12:35:39

Greg Ballard: Hello, and welcome to the adaptive executive. I'm your host, Greg Ballard. And I am joined by Shawna Pelton, Sean and I have had the privilege of the privilege of working together on a project last several months. And I've been really excited to have her here on the show. And we're going to be talking about some amazing things regarding transformational leadership. And so, Shauna, welcome. Thank you. It's great to be here. Glad to have you. Shawna, if you could spend just a minute or two and share with us a little bit about your journey of becoming a transformational leadership expert.

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Shawna: Hmm. Well, it's a bit of one of those unexpected journeys and and it started off my background was actually in natural medicine. So I was working in the holistic health world as a practitioner, and that started, gosh, a very long time ago. So I've been doing transformational work for about 20 or more years now.

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who I would attract would be people who had serious hard to treat conditions. And I started to recognize that there were patterns that were involved in, like how it was they had health issues, and it was tied to unresolved conflict. And so then I started to kind of go down that rabbit hole. And next thing, you know, I just couldn't stop. I'm a lover of learning. And so I couldn't stop exploring, like the root causes of our most painful problems. So you know, maybe about halfway through my career, one of the things that I was doing was working with,

12:37:35

Greg Ballard: Fantastic. So here's my first question out of the gate. And it's a two part question. Shawna: I actually started consulting physicians, and I was working in clinics to teach them how to implement natural medicine into a clinical setting. And my favorite thing to do was train, I loved putting together training material, educating the practice the doctors and other clinicians on how to teach the content. And then I would essentially make sure ensure their success with that training. And so realizing trainings my thing and loving this, this work of helping people to be in service, because I'm also a service based leader. You know, I just decided to follow my own passions, my interests, and you know, here I am working with really amazing people, entrepreneurs, business

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owners, every day leaders and professionals who are really wanting to make a positive impact on the world with their work, and recognize that there's some things whether it's behavioral, and to personal, you know, things that need to change, and they want to evolve themselves, they want to evolve their company culture, for the benefit of not just the stakeholders, but for everybody, you know, the shareholders, the our, you know, everyone involved and the communities that they serve.

12:39:02

Greg Ballard: Fantastic. So here's my first question out of the gate. And it's a two part question.

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So when we think of transformation, we think of change. And and I know you're phenomenal at this. So we, again, like I said, we've had a chance to work together. What do you see? What are you experiencing? On the on the front lines? That is, number one, what is the biggest obstacle for an individual? Right, so that's part one, part two, what becomes the obstacle for the organization?

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Shawna: Mm hmm. Yeah. So I think that I'll speak on it through my lens of experience. So I'm going to preface this by saying, obviously, I'll have a bias this way. So what I believe from my experience, and what I see biggest the biggest obstacle, you know, we stop ourselves with our mindset. And it starts with belief, right? Sometimes people know that they have a problem. And their stories that they have about that problem or about themselves in relation to that problem. are usually stories that self sabotage or hold someone back or just keep people in the air for anyone who's listening and they don't see me in this like I'm moving my hands in a circular motion. It's like the cycle of you

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know, you have this pattern. There's this problem that keeps happening and you keep doing the same thing expecting different results, and it causes people to stay stuck. And the reason why that's also the same problem for the organization is because this is not an uncommon problem in the organization is made up of people. And we have people problems. And so the cultural problems are the people problems. And the people problems are related to, you know, these things that I call the stories of not enough nests. And so by not enoughness, I don't know if you ever heard of that term before, but people believe that they don't have what it takes. They're not they're not good enough. They

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believe that they're not safe, they're not safe enough, they're not loved enough. You know, they're, they don't change gender, whatever it takes to make that change. These are all internal stories and belief systems that stem from, you know, usually childhood.

