E106 - How To Find Your Mindset Sweet Spot featuring Susan Hobson, Eh!

What is a mindset, and why do emerging leaders need to know what it is? 

The fact is that leaders are required to set their own mindset to set their internal priorities to complete the taskings as effectively as possible.

But how do we do this? How can we find that mindset sweet spot?

In this episode, you’ll hear from Susan Hobson, a fellow Canadian, podcast co-host, keynote speaker, author, former professional hockey player, entrepreneur and high-performance leadership coach, who will offer her story of learning how to identify our own mindset sweet spot. Susan will also offer practical advice and tools to help emerging leaders craft and use their mindset to help themselves, their team members, and the organization.

Chapters

• 0:50 Introduction to Mindset and Leadership
• 7:58 Susan Hobson's Background and Expertise
• 13:21 Defining Mindset and Its Impact on Leadership
• 21:05 How Mindset Influences Team Performance
• 32:21 Self-Awareness and Emotional Intelligence
• 37:23 Creating Psychological Safety in Teams
• 43:08 The Evolution to Leadership 2.0

Transcript

Simon: 0:07

I would like to begin this episode by acknowledging that I am located in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, and I am privileged and honoured to live and learn on the unceded, un-surrendered territory of the Anishinaabeg Algonquin Nation.

Glen: 0:24

Hello, you're listening to Trench Leadership: A Podcast From the Front, produced by iGlen Studios, a show for emerging leaders from all professions to hear from other leaders who have led from the front, made the mistakes, had the triumphs and are still learning along the way. And now here's your host, Simon Kardynal.

Simon: 0:50

Hi everyone and welcome to Trench Leadership: A Podcast From the Front, a show for emerging leaders. Let me ask you a question what is a mindset? Now let me ask you another question why do emerging leaders even need to know what that is? The fact is that leaders are required to set their own mindset so that they can set their internal priorities, to complete the taskings as effectively as possible, because leaders are expected to be effective. But how do we do this? How can we find that mindset sweet spot, that perfect area where we're able to kind of just float around and do it all and just be exactly where we need to be? I have great news because in this episode you'll hear from Susan Hobson, fellow Canadian, a podcast co-host, keynote speaker, author, former professional hockey player, entrepreneur and high performance leadership coach. Former professional hockey player, entrepreneur and high-performance leadership coach. Susan will offer her story of learning how to identify our own mindset sweet spot, and then she's going to give us some practical advice. And then she's going to give us some practical advice and tools to help emerging leaders craft and use their mindset to help themselves, their team members and the organization.

Simon: 2:03

But, like always, before we get going with things, I like to offer the visual interpretation, and in my case it happens to be the same thing we're always seeing. I'm still this time. I'm wearing my black golf shirt. I have my black rimmed glasses on. This time I've actually got a couple of days of beard going on. It's still far too white. I still have far too much white hair on the sides of my head. I do feel it's important to point out. This time I've got a little bit of color on top, so I'll take that. My glasses are still black rimmed and the background is an image of a stone wall with the Trench Leadership logo hanging up. The logo is white with a purple highlight to it, and that's it for me. But now, all of that having been said, I'm going to try and be quiet, introduce the guest and let her do her visual interpretation. Hey, susan, how's it going?

Susan: 2:47

It's going great, Simon. I'm so excited to be here.

Simon: 2:50

Oh, this has been far too long. We've been talking about this for a long time and this is one of the great things about podcasting. It's those connections we're making, and we're not even all that far from each other. We're only a few hours away.

Susan: 2:59

That's right. That's right. I'm here in Toronto sitting in my home office right now wearing the uniform, totally by accident, by the way, that Simon and I showed up both in black t-shirts today. I also have black room glasses. I will not be mentioning the grays in my hair, but I got some blonde highlights. I can mention. How about that, since it's spring.

Susan: 3:29

Let's see what's in my background. Today. I've got my book here, winning mindset. That's something I definitely should describe, right? This is all about elite strategies for peak performers, so it's a great tool for anybody out there listening to this who likes what we're about to riff on. I've got my beautiful white, pink and purple tulips in the background. You heard me say a second ago it's spring, so that's the way I'm celebrating that. You also see my anchor behind my right shoulder, my sign that says purpose driven mission, and that, to me, is like what it's all about in a nutshell. I also have a chalkboard with dream, create, inspire behind me, because those, as you'll hear me talk about today, are three pretty core values of mine, especially as a leader. So, yeah, that's what's going on in my background, in my physical space. Did I miss anything, simon?

