[00:00:00] Speaker A: Welcome to Money Gurus. I'm Matt Jaruf. We're looking for voices who bring practical insights, real case studies and actionable strategies that help our viewers strengthen profitability, improve financial systems and lead their business with confidence. We want to hear your story and help share it with a national audience. This is Money Gurus on NOW Media Television.
[00:00:21] Speaker B: Welcome to Money Gurus. I'm Harsh Chadav. When business owners think about profitability, they often focus on revenues, expenses, expenses, taxes and operations. But one of the biggest drivers of business performance is often overlooked and that's leadership. Today's guest is executive coach Carlos Martin, co founder of Continuum Leaders and host of CEOs leadership evolving. Carlos works with entrepreneurs and senior executives to develop greater self awareness, stronger leadership capacity and a healthier workplace culture that drives long term success. Us Carlos, welcome to Money Gurus.
[00:00:59] Speaker C: Thank you so much. I appreciate, you know, being here. I'm excited.
[00:01:06] Speaker B: We're really happy to have you. And you know, as we begin, I want to encourage viewers to consider this question.
Is your business growing because of your leadership or despite it? And in this first segment we're going to explore the connection between leadership effectiveness and business performance.
And Carlos, why do so many business owners underestimate the financial impact of leadership?
[00:01:34] Speaker C: Well, I think they don't see it as an investment.
So you're not going to invest in something where you don't see it as an investment.
So if for someone to not invest in leadership is what, what are we gaining from? I come from a sales background.
You know, we can't, we, we can't improve something unless we can measure it. So how do you measure leadership? And that's the difficult part, right? It's, it's difficult to put, to quantify it if you will, to put an ROI to it so that usually people don't put investment, they don't put time into it, they don't put, you could say personal, you they invested in on a personal development but not an, not as a business development.
And that's how I see leadership.
[00:02:28] Speaker B: Got it. Like I'm curious, you know, because I know like small business owners, especially entrepreneurs, they're sort of like, you know, looking at different cost factors and sometimes they overlook their own development because just running and trying to keep the business going, how do you typically, you know, convince them that maybe leadership should be a priority for them to really grow?
[00:02:50] Speaker C: Yeah, well, I think we have to take it back and say what is, what is leadership effect? What does it do?
So when I work with leaders every single day, so I think I almost have like a little peeping Tom into leadership. I know that sounds horrible, right? But I, I, I feel privileged to have an insight that most people don't. Right, right. Because I'm looking at the thoughts and process and imposter syndrome and all, you know, identity of the leader.
And not all the time, but many times I also have the same lens when it comes to the stakeholders. So you start to see the big differences between both the misalignment, if you will, and, and then you start to see really what it's affecting. So if we throw the word leadership out there, what does it really mean and what does it do? But I don't think many of us, especially in corporate, really say how is it affecting the lack of leadership on a positive or negative way.
And again, so how do we peel it back and say what is leadership and what does it affect? And then be able to quantify it, but we just don't do that enough.
[00:04:06] Speaker B: No, that makes a lot of sense. And you know, I know that you work with both, you know, entrepreneurs, you know, leaders in that area as well as, you know, Fortune 500 type of company leaders. And I'm just curious, you know, if you are working with a client, let's say, who was previously a leader with a Fortune 500 company is now transitioning to having their own business, do you find their leadership skills carry over and are effective in the small business environment?
[00:04:35] Speaker C: That's a fantastic question. I don't think anybody's ever asked me that.
I think depends on the, depends on the leader.
So when I look at corporate, I see an individual that, okay, you're an individual provider now. You're doing a fantastic job. Now I'm going to put you as manager and we have to figure that out and then eventually go up the corporate ladder, Director, C suite and so forth. So what you're saying is that individual that now goes into entrepreneurship, Let me tell you, as an entrepreneur myself, excuse me, it is extremely difficult. Why? Because now you're, you're wearing many, many hats.
So you have to get so comfortable with uncertainty and I don't know. So depending on the title, depending on the individual, depending on what they're doing, they might be really good at something more. Marketing, sales operations, whatever that might be. But as an entrepreneur, you need to do everything, and that is very difficult to do. I'm not saying it's impossible.
But to answer your question, does it carry over some of it, but not all of it?
[00:05:43] Speaker B: And it's a great point you're raising because you're right. You know, when you work in a Fortune 500 type of company, you know, you tend to be very departmentally focused. Maybe like you said, you're part of sales or part of a finance, and. And you're a leader in that area. But unlike being in a small business where you're sort of running all these different functions, typically leadership probably can look a little bit different. And I'm just curious in general, what kinds of leadership behaviors create the greatest positive impact?
Let's say an entrepreneur's growth.
