S5:E83🎙️Live with Dr. Rachael Knotts, Ed.D. (Multi Tracks Audio)

Hi, I'm John Maxwell.

When the top companies in the world are looking for trainers, speakers, and coaches, there's one name that stands above the rest, and that's Maxwell Leadership. Our certified team members have gotten proven results for companies all over the globe, and our reputation, I'm proud to say, is second to none. Some of our members have risen to the top of their profession, including the one you're going to meet today. I proudly introduce you to my friend Bob Fabien Zinga.

Welcome to the Leadership Success Podcast with your host, Coach BZ, where we help you lead with purpose and succeed with impact. If you're ready to grow into the kind of leader others want to follow, this podcast is for you. If you're determined to elevate your success and leave a lasting legacy, this podcast is for you. As my mentor, Dr. John C. Maxwell, reminds us, everything rises and falls on leadership. Our goal is simple: to inspire you, challenge you, and equip you with insights that can transform the trajectory of your leadership journey. Welcome aboard to another episode of the Leadership and Success Podcast with Coach BZ.

Did you know that when we talk about manifestation and the law of attraction, it's not just in about attracting relationships or finances or the lifestyle that we want, but it's also important to think about manifestation and how we can develop our inner leadership styles or our leadership skills overall. So when you get really good at the intention and then the effort that you are putting out there in what you are hoping to create for yourself, and then you're combining that with the act of deliberately creating opportunities events, avenues for you to be able to turn that intention into reality. You are manifesting, and that is the philosophy of the Law of Attraction— that positive thoughts, positive intentions, positive energy are going to bring about positive outcomes. They're going to bring them right into your existence. DM me for more information on manifestation and how to manifest your inner leader.

All right, everyone, welcome to another episode of the Young Leadership and Success podcast. We have a very special guest for you today, and as is our custom, we are going to start with what we call a moment of gratitude. Every day we want to take just a moment to be grateful, and this is especially because in the military it's about 21, 22 service members and veterans who commit suicide every single day. And we believe that it's impossible to be suicidal and to also be grateful at the very, very same time. So if you would maybe close your eyes right now and put yourself in your happy place and maybe take a deep breath and slow down your nervous system. And think about one thing you are grateful for right now. And today I am really grateful that I am still alive. I live in the moment, right? As long as I am alive, as long as I have breath, there is hope for me. And as you guys know, this week it was very difficult for me to be grateful about anything based on what our commander-in-chief said about pretty much genociding an entire civilization, which, you know, I am in the military and that would be absolutely a war crime and illegal orders. I would have never imagined that my own commander-in-chief would be capable of even thinking in those terms. But anyway, I think I've been able to process it now. So I want to look at the world in a positive way. So I am grateful America hasn't been responsible for genocide in any civilization. And kill innocent people. Really, really grateful for that. And by the way, today is Easter for the Eastern Orthodox Church. Their calendar is about one week set aside compared to ours. So happy Easter to them. And really, to me, the beauty of Easter and the prayer for Easter, you know, goodwill toward men and peace on earth. That is really what I am really longing for. We need peace. And part of the reason why I joined the military is because We have such a powerful military. I was under the impression we would never have a reason to actually fight, right? War would be a last, last, last, last resort. Let's use diplomacy. Let's talk and let's look at the world in such a way that we are able to communicate and resolve all of our issues and conflict without having to pick up weapons. But anyway, that is my prayer. That is my hope. So happy Easter to the Eastern Orthodox Church and peace on earth. That is really what I am longing. All right, let me go ahead and introduce our special guest today. I am really, really overjoyed. This is actually the first time we are meeting, but I feel like I've known her all of my life. I'm gonna be speaking today. I'm so excited to welcome Dr. Rachel Nutz. And she's a transformational leadership coach, educator, certified member of the John Maxwell team. Dr. Knotts is a purpose-driven leader who helps individuals and organizations grow intentionally. She leads authentically and creates lasting impact. With a powerful blend of academic excellence, real-world leadership application, she equips leaders with the mindset, tools, and discipline required to elevate their influence. Her message is quite simple but powerful: you don't rise to leadership by accident, you grow into leadership.

Intentionally.

So what you're gonna be learning today is why intentional growth is the foundation of great leadership. Just by her saying that, I can hear the voice of our common mentor, Papa John. It is really exciting to me. And I am always quite impressed because I've talked to Maxwell Leadership Certified Coaches from Brazil, from France, from Sweden, from Australia, of course, from the US, and we've never met, but As soon as I talk to them, it's as if we are family, as if I've known them my entire life. We really truly have the same DNA. So that's why I am so very excited and pumped up today. So please help me welcome to the Leadership and Success Podcast, the one and only Dr. Rachel Knottz. All right. Good afternoon, Dr. Knottz. How are you today?

Oh, wonderful, Bob. Thank you so much. I'm excited to be here today.

Absolutely. Maybe to get started, is there something you are grateful for today? Is there one thing you are grateful— oh, hold on.

There we are.

Okay. The first question I ask you, is there one thing you are grateful for today?

Yes, that's a great question. Today I'm thankful for my family and I'm thankful for another day to be here, to be alive in this wonderful country that we live in, the United States. And to just be here today with all of you.

Amen. I, I really love that. And really, my prayer is that we stay— I like what President Reagan said, right? The, uh, I guess it came from, from the Bible, but the shining city on the hill. That's really who America is, and I think we need to continue to be to this dark world. That is so wonderful. And, uh, what is something about you that most people may not know when they first meet you?

Yes, um, one thing that people probably do not know is that I spent all of my childhood, adolescent years, even up to about the age of 30 doing, um, competitive dance and live theater. So I feel like when I'm doing a lot of my facilitation and training, I have a lot of that that kind of comes into that interactive environment with me as well.

Wow, that is really impressive. Wow, that takes a lot of discipline, doesn't it?

It does. And I started at a very early age, but it is a lot of discipline, right? A lot of commitment, being intentional.

That's amazing because both of my daughters, they did ballet. Not quite what you did, but man, what does that teach you about leadership?

One thing that it taught me was teamwork was super important. You're part of a team, so it's not really about you. So even on the days that you didn't feel your greatest, you still had to bring yourself together because you were part of a team. And then that also taught you some leadership skills along the way as well.

That is really, really powerful. So what inspired your journey into leadership development and education?