Simon: 4:31

No, that's fantastic. Thanks so much there. I was just trying to unmute myself, so it's all perfect.

Susan: 4:39

You're giving me a pause because there was something else you wanted me to mention. Oh, how about all the stacks of books? We can mention those too. I'm obviously a voracious reader, as most thought leaders are, I believe. But yeah, that's it.

Simon: 4:54

I love that. Thanks so much for taking the time and painting that picture for all of us to have an idea of where we physically are, because sometimes it's just easier to imagine that. So with all of that, you know you talked about winning mindset and that is what we're here to talk about how to find that sweet spot and get into that. So I'm curious, as we get into this, would you mind defining what a mindset sweet spot is?

Susan: 5:21

Okay. So mindset it really is a terminology for anybody out there who hasn't heard this before, or maybe has heard it but doesn't necessarily know what it means. It's a terminology that we pull from neuroscience. It refers to this playbook of beliefs. We got back here and I'm pointing to the back side of my brain, back here in the subconscious part of our brain. That's where our beliefs are housed, and our beliefs are mucho importante in all areas of life and performance, but I think most especially in leadership, Because that playbook of beliefs back there is the thing that's running the show 95 to 97% of our choices all day long boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, being governed by those beliefs on autopilot.

Susan: 6:11

We don't even know we're making these decisions. So that's really really important stuff. It also is responsible our mindset for triggering the way that we feel emotionally, which kind of paints the picture in terms of how they govern our decisions towards or away from anything. But where it comes to performance and leadership, the thing that I think is most important is your beliefs govern your state, the quality of state that you are in from a moment to moment basis, and that is everything for the person standing at the front of the room, trying to set the tone right For, yeah, for your teams to be super high performing and high impact. So, yeah, mindset is everything. That's why they say that quote, because it's just so powerful and most people don't even know what's going on back there behind the gates, which is, to me, the most exciting part of working on mindset with leaders in the space of high performance.

Simon: 7:21

Thank you very much for that. What I'm hearing in that and correct me if I'm wrong is I'm hearing that mindsets are almost an instinctual personality trait, something that's going to happen no matter what, and it's going to affect our biases, our decision-making processes, how we're going to perceive whether or not we need to get frustrated or just be super calm when we're faced with a challenge. Does that make sense? Am I on the mark there?

Susan: 7:47

Yeah, it's interesting when you bring in, like, this whole notion of personality, because the way that beliefs are even established in our subconscious mind to create a mindset is that, yeah, like ever since we arrived here on planet Earth, it's our job, our brain's job, to keep us safe and alive. And the way it does that job, from birth on, is it has to take every experience that you ever have through your five senses and it has to make meaning of that. This is for survival, right, we needed to learn don't touch the hot stove ouch, that's hot. Migrate away from that decision. Or I got a boo-boo on the knee. Run to mommy or daddy for a kiss of the boo-boo and a hug. That's pleasure.

Susan: 8:33

So, when it comes to personality, it's an interesting thing for us to look at because oftentimes a lot of our beliefs are conditioned and influenced by our environments. So you know, most of our beliefs are established pre eight years old. Most of that influence is coming from the home right, the model standing at the front of the room we just said. In leadership, that model carries the most weight. So our parents heavily impact our beliefs about who we are, or, more so, who we should be, when we walk out the front door or who we should not be when we walk out the front door. So this is a lot of the work that we actually engage in with our clients, right, it is like helping them get behind those gates.

Susan: 9:26

Our clients, right, it's like helping them get behind those gates, get into the subconscious mind and really analyze, like, how many of those beliefs are actually in alignment with who you truly are, and how many of those beliefs were did you just pick up along the way, you know, because then after eight we go in schools and teachers hold a lot of influence. Then we go into, for me, sports and our coaches held a lot of influence, your peers, your tv sets, like. So we kind of got to go through the de-conditioning machine, right, when we become adults, to sort that all out in terms of whether or not, you know, we're showing up in a personality that reflects our truth or if we're showing up in a way that we learn to believe was safe.

Simon: 10:07

I completely agree with that and I was. It reminds me of an example I had when I was very early on in my military career. So I'm on basic training and we had the platoon is based. We had three sections in the platoon and we had two infantry master corporals, as each is a section commander. I was fortunate enough to have one of these master corporals as my section commander and then we had a third master corporal who was in the air force and I'm not slagging one better than the others, just for context.