[00:06:17] Speaker C: Yeah. Well, if you look at the. Let's go corporate, right? Let's say you're in the C suite. So you have your stakeholders, other people in the C suite, your personal board of advisors, you have a robust team around you. The, the experts, quote, unquote, within marketing operations and so forth. On the entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship side usually don't have that. You have to be everything.
So now the imposter syndrome comes in. It's like, oh, I should know this. I should know this answer before incorporate. Like, I'm not sure what the answer is.
Let me go to the right department.
So I noticed that most individuals, as they go from corporate to entrepreneurship, there's a lot of imposter syndrome. And so much of it is net new, right? So it's also 80 to 90% of what we do on a regular basis.
It's done by our subconscious.
So if you're at work, you've done the work for a year, two, five years.
So most of the net new stuff is maybe 5%. When you're on the entrepreneur side, it's nine is the. It's the other way around. So you find yourself exhausted. You. You're below the line. We don't make the best decisions. We don't have the same stakeholders. We don't have the same environment.
That in itself is extremely exhausting. Exhausting. And I noticed the imposter syndrome, it is as loud as. As can be.
[00:07:46] Speaker B: Yeah. And I keep hearing that phrase, you know, fake it till you make it. You know, sort of like ties into imposter syndrome that can only take you. I know that's right. That's exactly right. You know, it takes you so far, but eventually you probably have to really gain those skills. And I keep hearing about these different types of leadership styles, right? There's like servant leadership and being very authentic leadership, all these different types. And we have plenty of CEOs out there that model these types of leadership. Are you finding any specific leadership style to be very effective for entrepreneurs?
[00:08:23] Speaker C: Well, if we Go back in time. You know, we had someone like Jack Welch, the, you know, president of, of ge. It was just leading with fear. And that was effective back in the days. And now what I'm seeing now is how empathetic are you, how, you know, you know, EQ starts to come into play. Do you know your people? Do you talk to your people? Do you connect with your people? Is your culture there? All the soft skills that we really didn't really pay attention because before it was either you do this or you're fired. That was kind of the way we kind of led back the days. And now there's options. People have, you know, a different way of being. So what I'm seeing now in the new current role is someone that understands and connects with their. With their people. And that is where I see the most effective leader. We could all be leaders, but being an effective leader are two different things.
[00:09:24] Speaker B: Yes, I agree. And also, like, you know, being effective and being authentic, because I think sometimes, like you said, a good example of Welch, you know, I mean, you have some leaders who, you know, did perform extremely well in their space, but that was probably like more their natural leadership style. But, you know, modeling it, you know, may not be the best fit for everybody. Maybe you have your own style. And I'm just curious, you know, through your leadership training and through your coaching, how do you usually help, like, entrepreneurs find their voice and find the right style of leadership?
[00:09:58] Speaker C: You know, the biggest thing, I don't have a formula per se, because I. I coach the individual in their totality.
So I've. I've learned in my experience not to have a formula. And I do that on purpose and with purpose because we're all very, very different.
So for me, what I look for in an individual is how receptive are they, how open are they to change? Because I'm working with one now.
He is. He's in the C suite. And he's very reluctant. He's just. There's a lot of defensiveness. This is my way or the highway, and that's very difficult to work with.
So my thing is, when you're looking yourself as a leader, how open are you? You know, one of my favorite quotes is by Wayne Dyer. If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change is having a different lens, a different. A different perspective. And sometimes it's difficult once you go up the corporate ladder because you have all the answers or you found success, which is great. But an effective leader is, is something different, especially nowadays.
[00:11:09] Speaker B: No, that Makes a lot of sense. And also it's, it's a great point you talked about. You know, each one is sort of, you know, working through. They come in with a certain type of background. So maybe they try, they're really familiar with that.
You know, I think that, you know, like that's really key. I think, you know, what you said about the coaching and being able to them to really find, you know, the authenticity and what they're trying to provide for their employees. I mean, do you ever believe in some sort of measurement which you brought up earlier? Is there a way to measure this or.
[00:11:39] Speaker C: Yeah, the best way that I found to be able to measure is a360 which is called 360Interview360Tools. So I provide usually director and above, especially in C suite. It works out really well.
It's the LCP 360. It's an amazing tool and we could kind of talk a little bit more shortly. But it's just a tool for, to look at all the 360 stakeholders to give them an insight of where they currently are.
[00:12:10] Speaker B: Wonderful, wonderful. Well, thank you, Carlos. I think strong businesses are rarely built by strategy alone.
They are built by leaders who create clarity, accountability and trust.
We'll be right back to discuss People first leadership and how it affects scalability.
[00:12:27] Speaker A: We'll be right back with more financial insights, strategy and tools to help build a more profitable business. This is Money Gurus on NOW Media Television. And we're back with more financial insights, strategy and tools to help build a more profitable business.