What really inspired me was just growing up with the two parents that I had, to be honest. I had two great parents that both grew up fairly poor. And then my father went into the military. He went into the Navy.

Wow.

And my mom, and my mom ended up going for getting formally educated and, and became an educator. But I remember them instilling in us at a very young age discipline, staying committed, and education. They said education was so important, and they invested in that in us children. And I can remember growing up to them saying, you are your most valuable asset. And I didn't really know what that meant when I was a little kid. Yeah, but as I started to experience different things and grow, grow up and learn different things, I realized what they meant. And that's so true. We are our best asset because we know our mindset, our attitudes, the way we show up for ourselves and then for others. And it's all part of leadership.

Wow, that is really powerful. It reminded me of something Oprah said where, uh, she said the first investment you should make should be an investment in yourself. Wow, that's, that is powerful. So was there maybe a defining moment where you realized that leadership was your calling?

I wouldn't say there was any one defining moment, but again, through all those experiences and through living in a family that really valued being your best, doing your best, understanding how people behave and communicate, and being aware, I decided I wanted to go into education. And I've spent 24 years in higher ed, which has been a wonderful career. And in that area, all these little moments have added up where just different roles I've had. So whether it was with the students, whether it was with the leadership at the college, with different departments, the community, I started to notice that there was a common theme going along, going around. It was people would rewire differently. They would behave differently. They would communicate differently. And I wanted to understand that better and understand, you know, especially in different leadership positions, why do we all behave differently? And we can be in the same room and hear something completely different.

Yes.

Experience it differently. And so that's really what led me— all of those experiences is what led me into my leadership journey.

Wow.

And like I said in the intro, we are both Maxwell Leadership Certified Coaches. It used to be called John Maxwell Teams. What got you involved with the Maxwell Leadership Organization?

I had always heard of John Maxwell. I had read his books throughout different leadership development programs I was in. Then I went into my doctorate degree in education and leadership. I was finishing that around the time COVID was— we had already been in COVID, but we were slowly coming out. And I just, I was coaching women on the side. On the side of my full-time job in education. I was coaching women in attachment theory. And I thought that was starting to come to an end. And I thought, I still want to be able to help people and utilize the skills I've built up in my educational world and now my doctorate. And I found that the John Maxwell Leadership Team had this coaching and speaking program, and I was very curious about it. And that's kind of what led me there is I just, I wanted more. I wanted to do more and add value.

That's really wonderful. Yeah, I believe it's the number one coaching program in the world. When I got into it, I think it was about 50,000 coaches worldwide, but now I believe it's more than 80,000. It's just incredible.

Wow.

Are there maybe some early challenges that kind of shaped your leadership philosophy?

Yes. I remember when I was in my early 20s and I had just finished my undergrad, So I went into my first job, and when I was in that job for a while, I remember having a supervisor at one point for a very small period of time that I didn't know what leadership really was yet. I was fresh, wet behind the ears. I didn't know really what leadership was. And so having this supervisor, I just knew that this is what leadership, good leadership is not. And it was somebody that just didn't listen, didn't hear us, was not a very good communicator, and it was not a good experience. And I remember at that time saying, if I ever get into leadership, this is who I don't want to be.

Yes.

And I always kept that with me because as I would grow along in my leadership and, and you would face different decisions that have to be made or different experiences, I would remember, okay, how do you want to treat people? How do you want people to feel in your presence? Is that That's really important. And so, I think that moment really was the foundation of knowing what I didn't want to do in my leadership.

That is, I think a lot of people can definitely relate to that. And the one book I would recommend for people is this one, The Five Levels of Leadership by Dr. Maxwell. Because level number 1, the lowest level, right, is positional leadership. I am your boss, I'm your leader just because of my title. But really, leadership is not about title. It's about influence. Wow, that is, that is really insightful. And what about your doctoral journey? How did that transform the way you view leadership and influence today?

I always thought for the longest time, and many people may still think this, that leadership was only reserved for a very few at the top. And if you didn't have a certain title in your organization, if you didn't have the cushy office by the window or you didn't make a certain amount of money that you weren't really a leader. And I believed that for a long time. But going through my doctorate journey, coming through that, I started to realize, and then moving on into the Maxwell Leadership Community, I started to realize that that's not true, that it's not based on title. And just like you said, Bizzy, it's based on influence. And I realized through all this that people, you all have influence and you can influence people right where you are. It doesn't matter if you're just starting out. You can influence your peers. You can influence— have influence with your family. And so what does that look like for you? And how do you live that out, which is ultimately going to help you grow your leadership skills?

That is so true. Let's talk about intentional growth and influence since we had this here. You do emphasize intentional growth. What does that look like in practice? For people who might be very busy?

Yeah, intentional growth is super important. And I want to talk about 3 brief ways that you can do that. The first way is have clarity. So you want to have clarity of where you're going, or if you're in an organization, if you're leading people now, what is the mission? What, what is the goal? And you want to have that clarity at the forefront of everything that you do and be able to share that with others. The second thing is you want to intentionally invest in yourself. That's really important because opportunities and growth, they don't just happen. They don't just fall on our laps. We have to make— we have to take action and make way for those opportunities to come our way. And so by intentionally investing in yourself, maybe you get a coach, maybe you invest in professional development. Maybe you start reading in a certain area more and more, but you, you're taking the time to say, I'm investing in myself, being intentional about it. And then the third way is to stay consistent. Consistency wins. I mean, people sometimes think, well, I might not be as smart as this person, or I don't speak as well as this person, but it's about consistency. And if you stay consistent with whatever you're doing, you're going to, you're going to see things happen. You're taking action and you're going to make progress.

Wow, that is really, really insightful. And what do you think separates leaders who grow consistently from those who kind of plateau?

I believe that consistent leaders are always, they're curious. They're always asking questions. They want to get back to their why or to the organization's why and purpose. But they're not afraid to say, I don't know, I don't have the answer. Whereas maybe one that plateaus is maybe they think, well, I don't have the answers, I don't know. Or if I don't have the answers, then I'm not a leader. And I always tell emerging leaders all the time, stay curious, ask questions. That's a good leader because you're not expected to have all the answers. I mean, nobody is. And that's not why they put you into that leadership position or why you've been called into that. And so I also live by the philosophy that if I don't know something 100%, know it, even if I'm almost like 98% sure, but I'm just a little bit unsure, I have a little bit of doubt. I tell people, I don't know, I'm not quite sure. Let me get back to you with that because I want to pride myself on my leadership form. When I speak something, then it's truth and then I know that it's truth and there's no doubt behind it.