Simon: 10:34

And and also basic training is very army- centric in that it was one would imagine most people imagine basic training being. It's not that way anymore, but back in 1994 it was certainly how people would imagine things and and I remember of we were out in the field and we're doing our stuff and the infantry master corporals, who had spent significant amount of times in their career out in the field, they knew how to get through the cold weather, they had been fully trained in these different things, whereas the Air Force technician wasn't necessarily as experienced because it just wasn't a function of their trade. So what I remember seeing was how calm and relaxed the infantry master corporals were in these austere environments because they knew how to make sure we were safe and warm Well, as warm as we were going to get. It was very cold, but how to get through these challenges in a safe manner. And we were that had when they were calm and they presented as calm that helped keep the rest of the section calm. Now I will say we're on basic training, so we're all running around with their hair on fire, but okay.

Simon: 11:39

But we were very calm and I remember looking at the section that had the air force master corporal and and this person was out of their element and I'm not again, I'm not insulting it, it was just, it's just a fact of the matter and because they hadn't had the experience that section is, he and this particular member was running around freaking out and that in turn meant that all of the other candidates in that section were running around freaking out.

Simon: 12:01

So here we are, we're able to get inside our tents and get our food ready and actually take a breath before the next evolution, and their tents hadn't even been put up yet. And I remember thinking to myself back then at young, super duper, immature, simon thinking, wow, I want to be able to stay calm in challenging situations, and which was actually a big deal considering how immature I was back then. But that specific example helped shape my mindset to be the type of forces member I wanted to be and how I wanted to react in austere conditions. Does that make sense at all? Is it relevant to what you were?

Susan: 12:37

Abso-freaking-lutely. I think, this is where I first became obsessed with mindset was in the context of my high performance sporting career. So I grew up in Mississauga, Ontario, little girl playing hockey. I was getting dragged around all the rinks with my big brother anyway. So it didn't take Lee long to to see the A plus B equals C, right, this guy on the ice doing all these fancy things. Parents are loving that.

Susan: 13:09

So of course I had to play too, but I was fortunate enough to get recruited down to the States at 14. And, yeah, I got thrust into these like uber competitive environments, right. But I really had the opportunity to observe the people at the front of the room, both the coaches and the teachers. And I'll tell you, I never played the best with the coaches who were throwing water bottles at my head. You know, like I didn't. I couldn't, I couldn't access my peak state, right, because they were so stressed.

Susan: 13:42

Obviously most people don't realize that rage and anger is like an escalation of that, but, yeah, that state is contagious. So if you are lacking that much control in yours at the front of the room, then that just ripples onto the entire team. And I noticed that in the classroom, right, like, the teachers that were calmest with me and would sit with me and just explore things, versus the ones right, like, that just could, were calmest with me and would sit with me and just explore things, versus the ones right, like, that just could not self-regulate. I felt safer going to them for extra help, right, like, I was able to grow and realize more of my capacity as a student because of their state.

Susan: 14:20

And it's funny because it's a theme that's come up a lot in the last three years, right, because a lot of the leaders that were coming through my door when the pandemic first hit, that was the state they were in fight or flight or freeze and so we talked a lot about that, right, like, the most important thing right now is that both your team at work and your kids at home are all looking to you to know how to feel about what this is all going to be like or what this is all going to mean for us, right? So, yeah, I just think, yeah, that state thing we say in leadership, right, the model carries the most weight and that's why we say it is because it really it really does. Only 7% of communication is even verbal. The other whopping 93%, right, is the other stuff, the nonverbal stuff. Like 55% is just our body language, like the way we are in our body, and the other 38% is our vocal tonality or energy or inflection. Where do you think that's coming from? That's coming from that leader's mindset.

Simon: 15:32

Oh, I couldn't agree more. I think often about how I will. For many, many years, I would say, when someone asked me a question about something, and be like well, simon, what do you think about this? I'm saying whatever, I don't care. The word whatever. And when I'm saying I don't care, apparently the the, the message I was sending was um, I, I'm nonchalant about it to the point where I really like I don't give a shit.

Susan: 15:58

Apathetic.

Simon: 15:58

Exactly, exactly and and unbeknownst to me, and it was someone I considered to be quite brave. It was a student. When I was teaching basic training. I had my hands on my shoulder, or sorry, my shoulders. I had my hands on my hips and I just kind of kind of had this, this leany thing that I would do, and I didn't realize. The messaging was that I, you, you're not fully engaged.