12:41:30

Greg Ballard: So I hear everything you're saying, Shawn, and I completely agree, I see this in the work that we do as well. However, don't most people like not change? I mean, isn't there a point at a certain age where you're just going to be who you are. And, and really, there's no point in trying to change. That's the exact

12:41:52

Shawna: story that people with a closed mindset would have for themselves, right? Like, what why bother? Why bother is an attitude that keeps people safe, it keeps people familiar, change is inevitable, we're constantly changing, and either happens to us, right? And we don't usually like when it happens to us, or we initiate it, we spark that we see the writing on the wall, that times have changed. And we have to adapt and evolve ourselves to meet the demands of this new paradigm that we're in. And so what's interesting, and this based on the science of like the way in which people change, it's the the part of the brain, like the gray matter, for example, it's constantly reshaping

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itself, your experiences that you have that are new experiences are reshaping your brain, not the fixed part. But the part that's that's more immutable and flexible. So it is possible to actually change. And then also, there is something to be said about, I think that there is an inner desire, like if someone doesn't want to change, you can't force it upon them. So if you're essentially like, if you're in a position where you're inspiring and motivating others, like a team leader, would we have to take into consideration the people on the team there will their desire for change their willingness to see that where their stuckness is with, with what their problem might be in contribution to

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whatever the conflict might be? Or whatever the growth might be right what they can bring to that change. And I think that it takes some finessing, and that's really what a transformational leader can learn to do, is to learn how to motivate and inspire people to fulfill their potential for greatness.

12:43:57

Greg Ballard: So so that touches on something. So if I'm hearing your right, one, we're always changing to, you can change regardless of how, how ingrained or how long of a pattern, a habit that you've been in. You need to have the desire to do so. Yeah. And so let's talk about what when we deal with somebody that is resisting change, right doesn't want to change, yet we know that people will resist change and eventually change. Right? Because they will, they're going to be forced to or for whatever reason, the there's the scales get tipped, there's enough of the momentum that brings everybody along. What are some of the conditions? Or what are the things that you know, things we

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would need to look for? So let's let's think about this organizationally, right, because move out of the individual and move into the organizational so say you're a change management leader, you're you're you're a divisional leader, a department or organizational leader, and you know, you have to initiate a new pattern of being, but you also know that people are going to be resistant. What are some of the things that in that role I or you would need to be thinking about to deal with that resistance?

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Shawna: Yeah, so the there's two pieces to this, the first has to do with self, right? So what that means is in order to meet resistance in the workplace or within others, you have to know how to be with someone who's in resistance and the reason and I'll explain what this means and why it's so important. Whenever you're in a A situation that essentially is uncomfortable. Resistance looks meant many different ways resistance, resistance can look like judgment, it can look like criticism, it can look like confusion, self doubt, blame, it can look like neediness. And so what ends up happening in those situations is it can, it has a way of triggering another person's defense mechanisms,

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right, because we we get uncomfortable when other people are in resistance. And this is happening usually, on an unconscious level, I believe that some people are conscious of a percentage of it. But the majority of these responses tend to be unconscious. And so what we want to start with is making the invisible visible for these change leaders. So that they can recognize their own reactions to the resistance that they might face in the people that they're supporting. And so doing the work on the self is essential. So self regulation, so your nervous system doesn't shut down. So you don't get reactive and blow up. So you don't give up so that you don't lose sight of the prize or the goal or

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you don't lose hope in its possibility. So that's the first and foremost thing to do is work on being with resistance to change. And then once you do that, then you can learn to work with resistance. And there's it's a skill set. That takes a little finessing, but I think that when you learn how to be with it, then you know exactly what's happening in someone else.

12:47:37

Greg Ballard: So energy real quick, because when you say working with resistance, so the last couple years, I've picked up some jujitsu, I roll around, have a lot of fun with it. And in that case, you're always working with resistance, right? You're, you're sensing your partner wanting to go in one direction. And you're thinking, okay, I can let them go in that direction, I can use that momentum, right, or I'm gonna try to use my frame and some leverage to prevent that. And so when you say what you just said, just made me think of the jujitsu, art and many other martial arts of using using resistance and using momentum to get where you want to go.

12:48:20

Shawna: Yes. And one of the things that I often tell people what I love about martial arts, and also, the military or professional athletes, they share something in common. They know how to respond in a predictable way to unpredictable scenarios. And people's emotional responses to change is unpredictable terrain. I mean, you have variations on what it could be, but you really never know until you get there. And so that's why yes. Okay, can you you sense when resistance coming up, and you know how to pivot and adjust and meet that moment. And it's really an art form.

