In this strengths-based episode, Juan Alvarado Jr, CEO of Raize The Bar, shares how he helps leaders become more intentional and more effective in today’s fast-changing and competitive landscape.
You will discover:
– How to show up with empathy especially if it’s not a core strength
– The question you need to ask yourself when your team members are underperforming
– Why you can’t afford to let your schedule control you
Episode Transcript
Scott Ritzheimer
Hello, hello and welcome. Welcome once again to the secrets of the high demand coach and I am here with yet another high demand coach. And that is the one the only Juan Alvarado. Now one is a highly respected expert in leadership and Gallup certified Clifton Strengths coach. He’s a US Army War veteran with a wealth of experience in training teams of 1000s of soldiers in high stakes situations. Now, in addition to his military service, one has worked with school districts to improve team efficiency and communication. He’s helped increase productivity and bring greater employee satisfaction. He helps leaders and teams to overcome complacency and prevent burnout in the work, workplace through his blueprint to leadership course, one has been featured on Fox on NBC and CBS ever heard of those. And he’s done so because of his work and creating strength based leaders and teams promoting a positive culture in the workplace. So one, I’m so excited to have you here, I just loved you sometimes getting prep for a show you just gonna feel it’s going to be a good one. Right. And I had that feel going through some of your materials on your website and elsewhere. So before we jump into the work that you do some of these transformational changes that you’re able to help create, I love for you to to add a little color to the story. How do you go from being in the US Army from training folks there to the work that you’re doing now in leadership training across the country?
Juan Alvarado Jr
Yeah, great question. If I had to put it in one simple sentence, like divine intervention, right, like I’m a, I’m a man of faith, and I feel like God has a plan for my life. And what I thought my course of action was my plan of action was it was like, Nope, you’re going this way. And so just in the, you know, you’re the same the right place at the right time, there’s been plenty of times where I was in the right place at the right time. And there’s also times where I was in the wrong place. But in the right time, as far as growth is concerned, I think that has a lot to do with it. Being able to turn my ELLs not until losses, but then to learn lessons. And growing myself. And I think the the path was just kind of put before me. It’s kind of just kind of what I believe in.
Scott Ritzheimer
That’s awesome. That’s awesome. So then, fast forward to today, you’re helping folks become more intentional leaders. I’m wondering, tell me what does that mean? What does it mean to be an intentional leader?
Juan Alvarado Jr
Yeah. I hear a lot of people talking about like being your y being your y and you know, work in purpose and stuff. But I think a lot of people take that as just being them. Just be in the moment, like soak it in. But there’s just so much more to it. What do we want to get out of life? What do we want to get out of the experience? What do we want to get out of the relationship like really digging into, it’s almost like going to a baseball game. I’m excited. I’m a big baseball guy. love football, the teams that I was rooting for aren’t and his I can care less than now anymore. But there’s something about going to a baseball game and hearing or the smell of the fresh cut grass and the dirt and the pop of the ball into the glove and the the crack of the bat on the ball. The cheering of the crowd, the hot dog and beer smell like there’s just something about the environment. I think a lot of people go to work. I think a lot of people go through life, and they don’t take in they see all the negative things, right? The dude that cuts you off to do the flip of the finger on the way to work the traffic that’s going so slow. And you have a you’re running late like you’re you’re taking it in, but you’re taking it in in such a negative lens, and we’re not intentional in well, maybe I just need to slow down. You know, maybe God just telling you to slow down like you didn’t take time to think today. And when you left your kids to school, you’re like, hurry up, hurry up, let’s go. I’m going to be late if I don’t if you don’t hurry up, or what does that do to your kid? What does that do to your relationship? What does that do your spouse was looking at you raise your voice your kids like we don’t we don’t take a sense to smell and to listen to those things. And I don’t want it to sound you know, cliche to be like, absorb the moment. But you need to be in the moment because the moment deserves you and I don’t want that to sound cheesy, but it does your kids deserve you. Your spouse deserves you. Your employees deserve you the people who are going to hire you deserve you. But they need all of you. And if you’re not 100% there then then why even show up and so being intentional is important to me because those people that oversaw my life growing up like my parents were good parents, but they weren’t great. They weren’t nowhere near perfect. They were good. But I could have used more of them. Right? I could have I could have done better if I had more of them. Teachers people that were police officers like that’s something else I didn’t put in the in the bio but I was a police officer for a couple years. There’s, there’s times where you could have gotten more from your leaders. And they didn’t and leaders didn’t show up that day. So, which is why I do what I do. Let’s be intentional. And you’re I’ve learned from a buddy of mine named Rory Vaden, that says, You are best positioned to serve the person that you once were. And so I am now trying to serve leaders, so they can serve the five year old one, the 14 to 15 to 16 year old one to 18 year old one, the 21 year old one that needed that better leader and then life, my job now is to make sure that I teach intensive intentionality to those people, so we can have a better future of leaders.