Simon: 16:19

Exactly. I'm not fully engaged and I really truly don't care what I. What I really meant was like I'm, I'm easy, whatever, we'll figure it out. But that's not what I was saying, and not only was it the spoken word, it was how I was presenting what I was saying and I learned from that as well. But I mean, that's what everything is. It's about making these mistakes and moving forward. Do you have any types of examples that you might offer, that where you had similar types of errors or fails, and you'll learn from those?

Susan: 16:48

Yeah, I think it's interesting. I do get asked this question, and another topic I think that leaders really struggle in is this whole area of vulnerability, and being at the front of the room, you know, comes with a lot of pressure and a lot of expectation. So it's really really one of the most difficult things for a leader to actually do what we're describing, right, especially if there's like any kind of situation in terms of adversity or whatever that's coming from the sidelines or the circumstances of the conditions of the world. So I just think the advice in terms of that because that was your question right, like, what's the advice for those leaders that are standing at the front of the room and trying to set that tone, and then also how that pertains to me and I wouldn't even call it a mistake, I would just call it like a growth opportunity.

Simon: 17:47

Yeah, any type of experience or something.

Susan: 17:50

Yeah, yeah, I think it was me trying to step into that space and learn how to stay calm and open and all of that and be authentic and be real and be vulnerable. But I think for me at first, because I was obviously feeling the pressure and trying to use the tools and manage all of that I found that like I said too much and I think, you know it's interesting because most of the leaders I talked to, they don't say enough, like, they're not authentic enough. They're like all buttoned up with the perfect script at the front of the room, and so I really was just trying to be myself and let it all hang out. But I think, like that really was the growth opportunity for me in terms of the application of everything that I teach right, which is like, oh, this is great experiential learning, because this is what you're trying to help leaders do. So, I think that to me, was a good growth opportunity.

Simon: 18:45

Like I really obviously had to learn how to regulate my state so that I could be the right level of vulnerability and and that's a big part about it finding that sweet spot is, finding that that perfect little area where you're able to kind of exist and be able to shift to the left or the right as you need to, because it's never totally stationary. I like to imagine it as one of those extras, those terrible exercise balls there where it's like the big rubber ball and they've got the round plank of wood and you have to stand on the round plank of wood and you're bouncing the whole time with, otherwise you're going to tumble over the bozu.

Simon: 19:22

Yeah, oh is that what it is?

Susan: 19:24

Yeah, exactly the squats on the bozu. Oh, I feel the burn now just thinking about it I love it, and so that even hits.

Simon: 19:35

Th e point is, at home is the more you're in that weird spot. It's not going to feel easy at first and eventually you'll be able to do two squats and then four, and then thankfully never again.

Susan: 19:43

But, and that's what I want to comment on, right, because, like my whole life, like, I was saying, I started hockey like at a young age and I had to be in state management, that whole gauntlet all the way up to pros, you know like, and I knew like in sport, the higher I climbed, the more pressure I felt and it was almost like, yeah, like I had to go back to basics at that next echelon of pressure, right, and I really had to play with that sweet spot is like too much arousal, not enough arousal, too much arousal. And so, yeah, it was quite phenomenal for me to experience that when I actually stepped into leadership in my business, because over the last decade I've grown a team we have 10 coaches now. So, yeah, like, the higher I climbed and now I had pressure and this and I care about my mission, as you can tell from my anchor sign back here, right, this is a purpose thing that we're on here. So, yeah, I think it's very, very real and I try to manage every leader's expectations about that.

Susan: 20:49

There is not one single leader in the world who just steps into that seamlessly and like boom nails, that target every single time, the first time. And so that's why mindset is everything. That's why we have to have a growth mindset, not time, and so that's why mindset is every. That's why we have to have a growth mindset, not a fixed mindset. That's why it's progression, not perfection, feedback, not failure. It's all those same tenants, but obviously showing up in that space in and around the state management and vulnerability.

Simon: 21:18

Perfect. Thank you so much for that. I love that explanation because it makes me wonder how, at that point, we could start crafting our own mindset. Do you have some different methods or manners that people might be able to do that?

Susan: 21:32

Yeah, I think the best place to start and the most important place to start, the only starting point, in my humble opinion, is in self-awareness. You know what's that tosh york quote? Like, um, I think like over 50 percent of people think that they're self-aware and only like 12 of them are, or something crazy like that.

Susan: 21:54

You know, it's like everybody thinks they're a good driver, kind of a thing yeah, so I always say, like awareness comes before intelligence, you can't solve anything until you first acknowledge that it's there. Yeah, exactly, to hack into your beliefs is really through your nervous system, you know. So, again, coming from you know, as a pro athlete, I had to check my pulse all the time to know if I was in, like the right training zone. But this is kind of like checking your emotional pulse is how I think about it, right, because your emotions, like I said at the top of this show, are really the intel that's being released from your belief systems. So, remember I said, beliefs are what you think things mean, your associations of pain and pleasure.