So you're talking about leading with humility. Some of the aspiring leaders, they may say, well, I'm already dealing with imposter syndrome. I don't want to appear weak. And I don't really want people to know how vulnerable I might be. So why would you still encourage them to actually admit that, yes, I don't know this, but I can find out? Which is obviously the right thing to do, but some people may not have the courage to do so.

Do you mean like as the leader? How do you, how do you do that?

Yes.

So, and I don't know, as a female, I always, I also feel that I step into my feminine when I'm in situations like that, and I want to encourage and support the person or the decision that has to be made. And, and I will just say, I want to be able to answer you, I know this is important, And because of that, I'm going to find the information out and I'm going to get back to you by tomorrow. And I make sure I follow up. I mean, that's important. And I don't think when I share with emerging leaders, I tell them, I don't think that's a sign of passivity or weakness. It's showing that you're human. You're not, again, expected to know all the answers like this all the time. But that's a real leader is you're going to go out and you're going to find those answers so you can bring back the right information.

Powerful. So what are maybe a couple of myths about leadership that you think are holding people back?

One big one that I see, and I know it was part of my journey, was, "I don't have a certain title, so I'm not really a leader." And that's so not true. And I just really want your audience to know that you You are— you have influence every day because of the way you show up, the way you speak, your, your mindset, your attitude. People watch you. People, people are watching. You're— if you have children, they're watching. If you're involved in your community, people watch how you react to things, how you respond under pressure. And, and you can really work on being a leader right where you are. I always say the easiest way is with your peers because they don't have to follow you, but they're following you because they want to, because maybe you have something that they want now. And that's a great way to start on your leadership. You might not have that position that you're aspiring to yet, but by the time you get there, you need to have some influence behind you. You need to have some, some, a track record that you have some leadership skills behind you. So work on it now. And, and that is such a myth that because you're not in a certain position or title right now that you're not a leader.

Okay, what about those who would say, okay, I may have a big title, but I don't have any direct report? Does that still make them a leader? Or can they still be one?

So they don't have any direct reports under them? Yes, because they might be at the level of leadership where they're making decisions around processes and systems that are going to impact and affect the people beneath them or the organization for which they're within. So it's not just about— I always believed that leadership is about developing our people. But it's also, if you're at a level, a really high level where you're impacting systems and processes, I mean, that's a level of leadership. And that's, it's critical. Wow.

So how would you define leadership then? What is one of your best definitions of leadership?

Well, I love our John Maxwell's definition that leadership is influence, nothing more, nothing less. And I also define leadership as serving others. I mean, it's not about us. It can't be about us. We have the skills that the Lord has given us to use, but it's really about how are we using them to help others, to help the people that we serve, the organizations, the clients, the community.

Wow. That is, I think that really makes a big difference in my opinion between great leaders and those who maybe they may call themselves leaders, but to me they are like bosses, right? To me, like a boss is, it's all about me. I am in charge and they're going to remind you over and over again. I am up here, you are way down here. I say jump, you say, "Oh, I." You see that a lot in, at least I used to see that a lot in the military 20 years ago when I jumped. Some people, like I'm the alpha male, I am the big dog and everybody does exactly what I say. But that's not really leading, or maybe it's gonna work temporarily, but long-term, I don't think people are going to follow somebody like that. Whereas a leader is a role model. And like you say, the keyword is serving. You serve the people who work under you. It's not about them serving you, but it's you actually serve serving them. That's a completely different way of looking at it, isn't it?

It really is. And some people think that maybe it's passive or it's weak, a weak way of looking at it. But to me, I'm also faith-based, a faith-based leader, values-based. And to me, you know, my Creator came to serve, and that's what I'm supposed to do. I'm to serve others. And it can't be about me. But before I, you know, when I was young and young in my leadership, you tend to think that a lot. When you really understand that you are here, if you have been called to leadership, you are in a position to make change. You're in a position though that's going to impact the lives of many others. And you want to come with a way that you are going to serve and make life better for others and enable them to be able to step into their self-actualization and be able to step into their best yourself.

Hmm, insightful. So do you believe that anybody can develop into a leader? Some people listening to us now may say, I really don't see myself as a leader at all. Can I become one?

I absolutely believe if you have the desire to and you have the will and the intention, you know, right? We talk about intention, then you can. And there's ways that you can do that. And we'll probably talk about that. But there are ways that you can develop your leadership skills. Absolutely. I mean, some of us are born with more innate characteristics than others, but that doesn't mean that one's better than the other. And that doesn't mean that somebody else that doesn't have that can't still develop the skills to, to serve and to lead others.

So, so true. I know in the Navy we say, uh, no, everybody's born, right? Some people say, are leaders born, or, uh, no, are they developed? But The truth is, at least in my experience, at every level in the Navy, from enlisted to officers, leadership is definitely a current that is running throughout the service. And everybody is pretty much being— I don't want to say pushed, but at least conditioned to lead. Because I think that's one big difference between our military and many other militaries out there. In many of the militaries out there, if you get rid of all of the general, all of the admiral, all of the leaders, the officers, then nobody knows what to do. It's complete chaos. But in the US, if you get rid of all of the flag officers or all of the commanders like myself, it doesn't matter. Our people will know exactly what to do, where to go. They're always gonna fall back to their training and they're gonna step up to lead. And I think that's really extra, extraordinary. So how can leaders translate personal growth into measurable organizational results?

That's a really great question. You can gather up all this personal growth, right? Learn all that you can. But what good is it if you cannot translate it into measurable objectives for your organization, for your, for your team? And so that is, that, that is the key, is to turn that personal growth into outcomes. And so I would I want to give one kind of easy example or quick example here is say you have a leader that's really interested in improving his or her communication skills. Maybe they've received feedback that they don't have a lot of clarity and the team's falling apart. So maybe they end up joining Toastmasters and they've been working on their communication skills and maybe they hired a coach or a speech coach. But that's great. And they're noticing a difference there. But now how do you translate that into the work, into the organization? And maybe it looks like, OK, we're going to have weekly or biweekly meetings with the team where I'm going to share where we've come the last week. I'm going to be transparent with my team. I'm going to have office hours on a Friday, depending on what the industry is, where open-door policy where my individuals, my team knows they can come in. It's a safe space. If they have concerns or questions, I'm here. But it's taking the intention and being able to transfer it into action, into execution. Wow.