This is Money Gurus on NOW Media Television.
[00:12:47] Speaker B: I'm back with Carlos Martin. And as organizations grow, leadership challenges become more complex. Systems can be automated, but trust, communication and cultural culture will depend on people. So Carlos, you know, we were just starting to talk about some of the tools and you talked about the 360 degree methodology that's in place. Could you just talk a little bit more about that and how it's used?
[00:13:11] Speaker C: Yes, of course. So I think it's one of the best tools that I have or executive coaches have if they are certified for that is when we think about 360 is the stakeholders all around. So for example, you know, if you're, if you're my client, I look at people, you're leading your boss, your boss's boss. And sometimes I even throw a significant other, a best friend, just to get a little bit of the personal perspective. And again, when I coach individual, coach individuals in their totality. So sometimes a personal bleeds in.
So.
And then, you know, it's about 130 questions or so that goes go to each individual and then we get that feedback back. Now this is compared to thousands of effective leaders. And that's what, that's what really are measuring how of an effective leader you are. And there's about four segments. So one is a balance between reactive versus creative.
[00:14:11] Speaker B: Right.
[00:14:11] Speaker C: Are you dealing, are you kind of dealing with fear and just be reactive on every day or you're on more on the creative side and the other side, this is the one that I found find that it's a lot more I guess more. There's more value is the difference between task and relationship. So say for example if someone is in the. I see this more on the kind of like the cfo. They're a lot more binary, they're a lot more logical. So they're very good at the task but not that great. I'm speaking in general now. They're not that great in the relationships. Now you bring a marketing individual, a sales individual that tends to be a lot more people person. They're going to emphasize a lot more in the relationship and not so much in the task.
So what we do at the 360 is where are you as an individual and also you get an insight, a perspective, a perception from their stakeholders to say harsh because we get their space for them to put their comments and they might be thinking that you are open and receptive and one of your stakeholders might say like no, he's narrow minded and close minded. He doesn't listen.
Right. So now we have tons of data that how the, the, the data sees you but also how other people see you. And it's just amazing because it gives us so much value and information to work from that. I know I gave you a lot
[00:15:40] Speaker B: because there is a lot actually it's very interesting to me because it seems so comprehensive in how that approach is used and it actually fits in really well with you know, just the way you do your consulting in general, your coaching. You know, it's not a one size fits.
You really are tailoring it to each of your individual clients which I think they would probably definitely appreciate it.
Now Carlos, you know in terms of the.
[00:16:09] Speaker C: On top of that, that 360 usually has like a two year expiration.
So just because that was our finding at that moment, two or three years from now, your experience when we talk about would become our experiences.
So you know having a 360 is great but that is just a snapshot. So you might. I'm not saying you have to do it every two or three years. But just kind of keep that in mind because I'm not big on labeling people like personality assessments. I'm not crazy on those, even though I give those. But at the same time I make sure I communicate. Like, this is, if we're going to label you, this is just a snapshot of where you currently are. It doesn't mean this is what defines you, Carlos.
[00:16:54] Speaker B: You know, I'm just curious for myself, you know, in terms of the evaluation stuff, let's say somebody took the 360 degree evaluation today.
In five years, you know, with coaching and things like that, do you see like significant difference in their leadership style?
[00:17:11] Speaker C: Oh, absolutely, all the time. I mean that, that excites me. That's why I'm smiling. And it's not about me, right? Like, oh my God, the ego. I did it. No, it's, they, they do it. I'm, I'm just the facilitator. I'm the one that's creating that space, you know, for people to be seen and to be heard and create all this. But they're putting in, they're putting in the work. So yeah, I see it. I have one of my clients that I saw maybe about two and a half, three years ago, he just emailed me like four months ago saying, Carlos, like, thank you. I've grown so much as an individual. He's gotten three promotions since then.
And it's just, it really starts to affect your life because you see yourself differently, you see others differently, you lead differently because you have an insight how other people see you. And, and sometimes even more important, which is kind of crazy how really you see yourself through this survey, which is kind of a bit meta, like who's. Who is a 360 to tell me how I see myself.
But the reality is we don't take enough time to really get to, to know ourselves. And I just try to, I try to create that space.
[00:18:21] Speaker B: Yeah, that's a great point. And you know, it kind of like goes back to relationship because I think, you know, from what I'm hearing, you know, coaching is really sort of a long term type of proposition. You get some quick wins, but to really benefit, you know, to see the growth. I mean, working with your coach, sort of address some of those mentors, maybe some issues, you know, that you can use to grow. I mean, I think that long term approach that you use is probably very, very effective.