Susan: 22:51

And so when those bad boys get triggered so that you can filter, is this a safe choice? Do I go towards or away from? It's triggering that neurochemistry, right? It's triggering that neurochemistry, right, it's triggering that emotion. And so the quickest way in to your mindset is to just start getting into the discipline of checking your emotional pulse and then stepping back to unpack like, well, okay, so I'm feeling this like anxiety right now. And then why am I feeling this anxiety? Like what the heck is going on in my day here that could be triggering this. Oh, I'm about to go stand at the front of the room and give my team a big pep talk. Okay, that probably has something to do with the app. I feel my heart rate going right now. That's it.

Susan: 23:33

And then really it's just the curiosity that comes with the growth mindset, which is like what might be true about that presentation and me needing to perform in a certain way for my team hint, hint, right.

Susan: 23:46

That might be building a little too much arousal right now with the nervous system, do? I believe that I can't, because I'm like first day on the job here as a new leader, like whatever that is in terms of what you think that means. That's the opportunity to really, first and foremost, map out what beliefs you're working with back there in the mindset, but also just to understand how to regulate that, how to reprogram those limited beliefs because that's what we call them when we're in one of those primal kind of red flag states. Or are you able to pivot your perspective right so that you actually can challenge what that means and you can start to re-architect that story so that you elicit a totally different emotional state as a result? And that's what we call the pivot. You know, when you stop to step back, unpack, then therein lies the opportunity to start building more empowering beliefs that, yeah, come with more powerful states and, like we said, that's kind of a big deal in leadership.

Glen: 25:02

Oh, hello there. It's Glenn, the voiceover artist, and if you're hearing me, that means we're at the midpoint of this episode. Do you have an idea for an episode that you feel is vital for emerging leaders? Leave the idea in the comment section and, if your topic is chosen, you will have the opportunity to join us as a co-host during the recording session. So drop us a note and let's talk. This podcast is made possible by listeners like you, and if you feel we've earned it, please tell your friends and leave a review to help us grow our following. And now back to the show.

Simon: 25:45

Yeah, exactly, you know, I when, as you were talking about that, I was thinking about a quote that I read often from Margaret Wheatley, who is my leadership go-to person, my guru, and, and she said that in applying reason, we must stay honest, unbiased and self-aware, vigilant to avoid self-delusion. And I love that part about being vigilant to avoid self-delusion. It's about being honest with ourselves, because if we're not, how can we truly authentically be able to represent ourselves and our teams? And if we're not doing that, how can we have that mindset spot? Because we're not even being honest where we want to be or where we are, and that comes with it. Does that make any sense? Do you have any thoughts on that?

Susan: 26:24

I think it totally comes with it. I mean, the more you have to be something that you're not, the more energy that's going to drain, the more depleted you're going to be as you stand at the front of the room and ain't nobody getting inspired by or following and leaning in and doubling down for a leader, right, that is not channeling the right energy, because it doesn't lead to trust you being in an authentic state.

Susan: 26:58

That's why we call the flow state effortless and most people are like what is that? What? Like no time, no sense of space. Huh, you're not counting the seconds down on the clock, but that's why, right, it's like because when you trust yourself, that mirrors onto the room and those people are now going to be able to trust that you're safe to follow. But if you're up there and you're trying to be something that you're not and contort, please believe they are picking up what you're throwing down and they are not buying it. And if they're not buying it, they're not following it.

Simon: 27:32

Oh yeah, 100%. One of the things I think of often is when I see leaders up front and they've, for instance, they've got their phone out and that's where they have their notes for whatever the speech is.

Simon: 27:44

Well, I understand that's a convenient spot to have, that I for myself and I don't want to, certainly don't want to speak for others, but when I see someone else on their phone, I'm reminding myself okay, they're looking at notes, they're not looking at their latest Facebook post or whatnot, it just sends a message and so you know, for me, I still, I still write them out on a piece of paper. I'm also a visual learner, so it helps to actually physically write out the questions but or the points. But. But either way, know the environment. Maybe you're talking to a tech group and then that's, that's finally the way it is. But if you're talking to new people or whatnot, or whatever, know that environment and know how to get forward and adjust that mindset to allow for the positions that you're in, especially if you don't know your team. Or if you do know your team, take that time and figure it out. With all of that in mind, how might we be able to craft a mindset within the team that we're all in the same page?