That is quite powerful. So it's not enough to just have an intention, but the difference for you to see the impact, the result is to actually take the action, follow through.

Yes, absolutely.

Wow. Now, let's go back earlier. You talked about value-based leadership. What are some of your core values?

Yes, and I think that's important too, to know your core values if you are going to lead. Some of my core values, one of my, my biggest core values is integrity. I'm always striving to lead with integrity. And then another one is balance, balance between my work life, my family, everything else that I want to do. I think that's really important too because that can alleviate burnout, can also make sure that we're not having problems in our relationships, problems within the family. Another one is volunteerism or service. That's a huge one for me. I would say they are my top 3. And faith. That is my— they are my top 4.

Wow. So once people realize what their core values are, so that's really core to themselves. So what does it mean then to live your life aligned with your values? Like, in practice, what does that mean?

It means for me connecting daily tasks, connecting work, connecting anything that's going on back to my core values. And if I'm not in alignment, I'm not going to be able to lead at my best. And I can tell over the years, I can tell when I'm out of alignment. You're not working at your best, you're not feeling your best, something just doesn't feel right. And I tell people all the time, if you can figure out what your core values are and you can find work that aligns with that, yes, you're going to be happy. You're going to exert the least amount of energy because you're in alignment. You're working within your strength zones and your core values. And wow, things are just going to continue to improve in that area from there.

Wow, that is really, really insightful. I think many people don't really think about that even when they apply for jobs, knowing who you are first and then making sure the company you're going to be working for has values that align with your own. That makes a big difference, doesn't it?

It really does. Absolutely. Wow.

So what does intentional culture building then look like inside a team or an organization?

I think that that's a huge one. And it's very important. And it's, we don't want to just have a hope or or say we want to be inclusive, or we want to build this culture that looks at X, Y, and Z this way. But it's being intentional that, OK, are we going to make sure— what do our values say? What does our mission say? How do we treat people? How do we communicate? And then once we have that figured out, OK, are we really living by that? It's a lot of having the values again embedded in, but Here comes that word again, being intentional to make sure that we're living in that, in that which we're creating.

Hmm, very insightful. So we said leadership was influence. How do we maintain influence during time of uncertainty or crisis? For example, COVID-19 was a huge, huge time of uncertainty pretty much all around the world. And right now we're talking about the potential war in Iran, the price of gas shooting up and all of this uncertainty in the economy. How do you still maintain that influence when times are uncertain?

I believe that leaders need to make sure that they are very transparent and very clear with their, their folks. Yes, when we're leading in times of uncertainty, times of crisis, there are times where we don't— even leaders, they don't know the next move, they don't know the answer, they don't have the answer. I don't believe their people are looking for them to necessarily say, we need the answer now, but But they need direction. And they need somebody that's going to say, look, whatever the outcome is, we're going to be OK. Here's what we're going to do. We're going to pivot here right now. In the coming weeks, when I have more information, I'm going to make sure that I clearly translate that to you.

Yes.

But also, which is important, is during this time, creating a psychological safety, so to speak, where people feel like if they're upset, if they're scared, if they're unsure, they have questions, that they can still come to the leader and just be able to have a place where they can go.

Wow.

I think all of that is super important, especially in times of crisis, where— because people get scared. They want to know. A lot of people don't like change and quick change. And so they need to make sure there's somebody that is like a guiding light that can just say, OK, come on, follow me. Together we are going to figure this out.

Wow, that is really very much aligned with your core value of integrity and service. It's, well, you just demonstrated exactly how you do it. I love that because as a leader, if you don't know anything, again, you have to be humble enough to say, yes, I have no idea what the answer is, but we are going to figure that out, right? So that is quite Powerful. So what advice would you give then to some of the leaders who may be listening right now who manage high-performing teams but in high-stress environment like in the military? Sometimes, you know, the stakes are so high, it could be a matter of life or death, especially during times of war, or even here in Silicon Valley in security or IT. What would you advice?

A lot of high-performing teams do have high stress with them, and there are times of uncertainty. I always go back to that clarity, because when you have clarity of what your why is, it, you know, it's going to keep you on that straight course. You may have some bumps along the road, there's going to be some hiccups, but it's making sure that there's clarity, there's consistent, clear communication. All the time. Sometimes I know it's going to be harder to do that, but making it an effort that we are consistently clear with our folks, even if we don't have all the answers, that there's that open, there's that transparent communication going on. And again, just like we mentioned in the other question, that safe, that psychological safety that you create in your culture where people are not afraid to come to you or to come to somebody that you may designate on your team when they need, they need that extra support or they need that direction.

Wow, that is quite insightful. And it seems to me like for most people, they tend to just react to whatever is happening to them instead of responding. So in your coaching practice, how do you help leaders kind of move from reactive decision-making to intentional leadership?

I do a lot around— I use Maxwell DiSC, that tool. And there are other DiSC tools. But I'm certified in Maxwell DiSC, and I utilize that a lot in my trainings with leadership and their teams. And a lot of that is first understanding behavior. Because when you can understand behavior, it really is like a domino effect. Then you understand why people communicate the way they do. You're understanding why they're acting the way they do, which will allow you, instead of becoming reactionary next time, maybe with a particular person, you're going to maybe adjust or pivot your approach with them. So you're not reacting. It's like, okay, I understand this person's behavior. I'm going to now adjust my approach, prepare for interaction with them so it can be more successful and we can avoid conflict perhaps, or miscommunication.

Yes.

So I think a lot of that is really understanding behavior because really that we're all wired very differently. And it's not this person's mean and this person doesn't like me, and we think that sometimes, or this person's difficult. But if we don't understand their behavior and why they're behaving the way they are, you can see why there's that friction.

Well, that, that is really good because with DiSC, it's pretty much on 4 personality types. So basically what you're saying is, as a leader, first you need to know yourself, but then also know the personality type of the members of your team so you can know the strengths and weaknesses and see how you can work together in more alignment, right?

Oh yes, absolutely. That's really important.

Wow. So why is self-leadership the foundation of all leadership?

I think it's quite simple because I look at it like, if you cannot, if you don't know who you are and you don't know what you stand for and you don't know why you want to lead, how can you expect anybody else to want to follow you? True, right? So we have to start with ourselves first. And when we can lead ourselves well, we know our why and we know our values, we're going to be able to expand that now to others where they're going to want to follow us and get on board, and we'll be able to lead much more successfully.