[00:18:47] Speaker C: Yeah, it really is. And again, it's for them. And again, I'm just, I'm super happy that I get to do the work that I do.
[00:18:58] Speaker B: That is wonderful.
I'm just curious, you know, like, you know, what mistakes do you find founders typically make when they're maybe transitioning from entrepreneur to being an organizational leader, you know, leading a workforce, you know, having staff.
Where. Where do you see issues?
[00:19:16] Speaker C: Well, kind of speaking in general,
[00:19:22] Speaker A: say
[00:19:22] Speaker C: someone is an individual contributor, an amazing individual contributor. Those are usually the ones that we see. Again, from individual contributor to manager. Or if you're really good on working on your own as an entrepreneur, then all of a sudden going to corporate, that could. That could work that way as well.
They're different skill sets. You know, that reminds me of Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson. Some of the best players ever, hall of Famers. But they were probably hall of Shamers when it came to managers. They were horrible coaches. They were, because you have different expectations, are really good at driving themselves and motivating themselves, like Michael Jordan. But then sometimes the expectation is for everybody to do the same, and we just can't do that. You know, we're not in the military. We could, you know, it's life or death there. It's different. You could not necessarily coach, but lead in an umbrella style. The umbrella style doesn't really quite work as effective as it doesn't in the military. And so you have to be open to look at different personality styles, different communication styles.
And that is where from going to an individual contributor to a leader are two different. Almost two different languages.
[00:20:44] Speaker B: Yeah, no, that makes sense. And I've seen that too. Like in my corporate career where we have folks who are amazing technicians. They know their craft really well, very, very strong technically, but they really lack some of those leadership skills and like you mentioned, some of the relationship skills and, you know, that transition to try to make them a manager and managing people doesn't always seem to be a good fit. You know, we find that they burn out quickly. They may not even enjoy it. I'm curious, you know, like from your side, do you see that? And even more so, let's say I'm a younger manager who's trying to get into the workforce and, you know, improve myself. Let's say I am that technician and I'm going to take on my first role as a manager. What would you advise for somebody like that?
[00:21:32] Speaker C: Well, I think the big thing is these soft skills that we really don't think about. It's. That's a loaded question. I'm going to try to simplify that as much as I possibly can. And from My experience.
So for me, as a young Carlos into the management, the Eagles comes into play. I'll look at me, I'm a manager now. You might stand up a little bit, know taller. And we manage people as we start to evolve, go individual contributor to manager. And then all of a sudden you're. You're great, you're a manager now. And then we evolve to manage numbers and lead people. Again, those are very different because the ego comes into play and we have to be able to let go of that ego and connect with people. But there was no need to connect with people before.
So for me is what can people do is probably get a coach or a mentor. Let's just say to be able to say, what do I need to do that? Because I think a lot of the leaders that we have that went from managers to leaders, directors and so forth, they learned it on their own. And sometimes it takes a year, two, three. It probably took a good solid three years for me to be an effective leader. That's a long time.
So you don't have to do it alone. So I think the soft skills and having a mentor, having a coach to kind of challenge you and also to give you a different way to look at things.
[00:23:01] Speaker B: You know, I love what you said about mentorship. You know, I usually tell my students about that too, is when they go to a firm or go to a corporation trying to find a good mentor that you want to emulate as you grow your career, do you feel like, you know, especially in corporations, corporations, do you feel that that mentorship opportunity is usually available? Or is it something that somebody that's really interested in leadership needs to go and find?
[00:23:27] Speaker C: Well, I work with a lot, a lot of large corporations, and they have quote unquote mentorship programs.
But it's just a task.
It's just a checklist, if you will.
So all of a sudden someone's coming in into a new leadership role, and we have someone that might be seasoned player, like, okay, we're just going to match you. But sometimes, you know, it's almost like when you find a coach, when you find a therapist, when you find a significant other, we gotta make sure we kind of match a little bit.
So I see that in corporate, where they're kind of forcing that and that usually doesn't work, but I do kind of see it.
But I think there's a lot of room for improvement to be able to match the mentor with the mentee. And I don't definitely don't see that. And sometimes I encourage mentees to go outside of their environment.
To me, that seems a lot more effective. I'm not, you know, I'm not saying not to get a mentor. You could do both. And to have a mentor inside, one you could connect and also one outside your organization.
[00:24:34] Speaker B: Yeah. And I think that actually makes a lot of spend a lot of sense, especially for, you know, entrepreneurs who are usually on that solo journey or with a really small team. They almost always have to go to the outside to find a really good mentor, which is not a bad idea. And he probably doesn't even have to be in the same industry, but just somebody who's good at leadership.
So, Carlos, thank you. And then.
Yeah, and I think that, you know, business scales when people scale, as you talked about, and growth becomes sustainable when leaders intentionally develop those around them. And after this break, we'll discuss navigating change and uncertainty in today's business environment.