Susan: 28:37

Yeah, well, I think it's teamwork makes the dream work right In it to win it together everybody.

Susan: 28:44

I think pulling everybody into alignment is all about making sure that they really can connect with the vision, that you're asking everybody to mobilize in the direction of the values that are embedded in that right and making sure that when you are painting that picture like Simon and I did right, like you are doing that to the utmost degree of specificity and descriptiveness that you absolutely can achieve, because that is what helps people emotionally get congruent with that, what you're asking people to act in alignment with right.

Susan: 29:25

So I think, like, if you're at the front of the room and you're trying to do that, I think it's really just setting the tone in terms of your energy as you're starting to paint that picture and making sure that everybody in the room is in alignment with what you see is in alignment with what you feel in terms of how important it is. And, last and most importantly, definitely not least, is making sure everybody in that room knows how much their role matters and their contribution matters as it pertains to that vision and that mission that you're asking everybody to go on pertains to that vision and that mission that you're asking everybody to go on.

Simon: 30:06

Oh yeah, I yeah, absolutely you know. And that clarity is invaluable because if people don't know where they're going or why they're going, they might do just enough to get out of that or to get through it. But there will certainly be follow on things with little little questions in their head Like why, why the hell am I doing it this way? This, this is stupid and maybe there's a reason or whatnot. But if you don't talk to people and you don't communicate with them, that's going to be invaluable. I also feel that it's important to ask questions, and I am a big fan of asking direct questions. Hey, what do you think about what we're doing? Does this make sense to you? Hope you know, and now, keeping in mind that that also means we have to foster an environment where you can rely on honest answers, even if it's not the one you want to hear. Do you have any? Does that make sense?

Susan: 30:49

think we say in our locker room, like psychological safety is king and queen. You know like you should not do anything in terms of business if you don't have psychological safety in your dressing room. You know, and psychological safety is where you have really high trust, low fear environments. And the best way to achieve that in addition to some of the things that I've already threaded into this conversation because you can see, like the mindset strategies I'm eliciting or laying out here are mostly in the direction of making sure that you are a trustworthy leader but the most important thing that impacts psychological safety is is do you care about your team? Like you were saying a second ago, you cared about your class. Your body language wasn't communicating that. But yeah, I think the most important thing in terms of building psychological safety is having empathy.

Simon: 31:49

Yeah, oh yeah.

Susan: 31:50

Because, yeah, that to that. To me it's like there's something that goes on for us in the reptilian part of our brain, in the first 30 seconds of interaction with people, where we're deciding, like, if we trust you or not, and so oftentimes that's a felt sense, it happens so fast. It's a primal part of the brain, it's instinctual. So what is it that our intuition is calibrating? The presence of empathy, that's, if you care, it's safe for me to lean in and be honest with you and give you my feedback. Or if you care, then I know it's safe for me to lean in and be honest with you and give you my feedback. Or if you care, then I know it's safe to bring you my crazy ideas. You know, and I'm not afraid of any kind of punishment if I know that you're holding a safe space for me with an empathetic approach, so that that I could go on for days talking about psych safety, because psych safety really is the baseline for the highest performing teams on the planet.

Susan: 32:45

You know, project Aristotle, this whole research project that Google did, proved that Right. So, yeah, I just think You're armed and dangerous if you respect building a foundation of psychological safety in your locker room. Because, yeah, it's it. It's it drives so many hugely important key performance indicators on any team. Um, but yeah, definitely, it definitely does not come like easy. It's something that I always say like is this is a skill set that we have to learn to build as leaders, especially with all the different things impacting you know the state that you're in, as we've been talking about today, but if you're out there and you're listening and you don't know what psych safety is right now, please double down on some reading of some books, and Amy Edmondson, the godmother of psych safety, is a great place to start.

Simon: 33:41

Oh, she really is, and it's so important that any really any podcaster that is in the leadership sphere talks about has many episodes about psychological safety. I know this podcast has quite a few about it, because you, it's not something you can capture in 30 minutes and there are so many different facets of it that you can have five different conversations with the same person and have five completely different topics, all making their way back to the overarching idea of psychological safety. Um and for, oh it's, it's absolutely wild. I think a lot about how creating those, those safety environments, are important and how that will help affect a mindset of safety. And I I think for myself when.

