What I Learned About Having A Growth Mindset From A Top Recruiting Leader

Hey everybody, welcome back. It's another Recruiting Conversations with your host, Richard Milligan. And I'm just, I'm just, I don't know, incredibly passionate about what we're going to talk about here in a second. If you're watching the video, I'm cheesing ear to ear. You can find this on YouTube if you are wanting to see me cheesing from ear to ear. You— I, I— one of the things I want— I wish for everybody is that everyone would find something that they are so passionate about that they don't see a heavy investment of energy, of resources, of time, of sacrifice as a loss. They see it as a win. And, uh, so the reason why I'm smiling is because, I mean, I spent my day with some amazing recruiting leaders, and I'm going to share one of those conversations with you because there was some, there was some great insight for— and I'll share a little clip from that— there was some great insight for every recruiting leader to have. And, uh, so I'll set that up for you, but I just want to start here. Challenge yourself to do what you love. Part of our larger vision statement is that, um, we help recruiting leaders do this thing that we call the ideal life and lifestyle. And that ideal life and lifestyle to me is doing what you love. That's where you start. But there are things that are prerequisites to doing what you love. And one of those prerequisites is doing what you love with who you love. That means that you are going to recruit people that are aligned with your values. That's an important part of this. You can't do what you love when you aren't doing it with people that you enjoy doing it with, right? We make a huge investment of time in our work. You cannot make that investment and be miserable and have a big impact. You just can't. So that third part, right, we start with doing what we love with who we love while making a greater difference. That's really important. This means that we have to go beyond the transaction. And we have to think bigger. than that. The word I would use here is transformational. Now I'm smiling, I'm joyful, I'm fulfilled doing what I'm doing here. Because it isn't about the money. It's about the impact. That's a framework you need to put over your work. How are you impacting people? How are you making a difference that goes beyond the paycheck that you get? That's really important. Because recruiting tends to be very transactional. The next person. I mean, if you've recruited for any amount of time, you know what it's like to go from hero to zero, having your best month and then having a couple of months where you really struggle. That's because it's transactional. So you got to stick a different frame on that. So it's doing what we love with who we love while making a greater difference with fair compensation. You don't have to be paid the best. That's a great place to be. But when you look at employment data, compensation typically falls around somewhere between 4th and 6th, the 4th or 6th most important thing to people. In fact, I saw, I saw an employment survey that said that 86% of Americans preferred to work virtually, and 95% of those people would give up significant compensation in order to do so. What does that tell you? Compensation is not important. People want freedom, however they define it. There was a season for me where freedom was like going to a cross-country track meet to watch my son play in the— to watch my son run in the middle of the day. Sometimes to me, freedom is actually taking my wife to lunch in the middle of the work week or attending a school event because I'm in that season with my kids. So fair compensation is the 4th part. And the last one is this. With time to spend with people that matter most. So if you're doing what you love, a lot of times you're spending time with people that matter a lot to you. There's a special connection there, right? It's one of the reasons why I have really tried to integrate my family with my work. I mean, the biggest honor I would ever have is if one of my children, one of my daughters or sons decides to come along with me in business one day. I can't think of anything more fulfilling than handing the keys to some kingdom of some sort to, to my children. So, so this is the framework that, that we place over what we do, those 5 things. And that's why I sat here today challenging you to go on a pursuit of finding that, because when you do, There is an endless amount of energy that you can tap into to be a person of influence, to be a person of impact. So let me share this story with you. In a conversation this morning with a recruiting leader, bright leader, I mean, yeah, I mean, like, he's someone that I could find myself, you know, having dinner with. Sharing a beer with, watching you know the NBA Finals with, as long as we had courtside seats. But just that that person that there's that that there's a lot of alignment. They really get this thing that that we're coaching people to. And he spent some time over the within the past month at an event, and he's being coached through. I'm his second coach. He's got another coach that