Scott Ritzheimer
Yeah, yeah, that’s powerful. What would you say are some of the hallmarks of intentional leaders?
Juan Alvarado Jr
I know that this is a it’s a kind of like a buzzword. Now, when people are talking about being emotionally they’re being empathetic. But you can’t do it. Not everyone can be empathetic. I’m a, you know, a certified Gallup strengths coach. And one of the strengths is empathy. Empathy, for me, I think, is number 11, or 12. So it’s not one that’s readily available to me, and for a lot of people in leadership positions is not readily available. So how do we intentionally use our strengths? To kind of, it’s kind of like when you go to other countries and your phone charger or your laptop charger, it’s different than the wall outlet. And so you need a converter? What strings can we use to convert our strings into some some form of being empathy, now of having been empathetic, and but I think one of the big hallmarks is not just being empathetic to how the person feels, and how you feel but really leaning in on, who do they want to become, if they’re under me, I, as a leader, have to shift from being a leader to servant leadership, then to being a steward. And I think that’s where the pinnacle of leadership is, is, how do I take you right? Scott’s going to be one of your one of your staff. Scott, where do you want to go? And I have to make it my business, I have to make your business, my business? Where do you want to go? And if I’m your coach, just like any father, son, relationship, Father, daughter, mother, mother, son, mother, daughter, like, where do you want to go? It is my job. Like, again, man of faith, God’s put you into my lane to help you. So how can I help you? How can I serve you, but how can I take my job and my time with you so seriously, that I’m helping you get to the next step. And so I think that’s a huge Hallmark. And that I think the next part piece of that, to me is just as important, and it’s pretty much similar is I need to lead myself out of a job. I have to lead you to push me out of my job. That’s when your leadership is complete, when you can do my job at a level better than I could didn’t I’ve done a hell of a job. And then what do I do? It’s not for me to move up. He you got to take my spot. Now I move up or I go to another company and do the same thing for other people. And so that Hallmark pieces like, love your staff so much, where you’re taking them and you’re basically leading yourself out of a position.
Scott Ritzheimer
Yeah. Yeah, I love that. So one of the things that I think where there’s a little pushback sometimes on on showing up with love and what can feel it isn’t but it can feel soft is how do you do this? When folks are underperforming? Right, what does an intentional leader do to help their team members maybe continue to feel valued or appreciated, even when they’re underperforming?