Simon: 34:23

The example I'd like to use is when I was in the infantry again, a young kid and my company was the quick reaction force uh, so company is a group of about 100 people inside an infantry battalion and we were the quick reaction force for eastern canada and, uh, the swiss air flight 111 crash had happened in peggy's cove. This was the 90s, 98, and so we're getting. We got sent out to go do rescue, slash recovery, and so we did, we did what we had to do and at the end of it, this again is the late 90s now, uh, and at the time social workers had been around a long time but they just had nothing to do with the combat arms trades, because that was just a sign of weakness if you spoke to a therapist and so, but they were working.

Simon: 35:09

Oh, yes, oh, probably the same thing in the sporting environment too, If I had to guess, I am in no way I watch sports. That's as close as I get.

Susan: 35:17

Very similar conditions yeah.

Simon: 35:19

Okay, okay, so you'll probably appreciate this then. So we, but they were starting to recognize around the time, from a social climate perspective, that the need was there and that we had to start talking about our feelings. We can't just keep washing it down with beer. So after, yeah, you know exactly what I mean.

Simon: 35:37

So same conditions perfect absolutely this is great though because it's not just, not just uh, it's a one trick pony where it's just one specific environment, it it's relevant at high performer levels. Yeah, so we're finishing exactly. Yeah, so we're finishing up the uh, the, the tasking, I'll call it that. And so at the end of it, what they thought at the time was actually quite innovative. So in my platoon there's 30 people in a platoon they literally put us in this room and had 30 chairs in a circle and in the middle was the social worker sitting there and said okay, what's everyone think about what they just experienced? We're all kind of looking at each other going.

Simon: 36:17

I mean, I'm not going to admit that that was a very difficult thing to do, because I'm now admitting that in front of all of my peers and my supervisors were all in that same circle like there's no way. I'm going to admit that now the best of intentions and they had to start somewhere flash forward a couple of decades and things have gotten much better. Where people are seeking out that help, because they recognize that that will be the thing that is going to help them move forward, and that's partially because the social environment has created a climate where people can have the mindset to feel safe and go in and speak up. Does that make any sense at all? And it sounds like you had similar experiences in your professional sporting career.

Susan: 36:57

Yeah, I think it's wild, right, like, because I didn't even learn. It took me getting to the Ivy Leagues to even get exposed to a professional like me who could even open up a conversation about how I was feeling Like that to me, like should never be a thing. I think we should be teaching our kids about, you know, emotions in school and mindset in school, since it's everything. But, yeah, no, I definitely relate to that story in terms of just how far we've come. I think the whole reason we're on this Leadership 2.0 mission which, for your audience, leadership 2.0 is what we call our mission it's about heart-centric, human-centric leadership, right, and all of that obviously requires emotional intelligence and it's a it's. It's really. It's come a long way since therapy and neuroscience like arrived on the scenes. It could actually start making a case and presenting data and research right where we actually see like there's nothing soft about emotional intelligence, eq emotional intelligence predicts 80% of how much potential we're gonna realize.

Simon: 38:11

That's amazing.

Susan: 38:12

Only 20% is predicted by our IQ. So if it carries again that much weight in terms of how much potential, we're gonna realize, like, what capacity we're operating at. Yeah, like I really I think it needs to be a part of the curriculum and it's an interesting, you know, challenge that we have in leadership, because the average leader doesn't even get leadership training until 46. So it's like, yeah, I just think we're on such a mission because, you know, leadership 1.0 is what we're still evolving out of. Believe it or not, in 2023, folks like that whole command and control power over rather than power within this type of management not even leadership Right type of management, not even leadership right.

Susan: 39:00

And the big difference in the contrasting experiences of 1.0 and 2.0 leadership is seen in the mental health of the people. I don't care if it's the military, I don't care if it's athletics. It's the whole reason why I went on this mission and assembled this team around me, this dream team of coaches who are also very passionate about this, because we've all come up the ranks. We're we're all former pro athletes on my bench. We've all come up the ranks and seen the suffering that ensues. We've all had to battle our way back right from the suffering in terms of the impact that that had trying to perform in 1.0 led environments. And so, yeah, I mean that one. Just it's strikes me right in my passion zone, you know, because, like turns out, emotions are powerful performance drivers. They'll drive you up or down and if you don't know what the heck they're trying to tell you, guess what, You're not at the helm, you can't even call yourself a leader, in my humble opinion.

Simon: 40:02

I love it. No, thanks so much. And honestly, it's about understanding where we want to be and where we want to go, because how can we create that mindset if we're not honest with ourselves? So many basic tenets of all things leadership revolve coming back to being honest with yourself, being self-aware. If you want to get promoted because you want bigger pay, you want more money in the bank and you want to have the positional power, then just be honest with yourself. I mean, you're going to probably have a harder time having people want to follow you because of your leadership skillset, but at least you're honest with yourself.