12:49:05

Greg Ballard: I love that. So I'm gonna highlight that, again, having a predictable response to an unpredictable situation.

12:49:12

Shawna: Yes, exactly. Exactly. I love it. Yeah. And so

12:49:19

Greg Ballard: I don't know, if you had more to add your point before I interjected there. Go fine. Okay, so let's, let's stick with this for a second. I want to stick with these organizational change. And I'm very curious, I think before the show we talked a little bit about and I think it's I think it's important to highlight what are the costs to not doing this work inside an organization? Yeah. I think I shared with you I shared with I've had this insight recently just meeting with some other folks that are in the people space and, and what's amazing about people in the people space is their love for people and their, their their belief and conviction that it is the people in your

12:50:02

organization that make the organization what it is. Right, we you cut us we bleed people matter kind of thing. Yet when we look at senior executive leaders in larger organizations, and it's not that they minimize people, it's just that their focus is on business structure. It's on market, it's on sale. It's it's on the technical aspects, right? It's on the things that are a little easier to grasp, a little bit easier to measure, and a lot easier to quantify. And so and then you start talking about people and culture and and that's where it kind of does wolves. Right? And yeah. And so what I want to talk with you about is what are the costs that are being overlooked? Or that we're

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not able to get control of when we're going through a change initiative, or going through a transformation, right. So maybe you could speak to that for a minute, that's great.

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Shawna: You know, if there is some research to suggest that there is actually measurable costs associated with resistance to change. Stress is, essentially it's costing 300 billion a year, and health care costs and lost productivity and turnover. And so on one level on an individual level, they might experience like, for example, it said that up to 90% of our doctor's visits, as well as the medications that we are prescribed at the doctors, are associated with our maladaptive responses to stress, meaning like, we're trying to manage stress in a way that is like it, you're you're living, like for the moment, not in the moment. And what I mean by that is like, oftentimes people are like,

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I've got stressed, I've got to manage this thing. And they have behaviors that kind of ignore the bigger picture. And so they're not taking into consideration, well, how is this response to my stress going to impact me overall? And so that's one of the problems, that's why it becomes a big health issue that people end up.

12:52:18

Greg Ballard: Let's click on this for a second. What is stress look like? So if I'm a leader, I'm a manager, I'm an executive, what am I looking at? Or am I looking for people being frustrated? Am I looking for people, you know, just acting out? What are the things I should be looking for, that are telling me that stress is becoming a problem?

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Shawna: chronic health issues is one of them. On account to Yeah, chronic health issues. And to be fair, there are some people who have conditions like say, you know, an autoimmune condition, for example, like I have a history of autoimmune conditions that came before I did my self help work, when I get stressed, and I'm not taking care of myself, my autoimmune condition, flares up. So that's one chronic health issues. Also conflict, whether it's like mental health conflict, that's a big one people are hearing. And usually it's like, you can kind of sense something's off, if they're not willing to tell you, they're having a mental health problem. And that's because people are

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protective, they don't want to, you know, they don't want to be babied, or they don't want to be seen as, like, not a good working member of the team, or they don't want to be, you know, cast aside or, or taken off a project, that kind of thing. So people tend to hold back from saying that they feel anxious, overwhelm depression, setting in, right, but you have to kind of be keen on noticing, hey, something's different. And so, you know, just kind of as a leader, being cued into your people to know who they are and their normal behaviors. When it's off of that, you'll kind of say, Hey, what's going on here? conflict in the workplace is also like, you know, a hostile environment,

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there might be low morale, right. It could be, you know, productivity, and engagement is affected. Absenteeism, right, people are missing work, which, of course, increases the costs for the employers, there could also be high turnover. I know that, you know, during the pandemic, we talked about quiet quitting, as a big thing. I think that's probably, you know, a trend that's maybe still there, but I don't, it hasn't been really talked about, but it is a thing that happens, people are disengaged from their work. And you wouldn't know it because they're on the clock, but they're not productive. And it's because they're just not able to be fully in the game, they can't get their heart

