Ep 669 | What It Really Means to Pour Into Your People

Thank you for joining me today. It's Brian Gubernick, and welcome to the No Days Off podcast, where we believe that every single day brings a new opportunity to get better. I think that leaders love to say the following. They love to say, I really pour into my people. I pour into my people. What exactly does that mean? Does it mean that you're, you're giving them bonuses? Does it mean you're taking them out to dinner? Does it mean that you're sending them to some training or some conference? Or is it something that's actually a bit deeper? Something that transforms people versus maybe just rewarding them? Today I want to talk about, you know, my perspective on on what it really means to pour into your people and how I think the best of leaders, the truest of leaders do it, and why it's a rather rare leadership skill, one that many don't possess. And I think it's something that you, as a member of the No Days Off Nation, as an entrepreneur, as a leader, it's something that you can start leading in this sort of way right now. Like, you could start today. So let's define this pouring into my people concept. What, what does pouring in actually mean? I think that pouring into your people means transferring your time, your experience, your energy and belief into others so that they grow into higher versions of themselves. Again, it's transferring your time, your energy, your experience, and belief in others so they grow into higher versions of themselves. In other words, it's not transactional, it's actually transformational. When you pour into someone, you're saying, I'm going to invest in you until you see in yourself what I already see. I'm going to invest in you until you have that, that degree of belief. The same degree of belief that I have in you. You pour into your people then by sharing your wisdom so that they can skip years of trial and error. You pour into your people by sharing your belief so that they keep going even when they doubt themselves, and they certainly will. You pour into your people by sharing your access. And sharing your opportunities so that they can step into opportunities or arenas that they couldn't reach on their own. I think you also pour into your people by sharing your standards, sharing your standards so that they rise to meet something bigger than their own comfort zone. So pouring into someone in my mind is an investment. It's not just involvement. Now, I think this really matters as a leader because when leaders pour into their people, 3 rather powerful things happen. Number 1, if done correctly, performance rises. People start to show up differently when they know someone believes in them. I think number 2, retention strengthens. People usually don't leave environments where they feel that they're growing. And then number 3, I think impact really multiplies. When you pour into your people, impact multiplies. Leaders who pour into their people, they create more leaders and not just a group of, of followers. Now, the opposite is also true here. Leaders who don't pour into their people, they end up doing a lot of babysitting. They end up managing a lot of dependency. They end up having to deal with or fight disengagement. As an entrepreneur, as a leader, you can't scale yourself, but you can scale your belief and your culture and your leadership capacity. And you do that by pouring into others. I think there's a handful of ways that you can pour into your people. And I, I want to share kind of what's on my mind, the 5 ways I would say that you can go about pouring into your people. I think first you have time. What do I mean by time? I mean that presence, physical presence, is the ultimate currency when it comes to leadership. So what does that look like in practice? That looks like scheduling consistent one-to-ones, especially one-to-ones that are not just about the metrics, they're about growth. I think in that one-to-one that, that involves kind of this pouring in concept, you're asking a couple questions. For example, a great question: where are you stuck right now? Where are you stuck in business or growth or whatever it may be? And number 2, what do you need from me right now? Now, don't confuse proximity with presence. Being near them is not the same as being alongside or with them. So first, when you think around pouring in your people, think about time. Next, I want you to think about teaching. Your people likely need your playbook, not just, you know, your task list or your to-do list. They need your playbook. So share the why behind the decisions you make. Expose your people to the thinking process, not just the result. The reality is that every single meeting should leave someone smarter, not just busier. So the second way to pour into people is teaching. The third way, I think, is through trust. What do I mean when I say trust? People grow when they're given real responsibility. A lot of times we're delegating tasks. People don't necessarily grow through delegated tasks. They grow through responsibility, real responsibility. So, let them own outcomes, not just the steps. Create safe spaces for failure. And then, when failure happens, coach through it. Pouring in means giving people room to try and then fail and then learn because that's how leaders are built. My guess is that's how you were built. The 4th way to pour into people, I said trust, we're going to go with truth. What do I mean when I say truth? I mean pouring into people requires candor. I don't think you could truly pour in without being willing to tell the truth. It's love first, truth second, but it's always both. I think real leaders care enough to correct. If you never give hard feedback, you're protecting your comfort, not really protecting their potential. Makes sense? So, hard feedback is mandatory. Real leaders care enough to make those corrections. And then, the 5th way I think around pouring into people, I would call this tailwinds. What do I mean when I say tailwinds? I think using your influence to accelerate someone else's path is a strategy for pouring in. So, more specifically, what does that look like in practice? That looks like making introductions. That looks like opening doors. That looks like advocating for them when they're not in the room. I think that's what leadership equity kind of looks like— using your credibility, your Rolodex, to buy someone else's opportunity. I think there's a handful of leaders out there that are worth studying as it pertains to pouring into people. We've been talking a little bit about Sara Blakely as of late. Sara is, you know, as the founder of Spanx and and, uh, youngest female billionaire. She was famous for building a culture where failure was celebrated because it led to learning. Sarah invests pretty deeply in her people's confidence and their creativity, and she once made a statement. She once said, my job is to make sure my team knows they're capable of more than they think. I think Sarah is a great model of, of belief and transparency and empowerment. I think about Howard Schultz from Starbucks. He built a global brand on the idea that dignity and growth belong to everyone in the company, from the neighborhood barista to the executive. Howard offered healthcare and education benefits long before it was trendy. He believed in pouring into people at scale. Building a culture, not necessarily building control. The last person that's top of mind for me is Ed Mylett, who, as many of you know, runs a great podcast. He says— Ed's made a statement that people don't grow to what they're told, they grow to what's believed about them. And he's constantly talking about pouring into people via pouring into the belief, pouring belief into others. Until they actually start to believe in themselves. I think he's, he's a strong advocate of emotional investment and what I would kind of term maybe identity-based leadership. Ed Howard, Sarah, all great people worth studying when it comes to this idea of pouring into, pouring into your people. So in action, what are these tactics? Weekly one-to-ones. You know, using the questions I was talking about, maybe shared reading, like read a book or listen to a podcast as a team, using public praise, teaching decision-making, sponsoring growth in some way, like introducing someone to a higher level network. These are just some ideas because pouring in your people isn't about giving them everything. It's, it's about building them into something. So, what I want to challenge you to do this week is look at those you're leading and ask yourself, am I pouring into these individuals in the way that, that was described in today's talk? Or am I just managing people for today? Maybe a good question to ask yourself is if you disappeared tomorrow, would your team be weaker or stronger because of what you've already built into them. Pouring into people doesn't mean doing more for them. It means doing more with them, right? Teaching, trusting, challenging, believing in them. And at some point they grow into something greater than you ever imagined. That's what great leadership in my mind looks like. At the end of the day, the true measure of a leader isn't how many followers you have, it's how many leaders you've created. That's all I have for you today, the No Days Off Podcast. Thank you so much for listening, and remember, every single day brings a new opportunity to get better. So let's get after it.