Susan: 40:35

Well, that's what we're saying off the heels of the great resignation, and then all this like quiet quitting, like angry, quitting like people are quitting.

Susan: 40:44

Okay, people walking out the damn door, not looking back over their shoulder, right, like that's got to tell you something. So that's what we're saying a lot right now on our show, right, which is like at the start of the pandemic. We were like leadership 2.0 is coming, it's coming, it's coming Now. All the we interview the top experts in the world on these subjects and now they've all been saying since January it's here, leadership 2.0 is here. If you don't, if you're not, upskilling your leaders in this human centric way, good luck, cause you're you're not going to be able to compete in the new world Like you, just you're not going to be able to compete in the new world Like you're, just you're not going to be able to to sustain your talent and and and it's a talent war right now. So, yeah, it's, it's on all levels. This is why all of this mindset and emotional intelligence and state management is so mucho importante. It's just, it is the competitive advantage right now.

Simon: 41:42

Oh yes, absolutely, absolutely. Well, listen, susan, we have to wrap this up. I know you have a hard stop, so with that in mind, I have a quick question how, if people want to reach out to you, they want to learn more about winning mindsets, leadership 2.0, or if they want to work more with you or even connect, how might they do that?

Susan: 42:00

Well, I hope that you'll all come find us and connect at EliteHighPerformancecom. That's where you can find out all about these wonderful Leadership 2.0 programs we're offering in psych safety, diversity, equity, inclusion, creating your dream teams, like all kinds of different exciting ways to get engaged with the work that we're doing. We work all over the world, so please, wherever you are in the world, do not be held back by that. That's the most exciting part of the disruption, I think, is the fact that we've been able to pivot online and open it up to every corner of the globe. So, elitehighperformancecom.

Susan: 42:45

I also am on LinkedIn under Susan Hobson, or Instagram, if we have some younger listeners out there. Under Susan L Hobson, I do daily mindset, leadership tips, tricks, strategies, types of videos. So there's tons of good thought leadership there. And then, last but not least, rob would kill me if I didn't mention our podcast, the Leadership Launchpad Project. Yeah, so you can find us all over. Every single podcast platform there is, I'm pretty sure, but iTunes, spotify, all the major ones. I really hope you'll come hang out with us there. We're going to have friend simon on the show in a couple of weeks, which I'm really excited about. But, yeah, that's how your, your folks can find me fantastic.

Simon: 43:29

Thanks so much for that and, of course, uh, links to all the different ways people can connect will be available inside the show notes. I do need to say that your podcast is fantastic, the way you connect with people. It's like you're speaking with, not at them, and I think there's something to be said for that type of a conversation. I said it's a pleasure to enjoy that and I'm looking so much to be a guest on that show.

Susan: 43:50

We're going to put you on the hot seat, Simon.

Simon: 43:52

Thanks, so much Nothing but flow, buddy.

Susan: 43:58

I already predict it's going to be nothing but flow. So I hope your listeners tune in for that one.

Simon: 44:03

I can't wait. Thanks so much. That's going to be a lot of fun.

Susan: 44:07

Well thank you for having me and, yeah, everybody out there like let's go, let's change the way this game's being played forever. This is the time we all have an opportunity to be a part of this global evolution in leadership. So how exciting is that.

Simon: 44:24

Yeah, I love it. It's an exciting time to be in the leadership environment.

Susan: 44:30

Amen.

Simon: 44:30

Right on. Well, take care of yourself.

Susan: 44:32

Yeah, you too, simon. Thanks everybody.

Simon: 44:35

That's a wrap from the front. In this episode we talked about finding that mindset sweet spot and why it's important and how we can get there for ourselves and our team members, and we did this by remembering that it's about a playbook of our beliefs, our conditions, that we create the environment in understanding that our model carries the most weight, that we need to be self-aware. And then we have to check our emotional pulse, because if we're not honest with ourselves, we're not being honest with the people responsible for it. Thanks for tuning in and remember, Leadership without passion limits the depth of your vision.

Glen: 45:14

Ne ver miss an episode by following us on all of your favourite feeds. While you're there, please consider leaving an episode review and let us know what topics you would like to hear about. Be sure to join us next week with your host, Simon Kardynal, for another episode of Trench Leadership: A Podcast From the Front, produced by iGlen Studios. Music provided by Ashamaluev Music.