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into the actual work, because stress affects how we feel relationally to the work that we're doing. So all of these are our, you know, essentially

12:55:02

Greg Ballard: costs. So I want to say I want to help shape this a little bit. So we talked about some things to look for, right? And for pay, these are indicators of stress. And and these are the ones that may not be obvious. There's there's other obvious ones. I mean, the last several clients we've had, you know, I have people coming in my office and crying, right? I have executive directors, I have leaders of teams coming in emotionally expressing themselves because they're overwhelmed. That's obvious, right? You want to see it before then. But I want to take a moment and shape a little bit, if you would, what is a healthy culture look like?

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Shawna: Yeah, this is a really Good question. I think that the idea of a healthy culture really has a foundation in psychological safety. Because as I mentioned, you know, one of the key things that that causes, you know, kind of conflict is the mindset. But it's this more than so mindset, it is about how we feel, it's the feeling that leads to how we act, how we think, and, and how we relate to others. So when we look at a healthy culture, we look at a culture that can navigate the terrain of conversational conflict, right, instead of in a way that's with resistance, or kind of backing down or fighting right? aggressively. Those are the extremes. But instead, it's like, okay, recognizing,

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hey, there's something here, let's be respectful of the person, even if we don't agree with the topic, for example. So respect is key, recognizing that there is a structure to feedback, for example, how you provide feedback, as a leader can really up lift someone, or it can cause them to lose their sense of self esteem. So we want to be able to have uplifting feedback that actually contributes to the overall productivity of that individual, but also the results for the organization. And feeling a sense of trust, like you can trust that, hey, if I'm gonna take a risk and try something new and innovate, I'm not going to be criticized, I'm not going to be ridiculed, I'm not going to be made fun

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of, I'm not going to be gossiped about, right, that's a psychologically safe environment and a culture that I believe is essential. And at the heart of the healthy. And community.

12:57:34

Greg Ballard: Team. I love it. I love it. And I think it's good to understand what both sides of that coin look like. So that we know you can you know, because if you don't see those things that you just described, there's a huge opportunity in your organization. Huge opportunity. And you may be overlooking it, right? Because you're focused on some other things. So I want to manage our time, but there's, so what I'd like to do, Shawna, if you're willing, and we've worked together, I know, you know me. And I think we have some psychological safety here, I want to open up a little conversation and enter engage a little debate with you on the idea of becoming a sovereign society. Find that,

12:58:15

and let's talk about what is the obligation responsibility of businesses in this space?

12:58:21

Shawna: Hmm, this is such a great I love this subject so much, because, you know, fostering a sovereign society is at the heart of what I do. And I do believe what sovereign first of all sovereign to me is, we of course, have the archetype of a sovereign, which means are at their noble, their royal, right, the queen, the king, but take that to a personal level. Right? When we think of ourselves in this way, we act differently than we would if we think we're less than, right. And so it's not, from the level of, you know, you want to be keep your ego in check. And so I do believe that the sovereign individual first and foremost creates the sovereign society in a sovereign individual has

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the, like, that feeling of autonomy, and that sense of, like, freedom to pursue their personal interests and passions and with with respect to the whole, right, so that means they love the society that they're part of, they love the culture that they're a part of, they love the mission of the organization, they love the culture of their, of their, you know, whatever they're a part of, in the world. And we love the that we're part of humanity, right? So we can't leave that out of this. And so as a sovereign individual, I think of it this way, like a cell, within an organ within a body. So you have some an individual who's operating sovereign, as a sovereign, they are part of a system that

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supports the whole. And that whole body is the society that we're talking about. So it's optimally it's essentially it's a it's about the optimal function of our humanity. And I think that in business, you know, we could say that, you know, of course, there's businesses. You know, there's a profit associated with business, but if we only focused on profit, we would I miss the bigger picture, which is we get to contribute to the greater good of all, according to what fulfills us according to what our widget is, you know, and I think every organization can think like that, you know, what are they contributing to, because the customers that they have, are gonna have values and interests that

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essentially you want to be aligned with. And so I think that a professional organization needs to be conscious of that, like the people that they that they attract in their teams, and the people that they attract to buy their products, or services, or they provide, you know, something for I believe that we are becoming more conscious as an as individuals in this greater body of humanity, we're evolving, we're growing, we demand more from the companies that we do business with.