Well, since we're talking about intentional growth, uh, what maybe daily habits or discipline have kind of had the greatest impact on your own personal growth?

Um, so I'm a person of faith and every morning I will wake up and I have my coffee and I say my prayers. And from there I then go into a little bit of meditation and some positive affirmation work. And I will do this every single day, whether I have an hour of time before I head into work, or if I'm running behind and I only have 15 minutes. I start every single day like that. And what I'm doing is I'm setting the intention for my day.

Wow.

When you— when— and I've noticed for me, when I miss— if I miss it, because I really don't, but if for some reason I missed it, the whole day seems scattered. I just seem frazzled. I'm not centered. And that's a really good form of discipline because it's actually something I look forward to every single morning, but it really sets the tone for the entire day.

Wow, that is powerful. And, uh, are there maybe any belief that you've had to unlearn in order to become the leader you are today?

Yes, one of them was imposter syndrome. But I know that a lot of high achievers, a lot of leaders go through that at some point. Yes, I went through that. And I think it was because when I really sat down, I thought about it, I think a lot of it was because I was hanging my hat on the fact that my identity was wrapped up in what I do. What's my title? What's my profession? What do I do? But that's not, that's not who I am. That's a part of who I am. And I think that if we can get rid of the belief that I'm no good unless I have the approval of these people, or I'm no good unless I step into this particular role, but that's just a part of who you are. That's not your whole identity. And so we weren't really made to do. You know, it's a part of who we are. And so, I think that that was something that I did. I worked really hard to shed to be able to continue to grow.

Wow. It looks like part of what you're saying is you really need to, I guess, feel good in your own skin, care for yourself, and love yourself just the way you are without having to, you know, have somebody else, right? I don't know. Approval from others. How do you develop that? Because I feel like many people just don't like who they are. They always try to put their mask and pretend to be something they're not so they can blend in at work or the office or whatever they are doing. How do you get to develop that confidence in yourself?

Well, one way would be find something that you enjoy. Is there anything outside of your work that you really enjoy doing? Is it gardening? Is it some type of a hobby or a sport?

Yes.

And really getting involved in that because that's also part of you. It's not just our work. And here, I know here in the United States, we really emphasize go to school, get your degree, go to trade school, you know, get your certification, and you work. And that's great, but I think that's been a problem for a lot of people because if they don't get to where they were— they think they were supposed to, or where so-and-so expected them to be, that then it comes crashing down on them. So find other things and/or other people that you enjoy being around.

Wow. So the last question I'm going to ask for this segment is, what about emotional intelligence? What role does that play in effective leadership?

Emotional intelligence is super critical. It's equally as important, if not more, than IQ in leadership, especially in, um, driven, uh, purpose-driven leadership.

Yes.

And, you know, and again, as a, as a woman in leadership, I look at that as, again, not passive, not soft, but being able to say, you know, I understand what you're going through, or being supportive, being encouraging, but not lowering your standards. And that's important.

Wow.

That people think, well, You know, you can't be that way because you won't get the work from the people or you won't get things done. But you're not lowering your standards. But you can be nice and be a leader. And I tell people that all the time. You can smile and be a leader and still have the respect of your folks, your team.

Yes.

But EQ is— and there's studies on it— it is equally, if not more important nowadays than just getting the tasks done. Wow. It's also taking care of people.

That is really, really insightful. Okay, we have about 20 minutes left or so. I'm gonna get into the last segment where I try to figure out what are some of the leadership principles that have helped you get as much success as you've had or got you to where you are now. One of the first questions I asked, actually most of these questions I just copied from Papa John, but the first one is one of the greatest lesson you think you've ever learned in life, in leadership in general?

I'm sorry, you kind of went out. What is the what?

Uh, greatest lesson you have ever learned?

Um, I learned a lot of great lessons along the way.

Um, what's one of them?

And a lot of them revolve around people, but, but another great lesson in leadership is don't wait. Be intentional. And I've said it a couple times, but don't wait, because you could sit here— and I was one of these people, I call myself a personal growth junkie because I would read everything, take everything in, sign up for the next shiny class. Oh, here's a, a podcast, I'm gonna do this, here's a course. But then I wasn't doing anything. And I would say, I take action, I do things, but I was getting all this information and I wasn't doing anything with it. And I kept thinking, when the time comes and something comes my way, an opportunity comes, I have all this knowledge. But it wasn't until I joined Maxwell Leadership that our executive VP, Chris Robinson, really— he really promotes taking action, being intentional. And he'll say, learn a little. There he is. Do a little. And then he says, do a little more. And it's so true because you have to evaluate, you have to test. Like, you take action, but that shouldn't be it. You should test that. And see what results did I get? Did it work? Do I need to try something else next time?

Wow.

And then you take another action and you test that, right? Because sometimes it's not going to be what we thought. It doesn't work, and that's okay. It's a failure sometimes, but that's okay. We learn from it and then we move on and we figure out how to fix it or where to go next. So really, it's don't wait, just take action, any action, even if you're afraid. It's better action taken and failed is better than not taking any action at all and standing on the sidelines and missing your opportunity.

Yes. Wow. You remind me of the young president's speech about the man in the arena. Yeah, it's, wow, powerful. So what do you believe is the secret to your success? Like we said in the intro, you've spent more than 20 years in education. You got your Ed.D. and now you are coaching, and why, why do you think you've been so successful in things that you have done?

Um, first and foremost, I, I do give it all to the Lord because he is my creator, and I believe that all things that I have, he— it's— they're just on loan. I'm using the gifts he's given me to be able to then give back in his glory. Um, secondly, it, it is the discipline. I grew up, like I said, a military father, an educated mom, formally educated, in education she worked. They just instilled education, discipline. They have been truly my greatest— the secret sauce to my success, really. And even when times got tough, but it was, you know, staying the course, staying disciplined, doing all the things you know you need to do, and then just staying in my faith.

Wow, that is really powerful. So if you could give one piece of advice to us aspiring leaders, people just starting their professional career right now, what would it be?

It sounds really simple, but honestly, believe in yourself. If you have a, a pulling on your heart, a tug on your heartstrings, and you know that you want to do something different and you want to do something and be better, you have to believe in yourself because no one's going to believe in you if you don't first believe in yourself. And it's hard, but I do think that's one of the very first keys to your success.

