing like the passion of a younger generation to rekindle our desire to lead well for the long haul. And there's nothing like the perspective of someone in a different season of life to help us see things in new ways. In this episode, Jenni sits down with some young leaders to discuss what they're seeing in leadership trends and to hear their perspectives on inter-generational communication. These students who are enrolled at Lifepoint College, a two-year degree program operated as an extension of Lifepoint Church in Fredericksburg, VA, share unique and refreshing thoughts about leadership and developing others.We need your help to get the LeadCulture podcasts in front of more leaders! There are three simple things you can do that truly help us: Review us on Apple podcasts Subscribe - we’re available wherever you listen to podcasts. Share - let your friends know about the podcast by sharing your favorite episode on social media!

It really is too bad that those we lead aren't mind readers, isn't it? If they were, then they would just KNOW what to do and when. They'd know the nuances to how to pursue goals in ways that truly reflect not just what they should do but HOW they should do it. But alas, our team members can't read our minds. This is why it's so crucial that we're intentional to take what comes intuitively to us, the things that are core to the culture we're trying to create and the vision we're trying to achieve, and to communicate it to those we lead. Bonus points if it's communicated in an easily understood and easily reproducible way.In this episode, Jenni Catron interviews Jennifer Martin, Executive Pastor of Ministries at NorthRock Church in San Antonio, Texas, about how to do just that. Jennifer shares about the intentional steps she's taking to infuse culture throughout her team and how she's seeking to institutionalize it by creating a Culture Guide.Connect with Jennifer Martin: jennifer@northrocksa.comNorthRock ChurchWe need your help to get the LeadCulture podcasts in front of more leaders! There are three simple things you can do that truly help us: Review us on Apple podcasts Subscribe - we’re available wherever you listen to podcasts. Share - let your friends know about the podcast by sharing your favorite episode on social media!

Building an extraordinary team culture is NOT a one-and-done task. It requires consistent, intentional care. In an imminently practical conversation about how to infuse great team culture throughout seasons of an organization's life, Jenni interviews long-time friend and colleague Ashley Warren. Ashley is a former educator and ministry leader who now serves as a Culture Consultant with the 4 Sight Group. She's passionate about helping leaders build healthy teams.Jenni and Ashley discuss:key seasons during which to pay close attention to team cultureways to implement intentional culture at various stages of the employee life cycledistinguishing between organizational values and team valuesthe role of the senior leader in building team cultureConnect with Ashley ashley@get4sight.comAs you seek to infuse culture in your organization, be sure to check out these two resources:Registration is open now for our online Culture Group - this is a 6-week live online course that walks you through the specifics of building an extraordinary team culture. If this is the year you’re committed to building a great culture, this is the group for you. Click HERE for details!We also have a free Culture Workbook that will walk you through the steps of defining your culture. THIS is a great resource to walk through with your team to kick start the conversation. Keep leading well!Listen, Review, and Subscribe!Listen to The Jenni Catron Leadership Podcast each week. Please rate and review the podcast. This helps us grow our reach and bless others with free leadership content.Subscribe to the podcast via Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Play, or your favorite podcast app!We need your help to get the LeadCulture podcasts in front of more leaders! There are three simple things you can do that truly help us: Review us on Apple podcasts Subscribe - we’re available wherever you listen to podcasts. Share - let your friends know about the podcast by sharing your favorite episode on social media!