13:01:40

Greg Ballard: Alright, so I want to take the take a look at this and talk with you about it. And, and not challenge but I want to, I want to push on 10 concepts here. So I see two aspects of this one is the individual right, and, and you're saying we want people to be sovereign in their own space, to be able to choose and go and create the space that they want to create. So we're thinking, if you're an employee, or if you are part time, full time, if you're working for an organization, you're there, because you choose to be a new field and fully in alignment or semi fully in alignment with that organization and where it's going, and how it's helping you achieve your mission and purpose in

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this world. Would you say that's pretty accurate? Sure. Okay, so that's one side. But then the other side is the, the organization. And And I'm hearing some things in there, you're talking about how an organization has some now responsibility to the society it's in. And this is a big part of the narrative, right? We have environmental, social governance ESG, we have, you know, values based markets, and people are buying based on values. So we can explore both of these together as they overlap each other a little bit. So on the individual side, first of all, I love that idea. Right. I think that is idealistic. I think that is a fantastic North Star to aim for. However, I think it has,

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I think it's very difficult to expect that the entire society will be able to make that transformation. Here's why. Because there are always going to be or Currently, there are roles and duties that are not desirable, that people are in and they don't desire them. And they're there because that's what's available. It's in our in our what we call our energy language model. It's about level two, or what I call conflict energy, where there's a winner and a loser. And, and somebody has to win and somebody has to lose. And it's not the only place to be, but it is a real relevant part of our world. Yeah. And there are some people that have to take on a job that they don't want, just so they can

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make sure life. Yes, yeah, there are some roles and duties that people don't want to do, but they have to do them.

13:04:01

Shawna: Right, exactly. So if we,

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Greg Ballard: if we can get rid of all that we can maybe that gets us a little closer to this idea of sovereign sovereignty anyway. So so that's one aspect of this, right? So on the individual side, and we could talk more about it. But I also think being able to have what the work you do align as closely to an organization where you feel what you're talking about it like I'm empowered, I'm here, I'm in alignment. I think there is a, I think it's a very reasonable bar to set for leadership, right for leadership to be in and to be expected to be aligned with an organization's core values. I think for mid level management, and and kind of frontline level, I think those values should be

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embodied as to the degree possible, but to anticipate full internal alignment, I think is a little high. You see what I'm saying? I think there may be a lot to ask. Yeah. And if you do that, you may not be able to get the organism, the people that align with you. Right, right. I'm gonna put a put a parenthesis around this, I think with COVID and the and the virtual workforce movement. The fact that people can be remote in many different roles, not all of them, right. There's a lot of people that have to get up and go out to work every day and they had to author COVID And there is a subgroup of people that can stay home And then others that can go hybrid. But because of that, we're now

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seeing a big sorting process in my own language of people looking for organizations that they align with. Yes, you're looking for.

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Shawna: So true, right? Okay. So they want to have purpose and meaning in their work. They do. And they want to align with with people that match their values. Right. But they also need a paycheck. Yes, exactly. Exactly.

13:06:10

Greg Ballard: And so yes, yeah, go ahead. Shawna: Go ahead. This phenomenon. So a couple of things you you hit on, first of all, it is idealistic. And I think that's the point, right? It's an ideal to aspire for, you know, like, what is it? What's that saying, shoot, shoot for the moon, you might miss and hit the stars kind of thing.

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Greg Ballard: Stars, and you hit the moon, Shawna: something like it.

13:06:36

Greg Ballard: I know, you aim for the eagle, you hit the pheasant and you don't eat crow. I know that one.