Wow.

That is really, really powerful. If nobody gets anything else out of this podcast, that's really it. Yeah. Because I have seen so many people, men or women, yeah, they just don't really believe that it is possible. But if you don't believe so, nobody else will. Right. And, uh, wow.

And it was kind of like in that very beginning intro video that you shared that I did, and I talked about manifesting, and it is very true. It's not hokey stuff. When your mind— you're, you know, action's going to go where your mind goes. So when your mind is open and you're working through a crisis, or you're working through trying to figure out exactly what do I need to do, I need clarity, but you're open to I'm going to muddle through this. Action is going to follow you. You're taking action, your mind is open, and things are going to come. They may not come right away. We may have to learn patience along the way. But really, you want to believe in yourself because if you don't, everything else is going to fall.

What do you think is one of the greatest investments you've made in yourself?

Well, one of the greatest investments I've made in myself is my personal growth and development. And I've done a lot of that over the years. I was in a leadership development program where I work at my institution of higher ed and always investing in myself, bettering myself, learning, reading. And then the John Maxwell Leadership Team was a wonderful investment. It truly, it saved my life personally and professionally, I have to say, because not only did I invest in the resources and the leadership principles, but the people. And you know this, BZ, the people that you are around become your friends and the mentors. And they— everybody, I was so amazed to see everybody just wants the next person to succeed. I, yes, I just couldn't believe the environment. And they're not happy until they see you succeed. And then You feel like somebody believed in me. So I just had somebody call me last night from another state late, and she needed some insight, and she said, you don't have to do it now. I said no, because last week somebody was helping me, so now it's my turn to pay it forward and help you.

It's really something, uh, we found our tribe. It's, it's really amazing to be with people who have the same mindset and really want to help with one another. There's nothing, nothing like it. Wow. So I know, um, Papa John also says that, no, leaders are learners. What are you learning these days?

Yeah, I'm learning to trust myself more, to trust the processes that I'm working through, to trust my journey, to trust— this is a big one for me— to trust my decision-making.

Yes.

You know, I, I help others. I want them to believe in themselves and trust themselves. And then I need to do the same for me. And so that's what I'm leaning into right now in this season of my life.

Wow. Powerful. And, uh, what about failure? Because we do talk a lot about success, and most people, that's really what they focus on. But how has failure shaped your life?

I'm, I'm going to be honest, and failure has been one of the biggest contributors to shaping my life. And I'll be honest, I'm a human. It hasn't— it's never nice when you're going through it, ever. But you learn so much about yourself when you come through a challenging time. And I've heard somebody say, you're either getting ready to go into something, you're com— you're in it, or you're coming out of it. So it's inevitable. But with failure, like I mentioned earlier, that's, that's your ability to be able to test whatever it is that you're doing. Like, was this just a grandiose idea I had? Well, no, let's test it. Let's evaluate it. Let's see what happened. Can it work? Can we do it a different way? But, but through it all— and John Maxwell has some great books on this— through it all, he says something like Success is not forever, but failure isn't final.

Yes.

And it's so true, but it's not— you don't feel that when you're going through it, but when you come out, oh my gosh, you just have discovered some beautiful parts of yourself that you really didn't know even existed.

Yes. And we do have a, a, um, a book in our digital bookshelf from Dr. John Maxwell about failing forward. Uh, it talks a lot about that too. Yes.

Yes, that's an excellent book. And then he has a new one that just is about to come out.

Yes. Wow, that is powerful. So let me ask you this then. What is one of the greatest fears you've had to overcome, if you're willing to share?

The fear of failure. I mean, that was a big one I had to overcome. The fear that when I— because I've been in higher ed for 20-some years and I'm still there and it's been a wonderful career. But in addition to that, I've stepped out and created my LLC of leadership training, facilitating, speaking, and coaching. What if it doesn't work? What if people think I'm a fool? What if I invested all this money and it crashes? What if I have a bad day on stage? So it was fear behind all of those questions that I had.

Yes.

And then I started saying, well, you've invested more in yourself at a than probably like 90% of the people around you. And so, you know, it's going to work out. You're going to make sure it works out. And everybody has a bad day on stage. We all do, you know, but we're learning. And again, we're testing it, you know. And it doesn't matter what other people think. If this is what your dream is, sometimes it means you have to— you have to take a risk. You have to jump out. But if you have the right support, the right accountability, the right people around you, You won't be doing it alone.

Wow, that is quite insightful. So I guess some people call it grit, right? Because this is something I've always wondered since I was about, I was still a teenager, maybe 15, 16, 17-year-old, how you can have two people sometimes even they grow up in the same house and they go through similar things, challenges, but one person would just crumble and be defeated and paralyzed and pretty much be done. But somebody else would just thrive and kind of grow through it. And, uh, it's like, what's the difference, you think?

I think it's because we're wired differently. It's the same when I talk about— when I do communications workshops with people, you have 2 people, 4 people in the same room on the same project. They got the same set of instructions, but they took— they all heard something different. They all responded differently. And you hear that about families, and they'll say it's birth order or it's gender-based, but we're all wired, we are all individuals, we're all wired differently genetically. And then based on the different role models that we may have had, the attachments that we had with our earliest caregivers, that all impacts how we become. And then our experiences over time also are going to contribute to that.

Hmm, so true. So if you could have dinner with 3 people, they could be alive, dead, or even fictitious characters, who would you choose and why?

Well, the first one would be, um, Jesus, because he is my savior, and everything I have and everything that I am, I give it back to him, and it is because of him.

Amen.

I would love to sit down with him. Um, the second person I would say would be my mentor, John Maxwell. I absolutely love him, and I've had the honor of being in the room with him several times, but to really sit one-on-one with him would be a dream. And then the third one I would say is Craig Groeschel, and he's a pastor and a leadership—

Life.Church, yeah.

Yes. And I love the message that he gives. I love the story about his family, his wife and him, and the way they raise their family, the way they minister. And I just, I find that I really connect to what he says. Spiritually and in leadership. So they would be the three that I would choose.

Yes, I believe he also has a leadership podcast.

It's excellent.

Same with, what's his name, from Atlanta, Charles Stanley's son Andy, Andy Stanley has a leadership podcast.

Yes, yes.