As leaders, there are times we have to think differently to lead better. There are some mindsets that we simply MUST embrace if we want the culture we’re leading toward to actually permeate the organization. And these mindsets involve getting honest with ourselves about whether or not we’ve given in to a common fallacy:  the idea that culture should be gleaned through osmosis - an effortless, unconscious assimilation. Some highlights and key points from Jenni's teaching:Shaping the culture for your team is arguably the most important work you’ll do. You can’t accomplish your mission without a team that is aligned and working effectively together. Culture is not an episodic event of writing value statements, displaying them and hoping they catch on. Culture is living and breathing and needs your attention every day.Both the organization and a new employee have a responsibility in helping the new employee succeed in the culture.She also explores the Employee Life Cycle that William Vanderbloemen defines in his book Culture Wins. There are some incredible applications to make concerning culture at each stage in the Employee Life Cycle--places like hiring, daily and monthly rhythms, review processes. Jenni provides a series of guiding questions to ask yourself as you consider truly embedding team culture that will align your team and lead to organizational success. As you seek to embed culture in your organization, be sure to check out these two resources:Registration is open now for our online Culture Group - this is a 6-week live online course that walks you through the specifics of building an extraordinary team culture. If this is the year you’re committed to building a great culture, this is the group for you. Click HERE for details!We also have a free Culture Workbook that will walk you through the steps of defining your culture. THIS is a great resource to walk through with your team to kick start the conversation. Keep leading well!Listen, Review, and Subscribe!Listen to The Jenni Catron Leadership Podcast each week. Please rate and review the podcast. This helps us grow our reach and bless others with free leadership content.Subscribe to the podcast via Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Play, or your favorite podcast app!We need your help to get the LeadCulture podcasts in front of more leaders! There are three simple things you can do that truly help us: Review us on Apple podcasts Subscribe - we’re available wherever you listen to podcasts. Share - let your friends know about the podcast by sharing your favorite episode on social media!

As a leader, you likely have a vision for the kind of culture you want to create on your team. That visionary gift is part of what has gotten you where you are. The challenges can arise when you begin the work to implement what’s in your imagination. There are some key steps to designing the culture that you want, and that’s the focus of today’s podcast. In this episode, Jenni Catron explores some really practical exercises you can do that will help you find clarity about your mission, vision, values, and convictions--to gain organizational self-awareness about your purpose. Take a listen and then start taking inventory. You’ll find the effort well worth it.Some highlights and key points from Jenni's teaching:One of the most challenging parts of creating great organizational culture is having organizational self-awareness.  Most of us believe our culture is better than it actually is.Much like self-awareness is the key to success for leaders, organizational self-awareness is key for organizations to succeed. What is organizational self-awareness? It's knowing who you are. Knowing your purpose. Knowing your strengths and weaknesses.  Knowing what you do best and how you best do it. Galatians 6:4 (MSG) “Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you’ve been given.”Link to Episode 25--”Building an Extraordinary Team Culture”Clarity of purpose is essential before you can build a healthy culture. Healthy culture has to be an overflow of who you are, but if you don’t know who you are, you can’t build a healthy culture because you don’t know what you’re building on.What’s key to culture is that culture is what you DO much more than what you SAY. Equation for Culture: Values x Behavior = CulturePowerful by Patty McCordResources:Registration is open now for our online Culture Group - this is a 6-week live online course that walks you through the specifics of building an extraordinary team culture. If this is the year you’re committed to building a great culture, this is the group for you. Click HERE for details!We also have a free Culture Workbook that will walk you through the steps of defining your culture. THIS is a great resource to walk through with your team to kick start the conversation. Keep leading well!Listen, Review, and Subscribe!Listen to The Jenni Catron Leadership Podcast each week. Please rate and review the podcast. This helps us grow our reach and bless others with free leadership content.Subscribe to the podcast via Apple Podcasts, We need your help to get the LeadCulture podcasts in front of more leaders! There are three simple things you can do that truly help us: Review us on Apple podcasts Subscribe - we’re available wherever you listen to podcasts. Share - let your friends know about the podcast by sharing your favorite episode on social media!