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Shawna: I didn't know that one. So it's this ideal to aspire for, with the knowing the not the attitude and the knowing, like not everyone's going to be there. And transformation takes time. And I've said it to you before, it's like breakthroughs happen in an instant, you're gonna have a breakthrough and be like, Aha, I got it. But to integrate that insight into your life, to embody, whatever the wisdom is, that came through a breakthrough, that takes time. And it takes as much time as it needs to take and no less. And so with that, I've come to have the patience for the process and witnessing people through the journey of actually transforming into their aspirations, but also

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recognizing, you know, you have this ideal that you're aspiring for. And you also have to have, it's like the detached philosophy of a Buddhist, which is like, you know, you're not attached the outcome, the path of that, that, you know, ideal is what changes you so that you become transformed by just simply walking that path of your aspiration, or as an ancient axiom, Latin axiom Solvay Blondo, I believe it is, which means and if I'm not pronouncing it correctly, forgive me. But it means by walking, it is solved. So we don't aim for perfect, we just walk the path of that aspiration, and recognize that there's going to be experiences on that path, that shape cause us to shape

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shift in direct proportion to that challenge. Just like when we lift those heavy weights, we're going to grow the strength in the areas that we are, you know, developing. And so that's one of the things that ends up happening for people, is they become developed in their own unique way, and submerge, because they have those ideal aspirations. But we don't have to be so rigid, to that specific vision, that we fail to miss all of the great mile markers along the way that help us celebrate, hey, things are are shifting. And then there was something else that you hinted at now, all of a sudden I forget.

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Greg Ballard: Well, let me talk. Yeah. So okay, so So I love that like, walking, and it is solid, right? So I'm walking into solved by walking into salt. And I think as an individual, as an individual, I completely get that as someone in this space. That makes sense to me. I think I operate on that without kind of content not consciously, though. However, when I'm thinking about a business, right, like running a business, running a team leading an organization, we're all goal oriented, right? We got to look at something and be able to measure it. Yes, yes. And say we did that, right. It's there. It's measurable. It's got some shape to it. Yeah. And this concept, doesn't offer any of

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that. Like, what is walking? What does that look like? What it looks like to you is very different than what it looks like to me. So if you're, if we're talking to folks that are listening to this that are leading organizations are like, Oh, sure, what is something that we can do that becomes measurable in this space? I have a couple ideas. But I want to hear your thoughts first.

13:10:18

Shawna: Sure. So I think that first and foremost, we want and I usually break down three different pieces. We think of goals as like one thing but in truth, there is a component of a few things. There's a Trinity here. So first and foremost, you have a vision. And so this vision is the over arching theme, so like, for example, in this context, I have a vision for sovereign society. Okay? Then you have, so you have this vision, and then you have the aspirations within that vision. So it's almost like, you know, what are you reaching for, within that, that ideal vision that you're holding, then the goals or the action steps, like the managed mile markers that you take, it's

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almost like the strategy that you're you're placing, to walk that, that path to towards your aspirations. And those are the things that are manageable, and track, you can track them. Now, sometimes they might be, like, not the favorite things to track, like, you know, oh, this many dollars was brought in. It might it might be, oh, we had less call, people call out sick this month. Right, that's the kind of mile marker that one might be able to keep track of. And so I think that might be something to be for each organization, it's going to be unique, what they need to identify as those mile markers. But that's how I look at goals is just the simply the mile markers. As we're reaching

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for these, you know, higher aspirations. We also want to think about, like, here's the characteristics to consider, like a transformational leader needs to have that clear vision for the future. But they also need to know how to be able to inspire and motivate others to achieve that vision. So that could be a mile marker. Right, you could actually track that there's ways you could track that. And they also need to hear themselves to be willing to actually take the risks that challenge the status quo, right? So the risks could be things that help us grow. It could also be, you know, tapping into our strong moral compass, right, that's a characteristic that we ourselves can actually

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note on. If again, if it's like, if we're keeping track of these things, do we feel aligned? Or don't we, and if we tap into that compass will be able to know, oh, hey, I'm, I'm on track to meeting these goals. I'm in alignment with this, you know, vision, that kind of thing can can be managed. And also, like, you know, I believe tapping into the the talent on the team, like these people also, that you're working with, and have their credible insights to add to the bigger picture. So we don't have to come at it from this place of thinking we have all the answers, we could actually admit to not having all the answers and finding out what other people know, what do they desire? What do they

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want? And then kind of think in that outward mindset, like, how can I help you get that? So those are kind of, I guess, tangible, strategic things that someone could think about.