I love listening to them. Wow, powerful. And then of course, my own pastor of— I don't live in Alabama anymore, but Chris Hodges. That's— I was at his church when I first met Papa John back in 2007. He has a leadership podcast also.

Wonderful.

Pretty, pretty awesome. So we do love to talk about books here. We read a lot of books. So you mentioned Dr. Maxwell's new book, which is How to Get a Return on Failure. Why should people get it?

Because I think a lot of people are afraid of failure, and I think that holds them back. And this book is going to really show them why, how you can get a return on failure and why it's important if you want to be successful.

Yes.

Wow.

Because most people talk about, you know, return on investment. I went to MBA school and that's all people focus about, but you can actually have a return on failure. It's a different way of looking at it.

Yes.

Yeah. Wow. Amazing. Is there another book you would recommend to my audience?

I do love— there's a few, but I really love John Maxwell's 15 Laws of Invaluable Growth.

Yes.

And I would say anybody who's starting off on their leadership journey or they just have this curiosity, they're not sure yet, to get that. Yes, it's an easy read.

I love it.

Powerful lessons in there.

Yeah, I know it's probably on my shelf there. Yes, 15 Laws of Invaluable Growth. That's already on the digital bookshelf By the way, for those who follow the podcast, very, very powerful. Okay, so let me ask you this. Uh, if you had one and only one day to live, what would you have liked your final contribution to be?

I would love to leave a legacy behind where people, family, community, clients, colleagues would say, you know, Rachel did her best every day to pour into people, to add value and significance to them. It was never about title. It was never about money. It was just about making people better, leaving a place better than when I got there. And that's, that's really what I want to be known for. I want to continue the legs of John Maxwell's legacy. And that's what we stand for is make— being people of significance, adding value. And I really, I really want all leaders to strive for that.

Wow, that's really powerful. Focusing on relationship and building, developing. Of the leaders. Wow, man, that is, uh, that is, that is huge. Is there maybe like a song or a book or a movie that you think might be your life's theme or anthem?

There is a song, and it's a Christian song, and I, I don't know if I have the title right.

Um, who sings it?

I think his name is Josh Wilson. And maybe just— but it's dream small. So it caught my attention when I first heard it because I thought, dream small. But it really, it's about living in the moment, enjoying those moments, picking up your child, you know, telling your family, your spouse you love them, just living in the moment. It's, it's not really— at the end of the day, it's not about stuff. It's not about— we all want to strive and we work hard, but You know, sometimes we just dream small and we live in the moment.

Yes, that's, uh, Josh Wilson, uh, Dream Small. Says, dream small, don't buy the lie you've got to do it all, just let Jesus use you where you are one day at a time. What a powerful message. Wow, I like that. Thank you for sharing. And, uh, if you had, let's say, a magic wand and you could solve any problem in the world, what is the one problem you'd like to solve first thing tomorrow morning?

I really would love to solve the leadership problem we have in the entire world. It's, it's not just here in the US, it's everywhere. It starts with good leadership, because with good leadership comes good communication, comes less conflict, less more understanding, less misunderstanding, better productivity, you know, people not being afraid to step up, people living their best lives. And that's what I would hope for. I think it would bring peace.

Absolutely. And Papa John often says, you know, people just want to be led well. And that is so true. What do you think about us living in the age of artificial intelligence? And how crucial is leadership in such a time as this?

Yes. So I believe that the times that we're in right now with AI, it's changing literally faster than the speed of light.

Yes.

And we have to know as leaders that it's going to change even faster and faster. In the next few months, it's going to be even more developed. And so we need to make sure that we are planning for it, preparing for it, however that looks, whatever your industry is. But we can't ignore it. We can't hide from it because it's here. It's getting more and more complex. And so we need to be willing. We need to, as leaders, we have to adapt. We have to shift. Sometimes we don't like that, but we have to. And we're going to have to shift with that.

Powerful. And this is the COVID Don't Look Back, Josh Wilson, and the song is Dream Small. Yeah. And what I love to do is, because I've been, you may not know, but I've been playing the piano since I was about 7 years old. And I believe music is really, really powerful. Even people would remember what was the soundtrack, you know, when they met their loved one or their husband, wife, or when 9/11 happened, or when they found out about COVID There is always music playing in the background, and once you hear a song, it kind of takes you back there. And I feel like it's just so powerful. And sometimes you may be sad, you listen to some music and it makes you happy, you want to dance and joy. So it's really, really powerful, and it's also a way to bring us together, I think. So what I will do probably tomorrow, I will find that song and play the video, and then I'm going to tag you. One way to entice people to listen to this entire podcast.

Oh, that's wonderful.

Why you like that song and why they may too. So we are almost out of time. If you had the ear of every aspirational leader right now across America, and they want to go intentionally, they want to develop into a better leader. In 60 seconds or less, what would you tell them to do first thing tomorrow?

First thing tomorrow is take out a notebook and start writing down why do you want to grow into your leadership. What's your why at the top? And then maybe 3 steps, how are you going to start working on that? Are you going to hire a coach? Are you going to invest in certain programming or training? Are you going to read? Um, but I think it starts with understanding your why. You have to start somewhere and get clarity there.

Powerful, powerful, powerful. All right, so we are running out of time very quickly, and now we want to know, Dr. Rachel Knowles, thank you so much for your time and pouring into us today. How can we add value back to you?

Uh, well, as you can see, there is my LinkedIn page. If anybody is on here or viewing this later, please feel feel free to connect with me on there. I'm active on there. I would love to see what you're doing, answer any questions you might have. So that would be really, really wonderful.

What if somebody wanted to hire you as a coach? How do they go about doing that?

They could send me a message on there. I do believe I have my website on there somewhere when you search on my LinkedIn, or you could just simply send me a message and I do have a scheduling link. We could talk for about 10, 15 minutes, just see what it is that you're looking for, see if it would be a good fit for your team. I do like to work with teams. I do work with individuals as well. But if you have a team and you just need some direction, I would be more than happy to talk with you and see how we could work together.

Okay. Another question is, when are you going to publish your next bestselling book?

My first one? Well, a couple of people have asked me, so I think I need to start working on that.

Please, please do. Please do. And like I said, Magunnum, whenever you do, I want you back here. We're going to be talking about it because I, I really love, love books. I think that's why, uh, Dr. Maxwell has such a rich legacy. All of the books he's written, because even long after he's gone, you can go back to this book, you can read it over and over again and still get inspired and still be mentored by one, I think, of the best coaches that's ever lived. I'm just biased.