Everywhere you turn, the culture conversation seems to pop up. How do you attract great employees, enhance engagement, achieve your organizational goals while growing in collaboration and innovation? Great team culture goes far beyond what we say about who we are and what we believe; great culture occurs in what we do -- how we behave. This is the linchpin that differentiates the discussion of culture and the activation of culture. In this week’s episode of the Jenni Catron Leadership podcast, our founder and CEO Jenni addresses and elaborates on the following reasons it would be a mistake to ignore the culture conversation. Because the truth is: it’s not going away. 6 Reasons Not to Ignore the Culture Conversation The work we do really is all ABOUT people and FOR people.Purpose matters more than ever. Gig economy and remote work is here to stay.  Longevity pays off. Navigating change requires great culture.  Great culture multiplies. What You Do is Who You Are by Ben HorowitzIf you want the kind of team culture that you’d be proud to multiply, begin by diagnosing your existing culture. Start by getting perspective on your current culture.Here are some questions to get you thinking. You might even gather your team and process them together. Do we have a clear, shared purpose?Does each person on the team understand what is expected of them to achieve that purpose?How well do we communicate?How do we handle bad news? Do we avoid it, attack itAre we vulnerable with each other?  How do we handle disagreements?Do we have a set of shared values as a team?Does work get done when the leader is not present?Do we regularly and consistently do performance reviews?Does each person on the team have a plan for growth?If you aren’t satisfied with the answers, the good news is: things CAN change. And you as the leader are responsible. You have to own it. You have to believe in it. You have to define it and you have to model it. It starts with you. You’re perfectly poised to do something about it. It’s patient and persistent work, but it’s worth it. Resources:Registration is open now for our online Culture Group - this is a 6-week live online course that walks you through the specifics of building an extraordinary team culture. If this is the year you’re committed to building a great culture, this is the group for you. Click HERE for details!We also have a free Culture Workbook that will walk you through the steps of defining your culture. THIS is a great resource to walk through with your team to kick start the conversation.We need your help to get the LeadCulture podcasts in front of more leaders! There are three simple things you can do that truly help us: Review us on Apple podcasts Subscribe - we’re available wherever you listen to podcasts. Share - let your friends know about the podcast by sharing your favorite episode on social media!

Many of us are resistant to change. It can be really difficult. AND it can be the pivotal moment that alters our future. There are certain critical moments that we, as leaders, have a chance to change our minds--to think differently in order to lead better. And when we do, the outcomes for those we lead are extraordinary. Let's dig into how we can resist our own resistance to change and lead others to do the same.Check out last week’s episode to hear Jenni's thoughts about what must NOT change HERE or wherever you love to listen to podcasts. In that episode, we talked about what must NOT change in ourselves and our organizations. The bottom line was this: getting clear perspective on our purpose is essential for us to lead well for the long haul.In this episode, we’ll tackle an equally weighty and crucial question: What MUST change?Highlights from Jenni's teaching:Seth Godin explains our resistance to change like this: “We resist change because it pushes us a place of incompetence.” No one enjoys feeling incompetent. Or out of control. BUT, this is where we as leaders must change our mind - we have to be willing to be change agents.With clarity on what must not change – purpose and mission – a leader must be perpetually curious and hunting for what must change. In fact, the perspective shift that is essential for every leader at every level is to see themselves as a change agent. You must be continually committed to identifying what needs to change and persistent to leading through it at a pace that others can stand. A Key Tool for Being a Change Agent is the Keep/Start/Stop Exercise.Often we convince ourselves that we can keep adding--more efforts and initiatives--without ever evaluating what needs to stop.More is not better. More is just more. And adding more without strategically stopping just leads to exhaustion and overwhelm. We’re okay with change when it means addition. We dislike change when it means subtraction. Before the new year begins to run away with you, here are three assignments:Schedule time - a couple hours or an entire day - to get away and think through the questions: What Must Change? What are you resisting? What are you afraid of? What are you avoiding? (Any variation of these questions will help you get honest about where you need to lead through change this year.)Do the Keep/Start/Stop exercise. Grab a sheet of paper or go to your whiteboard and make three columns labeled Keep/Start/Stop. Then brainstorm each column. If you have starts but no stops, you need to dig deeper and be honest about what you’re unwilling to let go of.Pull your team together and repeat the exercise.As leaders, we have to fight for focus. Opportunities abound. Good things vie for our attention. Your job as a leader is to determine what must change. Where do you need to think differently to lead better this year? Change starts with you. Lead well!Be sure to check out our free resource, the 4 Dimensions of Extraordinary Leadership Assessment. It's sure to help you on your path to becoming a leader willing to be a change agent!We need your help to get the LeadCulture podcasts in front of more leaders! There are three simple things you can do that truly help us: Review us on Apple podcasts Subscribe - we’re available wherever you listen to podcasts. Share - let your friends know about the podcast by sharing your favorite episode on social media!