Juan Alvarado Jr
Yeah. So I think Jim Rohn that talks about, you have to love grass. But you also have to hate weeds. He says, You have to love like, you have to love like a mother but hate like a father. And that’s the example that he gives. And I’m like, wow, that’s strong words hate like a father like, wow. But he gives the example of love grass, hate weeds. And that’s just a comparison. And when you think about a father you think about you know, protecting I think I saw an episode of you, one that you did did not too long ago with two gentlemen. And they were talking about like wives don’t just need a protector and they want to provide her or some something along those lines, right. It’s a new way with leadership, right? You have to be able to love on your people, but then you have to be you have to hold that line and say, Nope, sorry. Here’s our standard. And so I love having this conversation, especially when we onboard of like, this is the standard you have to live above the standard this much above the standard or this much above the standard, but the standard is to be above it. Bottom line. If you ever go below it, we’re gonna have a talk My job is to bring you back up, it is just like the reflectors or the lines in the road that let you know that you’re going off the road. You’re here to Dune, to Dune, to dune to Doom or to Burr. No, you have to, you have to course correct, I’m gonna allow you to course correct. However, I’m also like that center divider, if you go too far, there’s gonna be a bump. Yeah, I might have to bump you, I might have to nudge you. If you’re not ready for it, and you’re not ahead of it, there could be some damage, my job is to be damage control, as little damage as possible to make sure that you’re in your lane. And let’s go. The other the other example I give is like a, it’s like a mouse trap. The cheese will remain on the mouse trap for ever. And they’ll stay open or in the loaded position. The only way that it snaps, is if you touch the cheese, the only reason why you would ever do it. So stay in your lane stay above the standard. And we’re good not to say that I’m going to snap on you. But there’s going to be there’s going to be a consequence. And there’s both positive consequences, and there’s negative consequences. And so when people start to go below the standard, I tell leaders, you have to look at yourself and say, Where did I go wrong? Where did this staff being that it was okay? Or a child or co worker, whatever, I feel that it was okay to do that. And then where was I? Where was I in everything? Where was my leadership? Where was my, my influence, right? And so when we have this conversation in the very beginning to say, Hey, this is why we hired you, Scott, we hired you because you do this, this, this and this really well. And this is our problem, we have a $50 an hour problem. And you can you can do it. That’s why you’re getting paid 5060 $70 An hour or whatever it is. You are that person, I have the poor value into you and say, Hey, I’m ready here for your growth. However, Scott, if you go below the standard, we’re gonna we’re going to talk and just having that conversation of when to talk, we’re going to talk cons, it’s not going to be demeaning, it’s not going to be shame on you. It’s going to be like, How can I help you? What talk to me, let’s, let’s talk, right? So you could still discipline with love. But he’s got to be consistent, for sure. And he’s got to be regular.
Scott Ritzheimer
I think and that is that last statement, there is a powerful one because that consistency is one of the hardest parts. And I see this particularly in maybe even in more faith based environments. But we have this, we have this great grasp of servant leadership, but we almost let it go too far. If that’s that’s not the right language, but we let it we use it as a crutch. And we don’t show up with that consistency sometimes. What is the cost of that? What is the cost of inconsistent feedback?
Juan Alvarado Jr
Yeah, you you pay for it now or are you going to pay for it later? Right? I tell companies and organizations that your your yearly eval sucks, stop doing a yearly eval, because basically what essentially what you’re saying is, hey, this is what you got, this is what you did really well. In the last 910 months, this is what you did really well. But this is where your performance fell short. Well, bro, wouldn’t you want that at month, two, three, or four. Alright, so you can make those course corrections. And so because it’s inconsistent, now, your employees or again, it goes back to personal development or professional development in or out of work, you know, at home out of home. Now, your kids have dug themselves a hole or your employees have dug themselves in the hole. And now it’s your job to get them out or motivate them to get them out. But if you do a yearly evaluation, they’re in a hole too, too big that they it’s hard to get out of. And so again, you pay for it now or you pay for it later. I get what you’re saying when it says like, sometimes we’re too, you know, we’re too soft, or we lean on it as as a crutch. I really, truly believe that. And I’m working on this piece for new a new training that I’m doing. But they when I look at the difference between the trust that we have when we drive in the streets, compared to when we drive