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Greg Ballard: Let me throw a couple on the plate, and you use react if you could, okay, so I think this would work at the individual level and the organizational level, but putting time and intense, intense focus on identifying, you know, your core purpose, right? What's motivating what you want to achieve. If it says an individual, where's the impact you want to make? If you're an organization, what's your core purpose, and being transparent about it? If it's about profit, then say that and make it right, make it very clear, but then make all your decisions very objective, make your decisions objectively against that measure. And the second thing in the same vein is values as

13:14:39

individuals know your values. I think you and I've done a lot of work on this within our project. People that know their values, and knows their intrinsic, okay, there's a couple of different groups of values, there's intrinsic values, the way you operate, whether it's consciously or unconsciously. And then there's aspirational values, the kind of person you want to be, that you're wanting to be. And you need to have a good line between those two on a sheet of paper ain't right, but knowing your intrinsic values. And I like to define values as things you're willing to pay for. So if you don't if you're not willing to pay for them or have some kind of pain or loss or sacrifice or they're

13:15:21

not a value, that point, right? If

13:15:24

you know yours, if you know yours as an individual, and you're looking at organizations that are very clear on theirs, it becomes a matter of a decision and exercising like alignment check. Hey, I know who I am and what I'm going to do you know you are what you want to do. Now we can see, are we a match? But statistically, I think was it, I forgot the name of the group that did this. So I don't want to give the wrong name. did a study, it might have been Deloitte, it might have been, I'm not sure did a study on values, and there is zero correlation. It's a 5050 Toss up inside organizations that have stated values, and it's 5050, of whether they actually act on those values. So just

13:16:11

having them up. Having them on a website, having them on the wall is nothing. Okay? It's something today, wow, you need to they need you need to go further. embody them, reward them, acknowledge them, if you're going to have any value of them, if they're going to be worth it, for people to make decisions. So if we're talking about a sovereign society, right, we're talking about Yeah, how do we help align people with their purpose? Their value? Yes, I think a goal a measurable goal would be let's just establish some clarity on what they are. Right, like, the next decade on that, we will have moved the needle significantly.

13:16:56

Shawna: Yes. Ah, I love how you? Yeah, that just made me think also of, you know, as a country, for example, one of the things that America values is freedom, right? So people are passionate about freedom. And what do we do every year we celebrate our freedom, right? Now, people might have opinions on whether or not we're actually meeting the mark. But that's, you know, that's another conversation. But the point is, it's like, yeah, it's another one, it's about that, that what you just described, it's like, it's not enough to have the values written, like up on on your website, I actually remind the leaders that I work with, who are, you know, let's just say you're having a regular team,

13:17:39

meeting with your high level executives, you want that value statement, or that mission statement, and those values stated, and also, like, call people out for their alignment, you know, acknowledge Was it you who made this, it's like, it's like basically acknowledging those people on the team, that are actually embodying those values, or demonstrating what those values are an action. So that's an example of some a way that you can just keep it on top of mind, because here's what happens. We have these aspirations, we have these visions, but if we don't have tangible action steps, that help us keep it top of mind, we're going to get caught into the the to dues of the day.

13:18:30

And those priorities that are like are meeting our baser needs. And we forget all about those aspirations, or we forget all about, like, the things that we are aligned with, so that we can like do the, like, kind of just fill in the gaps and, and meet the needs of the day. So keeping it top of mind intentionally is usually what I encourage people to do. They practices to weave it into their team meetings.

13:19:00

Greg Ballard: Yes, it's got to be something you're drinking from almost on a daily basis

13:19:03

Shawna: if you're going to have them. Yes, exactly. All right. So Shauna,

13:19:07

Greg Ballard: we've covered a lot today, we've covered a lot. Before we go, I want to ask you, if you're, you're speaking to our audience, our listeners, and you know, we're all you know, the adaptive executive. So, what's one tip or one skill that you might recommend to folks they can use to be more adaptive in their work and in their leadership?