I absolutely agree with that.

It is just so powerful. Like, no, one of my mentors, uh, I think his picture should be here somewhere, or I thought It was, okay, yeah, up there, Colin Powell. He's no longer with us, but he's written two books and I always go back there and it's as if he was still alive.

We still have his words.

Yes, exactly. And that is so, so, so powerful. Okay, we are pretty much at the end of the show. Before I let you go, is there a question I should have asked you that I didn't get to ask you, Dr. Nutz?

Anything else you wanted to No, I think you hit everything wonderfully and there's nothing else I would've added.

All right. Before we end then, the most important question I'm gonna ask you is if you could go back and give a piece of advice to your 17-year-old self, right? Standing at the edge of this incredible career you've had in education, earning an EdD and everything you are doing with coaching and leadership today, what would you say to 17-year-old Rachel?

I think I would have said, slow down. You don't have to have everything figured out right away. I'm very C-wired on the DiSC. So I need to know, I'm analytical, I'm structured, and sometimes that gets in my way. So I think I would have told myself, just trust the process, enjoy every experience you have, and trust that each one leads to the next, the next journey.

Powerful. Now, we are technically technically out of time. Can we get 2 minutes to do like a lightning round, rapid fire? I ask you a question, you answer really quickly. Sure.

Okay. I'll do my best.

Let's do this. So don't take too long to think. First thing that comes to your mind, one word that defines great leadership.

Service to others. Service. Very good.

Okay. Morning routine or practice that keeps you grounded.

Morning prayer.

Good. Book or quote that changed your life.

There's so many.

One?

I would think that a great something, and I'm gonna butcher it, but something around great leadership starts with your self-awareness first, starts with yourself.

Yes, powerful. Okay, who inspires you most today?

Today, I would say it's John Maxwell.

Yes. OK, what is the leadership habit you refuse to compromise on, you will do no matter what?

I refuse to compromise on continuously learning.

Wow, powerful. And what is the question every leader should ask themselves frequently?

How am I adding value to others? What is it that I can do today to make somebody else's life better?

That's really powerful. And Papa John teaches us, right? I have great values. We talked about core values earlier. Then I value people and then I want to add value to them. That is so, so powerful. All right. What did you want to be when you were a kid?

I wanted to be at one point an eye doctor.

Well, you are an education doctor, so— 3 adjectives describing you as a child.

3 activities?

Adjectives describing you as a child.

Happy. Fun-loving, fun-loving, and active.

What about as an adult?

I would say happy, disciplined, driven.

All right. So I like to end on a positive note. What is something you are feeling optimistic about these days?

Well, I hit my mid-40s, and I'm feeling optimistic about the next chapter, the next part of my life, um, because I don't know really what's in store, but I'm doing the best I can and being as intentional as I can, and I'm just excited for what's in store.

Well, I guess I hit my mid-40s too, but I think 40s is the new 20s, right? Uh, yeah, it's the new 20s. So, uh, this is the very last question I'm gonna ask, and that's gonna end our show today. What is one word that represents our shared experience in this podcast today? Inspiring. Thank you so much. I always feel so, so grateful. Thank you for taking the time to speak to my audience today and adding so much value.

Dr. Rachel, thank you for the opportunity. I truly appreciate it.

All right, bye-bye. All right, everybody, this is one for the book. Thank you so much for watching. That was Dr. Rachel Knott. So make sure to follow her on LinkedIn. So that's linkedin.com/rachel-knott. EDD 03641849. All right, and like you guys know, we like to end with what I call celebrating Black History Year. We started this in February for Black History Month and we found out pretty quickly 28 days is just not long enough. So every single day we try to celebrate Black history. And for today, I tend to write two separate link LinkedIn post every single day about Black history. One of them is about the date, what happened on this day, and the other one is just a fact, like if it's first in history. And again, Black history, I believe, is truly American history. So one of the facts for today is, let me find that. Oh, here we go. The very first African American US Marshal, you would not believe this, but The first African-American U.S. Marshal was actually Frederick Douglass. Isn't that amazing? Uh, the legendary Frederick Douglass, and, uh, in 1877, one of the most powerful voices for freedom, of course, in American history, was appointed United States Marshal for the District of Columbia by Rutherford B. Hayes. I didn't even know that, so that is, uh, pretty amazing. Our very, very first African American U.S. Marshal. And now for the second track, so it's about what happened today, and today is April 12th. So this is where Martin Luther King was arrested in Birmingham. I'm gonna play a very short clip about that during the civil rights movement. And later today, in actually about 4 hours, I'm going to be speaking live again on LinkedIn and also on YouTube with Daniel Yong. He's going to be my industry guest expert for my class. I teach CSC MB624 Network Security and AI at California Science and Technology University. And Daniel Yong is going to be talking about Honor Mode for Future Leadership, how to stay human in an agentic AI world. So this is going to be not like a regular podcast like this one, but It's about 20 to 30 minutes. It's an expert who comes, almost like a TEDx talk, and it's a presentation I'm going to be replaying to my students this upcoming Tuesday when I meet them. So I hope you can be here and watch live. So let me play the 2-minute clip about Martin Luther King Jr. being arrested on April 12th. Segregation now, segregation tomorrow, and segregation forever.

Woo!

African Americans in Alabama have had enough. In spring 1963, in the state's largest city, Birmingham, they stage nonviolent demonstrations. Wallace responds. Protests are banned. Those arrested forced to pay high bail. Then America's most prominent civil rights leader comes to Birmingham. April 12th, Good Friday. Martin Luther King Jr. and Ralph Abernathy lead a march from the 16th Street Baptist Church. They are arrested. It is here that King pens his now-celebrated letter from Birmingham Jail, defending the resistance of African Americans. In solitary confinement, he writes, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." everywhere. The letter becomes a touchstone for the civil rights movement.

Thank you for tuning in to the Leadership and Success Podcast with your host, Coach Beezy. If today's episode added value to your leadership journey, be sure to subscribe, share, and join us again for more wisdom nuggets on how to lead better and achieve greater success. Remember, leadership is the most critical skill of our time. The world will always need leaders to inspire others, drive innovation, and execute meaningful strategy. So why not count yourself among the bold leaders shaping the 21st century? Until next time, stay inspired, stay committed, and keep leading with excellence.