There are certain critical moments that we, as leaders, have a chance to change our minds--to think differently in order to lead better. And when we do, the outcomes for those we lead are extraordinary. In this episode, our Founder and CEO Jenni Catron shares about some of the perspective shifts she's made to take her leadership to the next level. Highlights from Jenni's teaching:Sometimes, we need to think differently to lead better. There are perspective shifts critical to our success.When we shift our perspective & see things in a new way, growth occurs. When growth occurs, it’s impossible to stay stagnant.Example perspective shifts:Climbing the leadership ladder was not about me, but those I was leading.I was ridiculously in charge of my own life & needed to take responsibility for my own growth instead of waiting for someone else to map out my path. I should quit waiting for someone else to step up & take charge & realize I’m the one who needs to make the hard call & do the right thing.Jenni often asks leaders: What if you’re frustrated about that because you’re the one whose supposed to do something about it?When we challenge our perspective, it leads to breakthrough moments that define our leadership.Study from Barna 82% of young people believe society is in a leadership crisis. 1/3 believe that what it takes to be an effective leader is changing. The leadership landscape is changing.Leaders need to have the emotional intelligence to lead yourself well, to navigate the critical moments of your organization, & have the ability to discern the emotional current of your team and the culture. It’s possible and essential.Can you think up? Can you change your mind?Perspective Shift #1: Who you’re becoming is more important than what you’re doing.Do the right things at the right time.Identify the foundational elements of who we are as leaders, while identifying the areas we need to adapt and grow & change with our surroundings.What must NOT change? Your core purpose: personal mission, vision & values.Clarity of purpose is essential for longevity.Have you experienced a crisis of purpose moment?Is your leadership foundation set?Defining your personal mission, vision & values is imperative.Check out Jenni's book CLOUT: Discover and Unleash Your God-Given Influence for help determining your personal purpose & mission. Free Download: Clout Study Guide Do you have a sense of purpose that can transcend any job, role or title?Do you believe that who you are becoming is more important that what you’re doing?Free Resource: If you'd like to take a step toward developing the type of self-awareness we talked about today, we have a great FREE resource for you. Click here for the 4 Dimensions of Extraordinary Leadership Assessment. Listen, Review, & Subscribe!Please rate and review the podcast. This helps us grow our reach and bless others with free leadership content. Subscribe to The Jenni Catron Leadership Podcast via We need your help to get the LeadCulture podcasts in front of more leaders! There are three simple things you can do that truly help us: Review us on Apple podcasts Subscribe - we’re available wherever you listen to podcasts. Share - let your friends know about the podcast by sharing your favorite episode on social media!

There are certain critical moments that we, as leaders, have a chance to change our minds--to think differently in order to lead better. And when we do, the outcomes for those we lead are extraordinary. In this episode, our Founder and CEO Jenni Catron interviews her friend Holly Moore. With years of varied experience, Holly's insights from her leadership journey are extremely helpful and inspiring...and we get the added bonus of listening in while she does some live coaching with Jenni!About Holly:Holly Moore is an accomplished senior executive with more than twenty years of diverse leadership experience in a publicly traded for-profit company as well as both large and start-up non-profit organizations.  She is the President of Hollis Strategies (www.HollisStrategies.com) where she collaborates with individuals and organizations to develop strategic plans that increase their influence and grow their organizations.  Holly is also a sought-after speaker and leadership coach who uses her expertise as a Certified Myers Briggs Type Indicator Practitioner and a Certified 5 Voices Coach to discuss personality-based communication patterns and how they apply to relationships and team performance. Holly has spoken to audiences throughout the United States as well in Egypt, Brazil, Zambia, Mexico, Costa Rica and Singapore.Holly’s passion is to help leaders maximize their influence and impact to exponentially grow their organizations. Some Highlights from Jenni and Holly’s conversation:The more I know myself, the better I can lead myself. And then I can lead other people.Consistently pray this prayer: God, give me wisdom, discernment and favor so that I can wisely assess people in situations, I can have discernment about where people’s skills and strengths are, and I can have favor to know how to successfully help them navigate different career transitions themselves.The 5 Voices SystemIf you create a culture in which every voice around the table feels deeply heard, deeply valued and respected you’re going to make wiser decisions optimize team performance and execute at a much higher level.Have we built the foundation block of being able to communicate well with others, have trusting relationships, people feel that they can share and be heard and that’s the bedrock for executing every piece of strategic planning you could ever want to do?Connect with Holly:Hollis StrategiesFree Resource:If you'd like to take a step toward developing the type of self-awareness we talked about today, we have a great FREE resource that I'd love to get into your hands. Click here for the 4 Dimensions of Extraordinary Leadership Assessment. Listen, Review, and Subscribe!Listen to Episode 34, "Change Your Mind--An Interview with Holly Moore."Please rate and review the podcast. This helps us grow our reach and bless others with free leadership content.Subscribe to The Jenni Catron Leadership Podcast via Apple PodcastsWe need your help to get the LeadCulture podcasts in front of more leaders! There are three simple things you can do that truly help us: Review us on Apple podcasts Subscribe - we’re available wherever you listen to podcasts. Share - let your friends know about the podcast by sharing your favorite episode on social media!