he's being. been coached through an organization for several years. And they have these semiannual events that he goes to. And I met with him today. He just came back from the event. And I asked him a question. I said, what are the top 3 reasons why you're there? Because he was just smiling. It was great. The venue was amazing. I'm inspired. My cup's full. And the number one thing that he led with was accountability. Pausing there, because that's, that's something you don't have to be in coaching to get accountability. But that was one of the 3 things I'm going to share all 3 of them with you. It was one of the 3 things that he referenced. It was the first thing that came to mind for him was accountability. We should be pursuing accountability the way he is pursuing accountability. He is a top leader in the industry that he's in. Why? Because accountability is, is kind of like that rock bed that he's built everything on. Having someone hold you accountable means that you get more done. I mean, I jokingly say this from time to time, like, I would rather eat chocolate cake than drink protein shakes. There's just a part of me that's weak. Okay, there you have it. And because of that, I need accountability, just like he needs accountability. The second thing that he mentioned was the camaraderie, that connection of, I'm not in this alone. Yeah, how many times have you felt like you're in what you're in alone? It's me, myself, and I. Right? I remember being a young leader and saying, if it is to be, it is up to me, which is one of the, you know, there's some truth in that. But I think one of the saddest things that we can say as leaders is that we're self-made men, self-made women. That's a sad thing to say. Like, like, let's do this inside the framework of, of together. We're better together. And, and I think, as a young leader, I wore that as a badge of honor. I was a self-made man. That was one of the saddest things that I could say is that I've done this on my own. There's energy. This is his statement. It provides energy and mindset relief when I realize I'm not in this alone. There's energy and mindset relief when we don't struggle alone. So that's the second piece, camaraderie and connection. It's important. Here was the third thing. This was very insightful on his part. One of the things that he brought up is that in coaching, you want to learn— if you were to invest 6 months with me as your coach, you would know my framework. And when I say my framework, you would have my thumb drive at a really high level. And, and so a lot of times people go through a month, 2 months, 3 months of coaching, and they're like, I've got it, right? I've got all the ideas, all the frameworks, all the tactics. Here was something that he said. He said, 50% of what I learned this week was old, 50% of it was new. He said, but as my season has changed, The items that I heard that were regurgitated now more so apply to me and are, and are ideas that I can execute around in a different season. So here's a reason to pick up that book that you read in a different season that inspired you with a couple of ideas. Here's a reason to go back to a podcast that you've listened to that actually motivated you, inspired you to execute on something. Here's the reason to go back into coaching if you came, if you came out of coaching, is that in the regurgitation of the ideas, repetition has always been and will always be the mother of all learning. As you pass through different seasons, you're able to execute, you're able to hear— there's that statement that when the student is ready, the teacher will appear. And sometimes it can be the same teacher. That appears, and you're like, I have never heard that idea again. And and and so that's a that was a big aha for me. And and and here's here's something I want to I want to encourage you to do. I'm going to share about a one-minute clip from that session where one of the things that I shared with him is that. I don't want to ever stop this journey of being a dynamic coach, a dynamic leader, a dynamic husband, a dynamic father, a dynamic friend. I don't want to ever become static. I don't want to ever accept wherever I get in life as that being my status quo. I don't want to ever fall into This, this idea of contentment. I mean, like, discontent in a good way, understanding that more is available. So I want to go to this short clip, and I want to come back here. I want to finish out the podcast. Here we go. Well, I mean, like, yeah, if you have the right mindset, right? Like, I'll be 80. Trying to improve myself. Okay. Right. So I mean, if you have that growth mindset, you will always be seeking for someone who has aggregated specific information in an area where you're not an expert. You will go to that person, you will try to become an expert through all of the experience and frameworks that they provide. to grow in that specific area. And that's just depending on the season that you're in will depend on what that area of growth will look like, right? So, um, no, I'm absolutely with you. I mean, I, I spent in 2019 and '20, I spent $50,000 on writing coaches. Who does that,

right?