[00:25:13] Speaker A: We'll be right back with more financial insights, strategy and tools to help build a more profitable business. This is Money Gurus on NOW Media Television. And we're back with more financial insights, strategy and tools to help build a more profitable business. This is Money Gurus on NOW mediatel.
[00:25:32] Speaker B: Welcome back to Money Gurus. I'm continuing my conversation with Carlos Martin. Today's business environment is changing faster than ever. We see technology, AI, workforce expectations, and economic uncertainty as forcing leaders to adapt constantly.
So while systems and processes matter, successful transformation often comes down to how leaders help their people navigate.
Carlos, you know, as we move into this age of AI, I see many folks embrace it, but others really feeling lost and even threatened by it. Why do people often resist change even though it could be potentially good for the company?
[00:26:16] Speaker C: Yeah, AI, obviously it's on the radar, all of us, as it should be, you know, but I look at it as, like you said, we're resistant to change.
So that, that goes back way before AI to any change. We're just. But humans were just very resistive, resistant to change. So now when you bring a drastic change like AI that is literally changing every day, people get a little paralyzed or it's mainly fear that stems out of that. When you really get down to it, it's fear of their fear not good enough. Fear of they're not gonna get it, understand it. So there is a lot there to unravel. But it's deeper than AI. It's just because AI is just making it so, so, so big as. Because it is big. Yes. So. But yeah, it's just mainly stems from fear.
[00:27:17] Speaker B: Do you find a lot of those issues stem from really how the, the leader in the organization use AI or is it maybe just generally employees are like worried about losing their job or something like that?
[00:27:30] Speaker C: Well, I think it's, I think it's both. And right now, this is the way that I look at it. AI is new to all of us. Whether you're 60 or you're 20, we, it's the same thing, right? It's just, it's just, it just started.
So with leaders is how open are you? I have a friend of mine, one of my best friends, he is, he's in his early 50s and he was very reluctant. He's like, oh, now we have all these new kids coming in and they know all about AI. I'm on the way out and I really had to work with them, even though I don't coach my friends.
But I had to help him change the way he was looking at it because I said, look, that the, that 20 year old kid in you, you're going to have the same experience of how receptive or how much you can learn AI. But what he or she doesn't have is your, your, your wisdom. So when we connect what we know because we still need a human element to AI, AI by itself, I mean, I don't think it's going to work on its own or maybe it will at some point. And then now we're in the Terminator phase, if you will. But before then I think there's a human aspect of it. And so for me, especially when I'm working with an older leader, it's like you want to bring that inner wisdom to AI and then all of a sudden that, that is a, that's great. Now we also need these folks to communicate that to the younger individuals that say, yes, I want you to learn.
It's almost like learning the hard skills and the soft skills. The hard skills are going to be AI. You still need those soft skills. Because I think right now we're almost over indexing on the AI world. So I'm starting to see a trend that people are actually going back to analog. And we just started getting into AI. So I'm seeing more people go into getting that one in one connection, going back into the analog, if that makes any sense.
[00:29:35] Speaker B: It absolutely makes sense. And I love the fact that you brought up sort of keeping the human in the loop. I mean, I think that's important. I mean AI has some great functionality but you know, still needs a human element to it to make sure that the output is correct. And I'M curious, you know, from your perspective, like, how can leaders, you know, communicate changes like AI in a way that actually builds trust and buy in?
[00:30:01] Speaker C: Well, even before AI. So a big thing of me is how transparent are you with your team, with your stakeholders, how what is your communication style? Are you keeping them in the loop? That was important then. It's even more important now because there's a lot of doubt and fear that comes from all of us. So someone might be thinking, oh my God, I'm going to lose my job.
So now you have the people that you're leading coming from a place of fear and they might be looking for a different job. So you as the leader now more than ever is how do you have that one on one or talk to your people, really connect with your people and say, hey, we're going through this transition. I don't know what is going on, I don't know how AI, but I'm going to give you the information as soon as it comes in and talk about it and see what's going on through their heads, their minds, their thoughts. So you really could stay connected. That is the best thing you could do now as things are just changing so quickly. And I think a lot of people are getting that whiplash of information.
First of all, it's very exhausting. It's emotionally exhausting. There's a lot of doubt for everybody. So what we can do is try to stay connected to your stakeholders or to the people that you're leading as much as you possibly can.
[00:31:22] Speaker B: I like the term you used about whiplash, because I feel that way often and I absolutely understand that. I'm curious, you know, because it goes back to almost like emotional intelligence. And I'm curious from your perspective, you know, how does that play into like being a better leader and especially working through times of uncertainty. What has been your experience with that in regards to eq in terms of eq, Correct?
