EXR1, The DiJulius Group

*The following is an excerpt from our new book, The Employee Experience Revolution: Increase Morale, Retain Your Workforce, and Drive Business Growth

“Your vision needs to be your wildest dream of the impact your organization can have on the world.”

Great leaders are paranoid that there is a better way to do something than the way it is currently being done. They are great visionaries. They never accept the status quo. They are contrarians by nature. They question everything and do not let consensus thinking sway their thinking. They are constantly trying to reimagine a better way.

con-trar-i-an (n):

Opposing or rejecting popular opinion . . . especially a position against the majority

Motivating the Motivators

Emerging leaders need to be taught what success looks like. It starts with having great leaders modeling the behavior. Demonstrating success is inspiring others to achieve more than they thought possible, serving them so they can, and celebrating them when they do. Leadership is about making other people better because of your influence.

“Your leadership’s emotional commitment is what solves problems that are unsolvable, creates energy when all of the energy has been expended, and ignites emotional commitment in others, including your employee culture,” – Stan Slap.

Creating Vuja De Moments

A key to helping your mind constantly tinker and reimagine what could be versus what is, is having “vuja de” moments. Vuja de is the opposite of déjà vu. Vuja de is seeing something familiar repeatedly, through constant tinkering, experimenting, going down rabbit holes, until it just clicks—an evolution that turns into a revolution. The best way to create a vuja de is through collaboration and constant consuming of information.

As Stan Slap puts it, “There are no new ideas; there are only new combinations of existing ideas.” Vuja de can be seen as an intentional mindset or perspective shift, where a person intentionally tries to approach a situation, they are familiar with from a new and fresh angle. This can help them see things differently, gain new insights, and approach problems in new ways. It can be a useful tool for creative thinking, problem-solving, and breaking out of ruts and old habits.

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What are you consuming?

John asks this question every week to the leaders of his companies. What are you consuming in your area of expertise to make you smarter today than yesterday, to ensure you are the smartest person who does what you do?

Now more than ever, we must invest in ourselves and our future. What books and articles are you reading? What podcasts are you listening to? What videos are you watching? What webinars are you attending? This is the number one way you will innovate: reimagine yourself and your business. You should spend time every day consuming valuable, inspiring information.

“You do not merely want to be considered the best of the best.

You want to be considered the only one who does what you do.”

The highest ROI is an investment in knowledge; no one can ever take it away from you. The most innovative leaders carve out time every day for professional development. There are more opportunities than most people realize. We consume new valuable content daily through audio podcasts, audiobooks, and YouTube and TikTok videos, besides reading blogs and articles. For audio content, we take advantage of listening during workouts, drive times, on airplanes, and even grocery shopping. You wouldn’t believe how many hours that adds up to per week.

Consuming content regularly, sharing it with peers, and then collaborating over each person’s takeaways is where the vuja de happens. Often, it is information you have heard before but either failed to implement or now see from a new perspective.

Two Leadership Philosophies

John has two leadership philosophies he tries to pass down to his leadership teams and wants all his employees to be aware of:

“I will be disappointed if you go through hard times and do not let us know.”
“I will be disappointed if you miss an important family event.”

All About Energy

Energy attracts people like nothing else. People love energy. Energy is about a vibe, a person’s spirit, and the fire inside them. Motivational speaker Mel Robbins says it best:

“Your energy introduces you before you even speak.”

Think about your favorite places to hang out. Do you want to walk into a restaurant, bar, or salon with barely anyone inside and employees standing around bored? No way! When that happens, people sometimes say there is a “lack of atmosphere.” What’s missing is energy. We love energy—the hustle and bustle of positive movement. You can feel the energy everywhere when you walk into an Apple Store. People are interacting, playing with products, learning, being educated. This also applies to individuals. We need to focus on the energy we are bringing into a room and into every interaction.

“It is about how you show up every day;

what kind of energy do you bring to others?”

Energy Givers versus Energy Suckers

Science has proven that energy is exchanged between people every time we come into contact with each other. We literally give and receive energy. That can happen in two ways. You can be an “energy giver,” bringing positivity and leaving people feeling better for having interacted with you, or your negativity drains them, and you are known as an “energy sucker,” also called an energy vampire.

The greatest leaders are the best energy givers consistently. Their presence can change a room. After conversations with these types of leaders, employees get excited about themselves and the critical part they play in the company’s success. Leaders with energy make those around them better.

Ask yourself if you are an energy giver or an energy sucker.

Just because you high-fived someone this week doesn’t make you a full-time energy giver. You must do it consistently. It must be a conscious decision, an intentional choice.

Energy Givers:

Raise the confidence of everyone they meet
Improve morale, chemistry, and performance
Constantly show gratitude and thanks
Give everyone else the credit
Believe in others
Are there for others when they struggle, fail, or are going through hard times
Are their employees’ biggest cheerleaders
Constantly find out what their employees’ goals are and help them achieve those goals
Are great listeners
Always build strong relationships and build emotional capital with those around them
Will walk through fire for those on their team
Always find a way to give more than their employee was expecting

It is just as important to reflect on the type of people around you. Are you surrounding yourself with energy givers or energy vampires? How do they compare to the list above? Are you hiring and promoting energy givers? Remember, we are the average of the five people we spend the most time with.

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