The guy who understands that the world has changed, that content is how— is the delivering content whether it's articles, whether it's blog posts, whether it's social, that my content is gonna matter to the growth of this organization and the reach that I wanna have. So the person who determines they suck at writing goes and finds the best people in that particular area and sits at their feet and learns. We're back. And that is a true story. I really did spend $50,000 on writing coaches in 2 years because I believe, and I still believe this today, we are media companies first. We are whatever we are second. I'm a, I'm a coach, consultant, recruiting strategist second, media company first. You're a real estate broker second. Media company first. You're a mortgage leader, second. Media company first. You're, you are a financial advisor, building a team, second. You are not that first, you're a media company first. And so the challenge for us is to, in different seasons, to identify the opportunities where we can grow. There's this, there's this daily effort. It's an affirmation that I say every single day. And I say this: the current version of me is not hireable by the 10-year better version of me. The current version of me is not hireable by the 10-year better version of me. I don't want to ever stop growing. You got one life to live. You have an opportunity to have some influence and to make an impact on the people that you have influence with. And you are just one degree, you're one idea away from changing everything. In this conversation with him, one of the things that he brought up was an idea that I shared with him, which is that in our recruiting audits, one of the big ahas that we have had over the last few years is that when you get more people involved, most recruiting leaders silo themselves. Me, myself, and I. That's it. That's all that's really involved. Maybe one other person. When you do that, you don't have much success. The data says somewhere around 2 to 3% of the people that you engage with will join your team. When you get more people involved, it accelerates, it dramatically accelerates people to the finish line. And 7 is that magic number. When you get 7 people involved, okay, somewhere around 70% of the people that you engage join your team at some point. And one of the things that he shared with me was that simple idea. Okay, it's just a simple framework. Get more people involved. Who are the 7 people that are on your recruiting roster? That simple idea has been a springboard for him. It's already propelling him forward in the execution of how he engages people. Think about it like golf. I stopped playing golf. I don't know, like 12 years ago, I had my C4, C5 fused. I was in an accident with a boat and I dove headfirst into something that I shouldn't have been diving into. And I'm just blessed that I wasn't actually paralyzed. I herniated a disc and had to have surgery. I lost my ability to turn in my swing. And so I stopped playing golf because it just didn't feel well. And but one of the things I know, because I did play golf for, I don't know, 20 years, is that hitting that golf ball just 1 degree off can send you several fairways over from that shot. Versus hitting that, hitting that ball square with your clubhead will hit it in the direction where you're aiming, where you're pointing. Some of you are just 1 degree off. That's it. You're just 1 degree off. And you need to take the time. And here's something that's very actionable for you. You need to take the time to define where do I need to grow? Where should I be seeking out information? And you should be sitting in that information highway, should be sitting right in the middle of it to grow yourself beyond where you currently are in order to become more. And so I think that's— I'm just pulling all this together for you to challenge you in that space. Because I know in my own life there have been a couple of ideas that have been massive springboards for me in the areas of growing my business, in the areas of growing my relationships. Some of these are being better husbands, better— being a better husband, being better father. Husbands is not plural, Leah, it is singular. I am married for 25 years to an awesome lady and And so you're one degree away a lot of times. So for some of you, it means get into coaching. For some of you, it means remaining in coaching and relearning the information and going a little bit deeper. For some of you, it means picking up an old book you read that had impact or searching out the new book that's going to have an impact and not just reading it once, but reading it a dozen times. Because ideas are crap. Execution is the real game that we're playing. Right? And so I just want to challenge you in that space. Sit down, take a few minutes, think deeply around where am I stagnant? Where am I stuck? Where do I need to go to make an investment of time, sometimes money and resources to get you beyond that moment? Because I do want to be the guy who's 80 years old and still trying to improve himself. And with that said, I hope you all are doing well. I hope this brought you some value today. And until I talk to you again on another Recruiting Conversations, have a great week, everybody.