[00:31:51] Speaker C: Well, I, I know AQ is kind of the, I want to say new, but it's becoming more popular and there's pros and cons to that is because a lot of people are throwing the term EQ out there. They're throwing the term awareness or self awareness out there. And I think it's great, but it's also becoming kind of an excuse.
For example, I could have a client that, hey, I'm very aware, I'm very aware that I'm a jerk and that's it.
Okay.
Having the awareness is one thing, but like, what are you doing with that information? So I think a lot of people, that's the first step to have awareness and self awareness, to say, okay, I'm very direct. That is who I am. That is the Carlos, I'm self aware. But what are you doing? What are the consequences of that? If you are very direct, what is the perception of your team? They might be thinking, this person doesn't see me, doesn't respect me, doesn't care about what I want because I am very direct.
So you want to look at both sides of the coin here. It's not only about you, it's you and your team. It's not only about the team, it's the, it's the leader. So I think EQ is extremely important nowadays. But I think, you know, one of my pet peeves and people just throw the term eq. And I'm not saying you're doing that, but a lot of people are doing that because I, I work with, you know, a lot of young folks and that's become very popular. But it only stays there on the, on the self awareness and, and they, they're having a hard time going deeper.
[00:33:30] Speaker B: Yes, and I appreciate that. And I think that, you know, you brought up, you touched on a really other, another important point which is sort of around employee well being. Right. I mean, sometimes when I thought about EQ in the past, emotional intelligence, I'm always thinking about, well, that means the leader can really understand these different types of employees that are part of their workforce. Maybe we have all these different generations of workforce, whether they're millennials or any other group there. And maybe I don't know if they need to be treated differently in terms of their expectations, just how they, you know, been grown up and you know, have learned. But it all boils back down to sort of like employee well being at the same time. And I'm wondering, you know, from your perspective, you know, especially since there, some of these programs be costly.
Where do you, how do you, how do organizations actually balance like performance versus employee well being?
[00:34:28] Speaker C: Well, I mean we, we in corporations, we tend to be a little greedy, right? We want to grow, grow and scale, you know, but at the same time is, are we taking care of our folks?
So that is a big thing is kind of going back to the, our first question is like, are we investing in leadership or we investing in individuals? And if we don't see it as an investment there, we're not. Because it's not, it's not sexy, right? It's the numbers are sexy. Scalability is sexy. You know, growing double Digits or triple digits, especially the way things are with AI year over year. That's sexy. Personal development, it's not quite that sexy, but it's, I think it's imperative now more than ever to be able to, to look at that. And it started, it starts with. We're not part of, I want to say it starts, but EQ is a big part of it, you know, but also you mentioned really, you know, knowing those people that you're leading. But you know, one of the biggest things that I'm finding out right now that, yeah, EQ is empathy and getting to know other people. But the number one thing that I'm seeing now is that people are not getting to know themselves.
So it's a lot harder to lead or to empathize with someone before you really know thyself, if you will.
[00:35:53] Speaker B: Yeah, no, and that leads me to my next question. You know, like, you know, what advice would you give leaders for maybe like, you know, trying to grow. Maybe they're facing a major transition in their business? I mean, well, how would, how should they go about doing that?
[00:36:10] Speaker C: Well, it all depends on what they're going through. But my main thing is it's, I have a mentor, I have a coach, I have a sponsor, and I have a therapist. And I have emotional allies. Those are my personal board of advisors. Because sometimes, depending on what I need, sometimes I need to be challenged.
Sometimes I just need a cheerleader, someone. Sometimes I need someone to help me strategize.
Sometimes I do need that emotional intelligence because us coaches go through that. We all have imposter syndrome. We all go through it. Whether you're 25 or 60 or 70's in the C suite. We all have imposter syndrome. It might look a little different, but having that really close environment and that personal board of advisors is going to really help you to see what you might need at that, at that moment in time.
[00:37:05] Speaker B: Yeah, I like that Personal board of advisors. I think that's something we should, we should all think about.
And you know, the strongest organizations, I think, you know, they don't want to avoid change, but they develop leaders capable of guiding, capable of guiding people through it. We'll take one final break and return to discuss legacy leadership and building businesses that actually endure.
[00:37:27] Speaker A: We'll be right back with more financial insights, strategy and tools to help build a more profitable business. This is Money Gurus on Now. Media Television. And we're back with more financial insights, strategy and tools to help build a more profitable business. This is Money Gurus on Now. Media television.
[00:37:46] Speaker B: Great. Stay connected to money gurus in every now media TV favorite streaming worldwide. As we conclude today's conversation with Carlos Martin, I want to focus on the long game. True success isn't simply about measuring results. It's about creating organizations, cultures and leaders that continue thriving long after the founder steps away.