There are certain critical moments that we, as leaders, have a chance to change our minds--to think differently in order to lead differently. And when we do, the outcomes for those we lead are extraordinary. In this episode, our Founder and CEO Jenni Catron has great conversation with Lindsey Epperly, founder of Epperly Travel and EntreTravel, about some of the mental shifts she’s made while growing her business, investing in her team and developing as a leader.About Lindsey:Lindsey Epperly wandered into the travel industry at the age of 19 by complete accident: she walked into a local travel agency looking for a brochure and walked out with a job planning honeymoons. She built up her book of business while attending the University of Georgia (Go Dawgs!) and launched her own brand through an entrepreneurship competition. Five years into the role, she desired to begin training and mentoring other agents and decided to launch Epperly Travel, a boutique agency based in Atlanta with a focus on a modern, innovative approach to travel planning. Epperly Travel has recently received the prestigious honor of the Bulldog 100 List, for 2020 representing the fastest growing businesses led by UGA Alumni. Over the course of her career, Lindsey has been recognized as one of Travel Agent Magazine's Top 30 Under 30, Wendy Perrin's WOW List Caribbean expert, and Jezebel Magazine's Trailblazing 10. Lindsey's greatest passion is mentoring others in business and, of course, traveling - usually with her husband, who just last year quit his job in finance to join the Epperly Travel team.  Lindsey is passionate about mentoring and training others in the travel industry, so much so that she and her husband recently launched a separate travel advisor training company called EntreTravel, an online training and certification program dedicated to teaching advisors how to run a successful travel business.Some Highlights from Jenni and Lindsey’s conversation:In navigating the transition from technician or practitioner to owner and CEO, Lindsey describes the theme of her leadership growth in the first 5 years of being a business owner as this: “learning to let go of control and let others who are capable step up and do their jobs and do their jobs well without me getting in our own way.”When we realize our own capacity, we can place people in the right spots. When people are in the right spots, they shine.When faced with the unexpected transition of a key employee and being blindsided by the flood of emotions that followed, Lindsey says she realized...We had a culture problemWe needed to prepare for the work-life balance dynamic of working with my soon-to-be husbandIdentify the experienced people whose advice and counsel you want to seek out.“I realized I was good at asking for advice, but I didn’t realize how bad I was at asking for help.”On seasons of growth that can feel overwhelming: “Your natural response can be to double down and do more, work more, but the better response is to pour into yourself.”Some team culture shifts Lindsey enacted:Culture shift to eliminate bottleneck and to encourage team members to be open with and learning from each other.Recreate and environment for water cooler conversations in a virtual world.Self-leadership to focus on what only she could do--stepping ouWe need your help to get the LeadCulture podcasts in front of more leaders! There are three simple things you can do that truly help us: Review us on Apple podcasts Subscribe - we’re available wherever you listen to podcasts. Share - let your friends know about the podcast by sharing your favorite episode on social media!