in the highway, nothing is stopping two cars from going head to head on a street that’s 45 miles an hour, let’s say except for a millimeter of paint striped on the road. That’s the only thing that stopped him and a couple reflectors, right. Sometimes again, when you hit it to the gym, it brings in it course correct. However, when the speed is faster, or there’s more people, so in this as instance the freeway, then you have a center divide, and on both sides, there’s a wall and in the center divide, right. So if your organization is going too fast, or faster, or you have a lot of people you have to have these walls or these boundaries up to keep people in line or they’re going to hurt somebody if they go mad if you had a center, just a dotted line in the freeway on the highway, like there would be fatalities. 10 times is more 100 billion times more than what they are today. So I think it’s important to have those walls so don’t have your, your kindness be looked at as weakness, right. And so you definitely have to have Are those walls up? And I think it’s it’s definitely helpful to do so. And then you can say, All right, now we’re like a street, go ahead and go as you as you please. But either way, whether it’s a street or a highway, you still have those bumps in the road. And here’s the other thing, too. They’re every couple feet. And they’re and the reflectors, every couple of months, have a self reflection, have a team reflection, have staff development, whatever it is, but spend time to reflect if you hear Doom, Doom, Doom, Doom, and maybe time to reflect right. So I just love that analogy. And I think it holds true to a leader to be loving, but you can still discipline through love and be be strong, because again, it’s the stewardship part of things. We are put in this position to help this company, that’s our job. And if we were to ever leave or quit, guess what? They’re not going to know our name two or three weeks from now they’re going to bring the next person up. And they’re going to keep on going, which is why we need to steward that position.
Scott Ritzheimer
Yeah. I love that visual and the idea like we can put a wall up and if you run into the wall, you kind of think, well, why did you put that there? Right? But it’s so much better than the alternative. And I think one of the points of servant leadership is actually being in that difficult position. Right, rather than, than, again, just trying to avoid the issue altogether. I love the analogy of different speeds require different barriers and boundaries. It’s fantastic. So just question I’d like to ask all my guests, and it’s this. What is the biggest secret you wish wasn’t a secret at all? What’s that one thing that you wish everybody watching or listening today knew?
Juan Alvarado Jr
Yeah. So there’s a there’s a teaching that I do. And I charged for this so that everyone’s getting this for free? It’s just the power of alignment. When people are like, I’m just not happy at work, I’m not happy at home. Do a self reflection in your alignment? What are your goals? What it what is your? What are your priorities? And then what is your daily schedule, there’s a saying that says, show me your friends, and I’ll show you who you are. Right? Show me your schedule. And I’ll show you what’s important to you. If your schedule is wake up in the morning, and eat a good breakfast, go to the gym, have your protein shake, you know, have your meals every couple hours. And I can start to say, Oh, you you value your fitness more than work, maybe more than your family or whatever. Or there’s a mixture of that and then sit and eat with my family and take my kids to school and do this and text messages my wife or my kids throughout the day. Fitness and family is something that you value. But when you roll over in the morning, and you look at your phone first thing and you’re scrolling for 20 minutes, guess what other people’s business is your priority, right? And so when we find that we’re unhappy with work or whatever, my my first thing is like, how are you aligned? What is your? What are your goals? What are your priorities, and what is your schedule, and sometimes we allow our schedule, to dictate our goals and our priorities. But if we were just to flip it, and we had our goals and our priorities dictate our schedule, we would have a completely different life, even at work or over our own lives. So this is where I found that this is the secret is when we let our schedules dictate everything else, it’s jumbled. But if we put our goals or priorities dictate our schedule, our GPS will give us direction to where we need to go into our life.
Scott Ritzheimer
That is so true. When I look back over your kind of periods of my life, where I did take ownership of my schedule, it doesn’t necessarily happen immediately. But there’s just this sense of progress. There’s a sense of reward, there’s a sense of fulfillment in it. And I think tying it all the way back to your original point. That’s when I’m showing up the most right, that’s when I’m showing up in the moment the most and I couldn’t agree more, you know, working on your schedule is hard to do. It can result in saying no to people or no to things and you have to make some difficult decisions to do it. But you’re right. Aligning that with your goals is such a powerful, powerful principle.