13:19:38

Shawna: Once I'm like trying to make it meaningful, what's if it's going to be one thing, it's going to be meaningful. So the one thing I believe would be to know thyself, to know thyself, and that means recognizing your own unique strengths your your geniuses, your you know, there's multiple and with it within us, these archetypes within us. And and so when you know yourself, you actually know when to make a change, you can feel it coming. You can intuit like those those pivot points when they're when they're coming instead of being smacked in the face by them when they just hit you over the head kind of thing. So yeah, to know thyself, personal mastery and to develop that and keep that

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as like a constant like when people work out, they don't work out to reach that goal, whether it's a weight or strength and say, Okay, I'm done. I hit that. They maintain that development. And so with personal mastery When you're When you know yourself, you're developing personal mastery into your routine your your regular operating system.

13:20:48

Greg Ballard: Fantastic. So if I wanted to work on self mastery and and reaching my goals, is there anything that you might be able to offer? To help with that?

13:20:59

Shawna: Yes, absolutely. As a matter of fact, I start everyone on this journey with that specifically in mind. And so I have my, you know, through the course of the past 20 years, I have figured out what that beginning of the journey actually looks like for people to develop their mastery and to, to know themselves to bring that, you know, again, what makes the invisible visible. And so you know, what, if it's one on one, let's just say, imagine that whether it's a business owner, and executive, someone in a high leadership role, they want to develop mastery, and you know, kind of one on one work, specifically targeting that is key. So essentially, I work to help them discover the

13:21:49

difference between their egos value systems versus their higher aspirational souls motivations, and to understand their behaviors that they need to like, acknowledge and work on, and then transform any subconscious programs, the trauma patterns, and the layers of these defenses that we have kind of embedded within our pap patterns. And then we work to develop like rewire the nervous system. And that's essentially like the the main focus is like literally rewiring yourself for safety and success. And there's a science to that. And I facilitate people to be able to do that and operate from that really high level functioning as an exceptional leader.

13:22:36

Greg Ballard: Fantastic. So Shauna, Pelton, thank you so much for joining us today, if folks would like to follow up or connect with you, how would they do that?

13:22:45

Shawna: So they can easily go to my website, which is just my name, Shawna pelton.com, where there'll be guided towards whatever, you know, prompted to do whatever they want. So if it's, you know, reach out for a discovery call that will be there. And I also have, you know, I think I'm in your system is well, right. And that's actually, if it's okay, for me to mention, like, you know, on an organizational level, we can take the same concept of transformation from the person one on one to the team, it's like, how do you develop the leader, so to be that transformational leader that inspires a team through times of great change. And so we can do that, as well. And I believe they can find,

13:23:35

I think, if I were to guide them anywhere, I would guide them to you, Greg, so that they can have that conversation with you. And then they get me as part of that package.

13:23:46

Greg Ballard: Thank you so much. Yes, we've we've done some work on projects. And if you end up working with us, you'll likely be introduced to Shauna, as well. So Shauna, so your website, and then tell us about the goal activator, if you

13:23:58

Shawna: so sure, I have a tool that I like to share with people. It's called The Goal activator, and it does help people establish that vision that I talked about. And it also helps them break down the steps needed to identify Well, what are these goals that are going to help me meet that that higher, aspirational, you know, thing that I have in mind. And so a goal, like the goal activator is a free course. And it's an online and I with video, and modules, I walk you through the steps to aligning with that higher aspirational vision that you have, and also happens to come with a first of its kind virtual vision board technology, which helps to program the subconscious mind, because

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that's what's needed. You can't just think, Oh, this is what I want to do. You need to be able to actually condition your brain to be able to spot those mile markers or to be able to align with that, that goal that you have in mind. So it's all the components are included in that course. All right,

13:25:08

Greg Ballard: so we'll put a link in the show notes for that. Great well, and so, Shauna Pelton, thank you so much.

13:25:15

Unknown: Yeah. Thank you. This was great.