Carlos, you know, why do so many successful leaders struggle with succession and long term continuity?
[00:38:18] Speaker C: Yeah, well, you know, what kind of legacy do you want to, you know, leave behind?
And he could be a great leader and leave the corporation at the top.
But what happens, there's going to be a ripple effect that continues after you.
So that's going to be part of your legacy. Kind of keep that in mind. So I think a lot of people think that it's a switch and they leave and that's it. Like there is a canoe, a continuation of it.
That could be for months, that could be for a year, a little bit more, whatever that might be. So how do you prepare and really coach, mentor or train the people that are going to be replacing you? Right, so when we talk about succession is like, are we equipped, you know, are we giving them the right equipment, the right tools? So we go back and for example, into the individual contributor, going into management. They have to figure it out for one or two or three years.
All of a sudden they went from really good individual contributors to a social manager after three years, a great leader, director and so forth. But what happens when that leader leaves? Now we go back into the same pool of individual contributors. Now we have to rinse and repeat. We have to go through that all over again. So when I think about succession, when I think about legacy, what are you doing as a coach, as a mentor, as, as a leader, to really have that one individual, two in place that you're going to be working with to really say what does this person need to be successful? So that's when I think about legacy and succession is the next person that's going to be replacing you.
How well equipped are they? Or do you want you, do you want them to figure out on their own that maybe the way that you did? So that's what I think about legacy. And to be not only to, or the legacy for yourself, but also for, for the company to kind of stay on, to stay on top.
[00:40:25] Speaker B: That's a great point. And you know Carlos, do you see legacy differently, legacy funding differently? If let's say you're in a corporation versus being an entrepreneur, is the path the same?
[00:40:39] Speaker C: Yeah, that's a great question. I don't Think I've ever thought of that.
When I think of legacy, legacy is deeper than just work. At least. At least for me, you know, is legacy. What do you think? Like, how. When people think of you, what do they. What do they think? That's what I really think about legacy.
To be able to say, yeah, that that person was a great leader, but he was kind of a jerk, or that that that person was probably the best mentor or the best, you know, boss I've ever had.
How do you want to be remembered? That's what I. That's how I think about legacy. You know, I remember a friend of mine saying, as you get older, we go from building your.
[00:41:19] Speaker A: Your.
[00:41:20] Speaker C: Your resume to building your eulogy. And I'm not saying you have to build your. Your eulogy, but how do you want people to. To remember you?
And like, what are the. Excuse me. What are the feelings? What are the emotions that go through when I think of someone like, what do you want that? And then to me, whatever that answer might be for you, then how do you create that?
[00:41:45] Speaker B: Yeah, and I see entrepreneurs struggle with that quite a bit, and I think especially profound when they're dealing with transitioning to maybe the next generation in their family. So you got the. Maybe the mother who runs a very successful business, she wants to transfer it to her daughter, and there is some leadership involved. There is some, of course, some skill sets involved. Is there anything maybe in particular that you advise to those entrepreneurs that are thinking about passing it on to the next generation?
[00:42:20] Speaker C: Well, it's. It's not something that I work with on a, On a regular basis. Full disclosure, that's not something one of my fortes there. But if I bring it back to humanity, if I bring it back to an individual and say what, you know, do you have the clarity of what. How you want to be remembered? Do you have the clarity of that person that's going to be replacing look like? Do you have clarity? Are you. Are you passing on the baton? What is that clarity that you want and what does that look like and how do you do that? So I think, again, it's not the space that I, That I live in, but if I bring it back to humanity is most of the time people don't take the time to build that clarity for. For themselves.
[00:43:12] Speaker B: Yeah. And I see, like, you know, like, you're right, you know, there's usually some lack of clarity, so it needs to start there for sure. You know, like, one of the things, you know, we try to help our clients do is, you know, in terms of the planning, sometimes, you know, you rely partially on the human, the next person to take the step to take over your leadership. But you also build in a lot of systems, right? So you have a really strong business process that's, you know, easily replicatable as well as it can be something that's easily learned. You have documentation in place. So that way anybody walking into the, to the next part of the business to take over the system's already built for them. So now they don't have to take on as much.
Do you find like systems and those type of things being very effective for leaders as they start to try to leave their legacy for the next, next group?
[00:44:07] Speaker C: Yeah, that's a, I think that's a great point. You know, I think the, the things that that leader might have learned, you know, they might have just learned on the go and kind of figured it out. And that may not be part of the, of the system that's in place.