Juan Alvarado Jr
For sure. A purposeful, purposeful, no, or a well positioned no will make you a more purposeful and powerful. Yes, right. I say no. Now so I can say, you know, yes, yes, later, for sure. And I think a lot of the issue that a lot of people have is they want motivation. But motivation doesn’t come first. Oh, if I just had this, I can get up and I can I can do this and motivation doesn’t come first. action comes first. Right? You have action, then you start to build momentum. And once you have momentum, then you get motivation. And I think a lot of people have it backwards.
Scott Ritzheimer
Yeah. 100% us so I want I want to shift gears a little bit. I want to turn the camera around a little bit if you owe it I’m gonna have you take off your coach, consultant advisor how I’m gonna have you put on your CEO hat, if you will, and talk to us. What’s the next stage of growth look like for you and your business and what challenge we have to overcome to get there?
Juan Alvarado Jr
Yeah, so I’ve done a lot in person, right? A lot of speaking gigs trainings, keynotes, and I’m still have those things planned. But I think I want to need to utilize like this beautiful office and you know, technology and be unable to coach more and do things from here. And so I have a couple of online courses that I’ve already have out. But I want to dial them in more so as far as the business is concerned is to dial those things in more. But the other thing is to network. I hate networking, I’m just it’s not one of my strengths. But I think the next part of the business is, hey, you’re really good at this level, it’s time to get taken to the next level, the only way to get to next level is to network with other people, great people. And so I have quite a few really good, powerful people as far as like just movement in business, where I need to check my environment and my circle of friends and attempt to elevate those circle, that circle of influence. So it’s been around other greater you know, business men and women and things like that. And so I need to now make my ceiling, my floor here and get to the next level with that way.
Scott Ritzheimer
So there’s some folks that you know, they’re already feeling the grind to 2024. And it’s still early in the year. But as you’re speaking, it’s just starting to click right, it’s starting to resonate that either they want to show up more intentionally as a leader, they want to take ownership of their schedule, they want to align with their goals, and they want to understand their strengths better. How can they find more out about you in the work that you do?
Juan Alvarado Jr
Yeah, so you can follow me on Instagram. There’s a lot I put a lot of content on Instagram, Raize The Bar with the Z, RAIZE, Raize The Bar CEO. And then LinkedIn, it’s RTB standing for Raize The Bar RTB dash Juan. And then the website weraizethebar.com. Same spelling of raize, weraizethebar.com. And yeah, I like right now I’m getting ready to launch of free six week course, classe is full and we’re there’s going to be the founders of the of the leadership group and basically just trying to position position people to get into better leadership. And then once we go through that six weeks, those people are going to help me bring everything together and one final piece, put a bow on it, and then we will launch the 90 day leadership course. So how do we steward the leader?
Scott Ritzheimer
So good. It’s exciting times. I love it. So head on over to weraizethebar.com We’ll put the link in the URL again. That’s a z not an s on raize. One. Thank you so much for being here. What a powerful and deep conversation. I really appreciate it and for those of you watching and listening today, you know your time and attention mean the world to us. I hope you got as much out of this conversation as I know I did and I cannot wait to see you next time. Take care.
Contact Juan Alvarado Jr
Juan is a highly respected expert in leadership and a Gallup Certified Clifton Strengths Coach. He is a U.S. Army war veteran with a wealth of experience training teams of thousands of soldiers in high-stakes situations. In addition to his military service, Juan has worked with school districts to improve team efficiency and communication, increasing productivity and employee satisfaction. He helps leaders and teams overcome complacency and prevent burnout in the workplace through his “Blueprint to Leadership” course. Juan has been featured on FOX, NBC, and CBS for his work in creating strength-based leaders and teams and promoting a positive culture in the workplace.
Want to learn more about Juan Alvarado Jr’s work at Raize The Bar? Check out his website at https://weraizethebar.com/
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