So maybe adding your expertise, your wisdom and try to quantify or try to put that and, and put structure to it, that could be very difficult. That in itself. That's why I say kind of have that clarity, a term that I, that I learned a few years ago. Somebody said sometimes our ordinary can be somebody else's extraordinary. And I love that. Not from an ego perspective, but sometimes we do things because we've been doing it. It's just like breathing, you know. So for someone that is leaving, like, yeah, this is normal, this is what I do on a regular basis. But somebody else that could be their extraordinary. So how do you put that on, you know, onto, onto pen to paper, you know, to, as a structure or as a system? That's an excellent question. And that could be very difficult to do. But I think the, the main thing is people see it as breathing. It's normal, everybody should do it. But that, I think that's very valuable there.
[00:45:16] Speaker B: Great. And you know, I, I like, you know, personally like back to systems. You know, one of the, the, the drawbacks I see with certain entrepreneurs is, you know, they're very hesitant to delegating because they're not confident that somebody is going to step in and do the same great job that they're doing, especially on sales or, you know, really important matters for the company. I'm curious, when it comes to delegation specifically, do you have any good advice for those entrepreneurs, give them that permission to actually let go?
[00:45:48] Speaker C: Yeah, that's a, that's a, that's a good one and a tough one because I think there's an undercurrent there in regards to someone that is reluctant to delegate, what is it?
Is it. Is it. Is it fear that they're not going to have job security? Is it fear they're reluctant to teach someone all their tricks? Like, there's a lot of the times when we struggle to delegate. In my personal experience that I, when I work with individuals, it stems from something. That's why I said there's an undercurrent. So for me, like, what is it? Because for me is not how, but who. Like, if you really surround yourself with individuals that can make you feel better and stronger, you're going to go faster. One of my other African proverbs that I love, if you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.
So part of being together is delegating, but delegating is also knowing now we're going back to eq, Maybe some of those personal triggers. What is that personal trigger? What comes up, what I want or try to delegate what's going on behind closed doors up here. Right. And also how do you start to have a robust team around you that you could build trust? That's another one. How do you build trust? So for me, again, I try to go deeper on everything that we talk about because I think nine out of 10 times there's an undercurrent somewhere in there. What clients come up to me for something. Most of the time it's not that it could be that, but there's an undercurrent about that. So when I hear delegating, I hear something way deeper that's going on or the lack of delegating, rather.
[00:47:34] Speaker B: Got it. Yeah. And it's incredible because, I mean, obviously you have a wealth of knowledge, you know, that you've accumulated over time and very, very valuable set.
Describe maybe like the coaching experience, you know, working with you and Continuum on how somebody would like, you know, work with your company and how you would provide them service, especially in the coaching end of things.
[00:47:57] Speaker C: Yeah, no, I. Thank you. Excuse me. Thank you for that.
Well, we provide different services.
One obviously is executive coaching. The other one, we do leaders leadership alignment where we work with the individual and the team. That's a. That's one of my favorites. The other thing that we do is also workshops that we do. We have a set of workshops that we have. But also one of my favorite is where we go out there, we go in full discovery mode. Instead of me telling you what you need is to go out there and see your team work with your team and then you have someone has a macro lens from the outside looking in. It's like, oh, it's pretty obvious there's a misalignment or it's pretty obvious that the leader might work on the empathy, the eq, whatever that might be.
So how we could work with us is check us
[email protected] check out my LinkedIn as well. Send me a message@carlos continuumleaders.com as well and we could chat about what may be needed for you, yourself and your team. And the big thing is, yeah, I have those, you know, go to's but my favorite thing is really go on discovery mode and see what you and your team might need.
[00:49:13] Speaker B: Wonderful. Sounds like a terrific approach. And Carlos, you know, thank you for, you know, talking about the ways that you, the audience can connect with you if you don't mind. If you can repeat, you know, the, the way they can reach you on LinkedIn and your website. One more time for the audience to know and how they can find you.
[00:49:30] Speaker C: Yeah, I believe I'm just under Carlos Martin. Excuse me, at LinkedIn. Sorry, I got this little cough.
You can find me at Carlos barton official on YouTube.
You can find
[email protected] that's our website. Or my email, Carlos, continuumleaders.com Send me again, send me an email, send me a DM on LinkedIn and I promise I'll get back to you. Might not be within 24 hours, but I try to get everybody get back to everyone within 48 hours.
[00:50:02] Speaker B: Carlos, thank you for joining us and sharing your insights on leadership, culture, personal growth, business performance.
At Money Gurus, we believe sustainable profitability comes from more than just the financial strategy. It comes from building an organization where people perform at their highest levels and leaders create environments where success can thrive. And you did a wonderful job giving us really, really a good sense of how coaching could be part of that solution. I'm Harsh Jadav and thank you for watching Money Gurus.
[00:50:31] Speaker A: Thanks for watching Money Gurus. And I'm Matt Jhadav, host of Money Gurus on NOW Media Television.
