Time to Shine today. Podcast Varsity Squad. This is Scott [00:01:00] Ferguson and I’m feeling a little bit like Saturday Night Live a little SNL about all those return guests that they’d always have. Like this is my number one third time guest. My good friend Laura Templeton, who rocked out a book, which I was blessed to write a blurb for her.

She reached out and I was, I couldn’t wait to actually write it, but she is the author of many books, which if you go back to episodes 3 0 8 and four 20. We’ve talked about our AI book and also our 32nd success books, but this book, it really hit hard with Compassionate Leadership and who she is the author of.

She’s gonna join us here and explore the powerful strategies for business owners and professionals to lead with empathy and impact. Again, she’s the founder of 32nd Success. Laura brings 25 years of experience in marketing, specialized in authentic brand communication that connects deeply with clients.

Through her books, workshops, and speaking engagements, she empowers leaders to communicate with clarity, confidence, and compassion, and inspiring growth and success at every level of their life. And Lord, thank you so much. Welcome [00:02:00] back and please again introduce yourself to the Time to Shine today, podcast Varsity Squad at this time, what’s your favorite ice cream flavor?

Laura Templeton: Oh, my favorite ice cream flavor has to be mint chocolate chip. Mint chocolate chip.

L. Scott Ferguson: No, I, I tried to catch you on this ’cause this was part of our lightning round question before and you matched it. So usually I ask color or something. We don’t know about you, but I figured I would see if you stayed with the mint chocolate chip, which you did.

You’re consistent. I love it. So. I dug into this book and I, and I literally read it because I love business parables, but I, , I kind of love that you broke it up into the core principles and then, , the 25 principles of Compassionate Leadership. Right. And I love that you kind of broke it up and made it a learning experience along with a story.

Right. So I have to ask you, first and foremost with Rebecca, is she, you?

Laura Templeton: I think in some ways, yes. Okay. I think there’s that little bit of you, you always bring yourself to the story when you are creating a character, a [00:03:00] fictional character. So I would definitely say there’s a lot of my own past experience, especially in that corporate environment that I was gonna say that comes to the page.

L. Scott Ferguson: Right. It’s funny ’cause it’s like she’s this young lady that’s driven. But like she also, you, you could just feel the wisdom coming outta her. So I was just like, it was like a younger Laura, , that’s really kind of coming up through the ranks. So in the book, , you talk a lot about, you challenge kind of the traditional leadership models that are out there with that, right?

And so what kind of inspired you to, to write this, and I kind of know, ’cause I know you, but I want you to share with the squad about like, , with. How you’ve really leaned into evolving leadership through the compassionate side.

Laura Templeton: I think part of it is, is, , growing up I was, I was always challenged to step into a leadership role.

There’s so many different opportunities as a, as [00:04:00] a kid growing up, , our schools and things like that, that really inspired leadership inspired team. The team concept of helping one another and loving one another. I feel like I grew up in a different age.

L. Scott Ferguson: Sure. I dunno. Right. We

Laura Templeton: did. I might be aging myself.

, I graduated in 1982. But I think when I went into corporate right out of, of college, I worked for RCA and it, in my experience at RCA, there was an amazing camaraderie that, that really. Took place there. And they were constantly looking for improving, , giving you guidelines on how you could step into a leadership role and how you could improve your station.

Your, your employee review was really about. Here are the areas where you’re excelling. Here are some areas where we could see improvement and here’s how. Here’s what we can do to help you improve in those areas. And they took the role of [00:05:00] helping you improve. Right? They were always looking to forward their employees in that.

And what I’ve seen over time, , my personal experience of observing other friends who were still in corporate and my husband who’s in corporate, and , folks that I know that are in corporate that. It’s kind of changed over time. It’s almost like employers are, are afraid to tell people how to improve.

Hmm. Or they’re looking at employees from the perspective of. When somebody’s really, I don’t know if you’ve ever experienced this or if you’ve ever heard people talking about this, is they’re really good at their job. Don’t wanna move them into a leadership role because then they can’t backfill ’em with somebody with the same expertise.

L. Scott Ferguson: Right? So

Laura Templeton: you start to see some people who get pigeonholed because they’re so good at their job. And so I’ve, I’ve witnessed that, , I’ve had several clients that have expressed that str that struggle. And sometimes it’s the choice of do I stay [00:06:00] or do I go and which affects the corporation as a whole.

It affects the company as a whole when you lose a good employee because they’re not able to, to move up or to move, , into a bigger role or have more of an impact. And that’s what, that’s what people want. They wanna feel challenged, they wanna feel like there’s a place for them to go.

L. Scott Ferguson: Right. And I love that you said P pigeonholed and you use a little, , verbiage from the Clash, which is our generation too.

Should I stay or should I go right with that? And , so what I’m kind of seeing is, like in the book, I know that you. Brought up a lot about empowering employees to become kind of like, for lack of a better term, maybe a brand ambassador. Right. , Of them. Because again, like you said, like I have came up and through this thing called the military, right?

And so when you were taught the new role, it fit the mold, which you’ve kind of have to in the military ’cause we protect this great country, right? But as you go in the, these leaders now, including [00:07:00] myself, that not look down, but I, I’m send the elevator down to my employees. I want to like, have them be really, , kind of like their own intrapreneur in, within the within my company Right.

To come and challenge me even because I wanna be challenged. I mean the EGO ego, I try not to allow in, I believe the EGO means edging God out. , It’s like I, I’m, then I gotta stay humble and that’s something my coach reminds me of, believe me on that. So what is your kind of like advice do you have for leaders that struggle?

With maybe maintaining boundaries while fostering new, , kind of like deep connections with their employees.

Laura Templeton: I think there’s always a sense of, , it’s interesting that you went in that direction with the question regarding that , the impact that we wanna make and being able to, to maintain boundaries.

And sometimes that’s one of the things that leaders really struggle with. Like, if I become too friendly with my employees and they’re gonna take advantage of me. [00:08:00] So where, how do you maintain that level of. I’m still your boss. I’m still your leader. And yeah, we can have a really great relationship. , You’ve got to set the, you have to be able to set, okay, here are my expectations.

This is what I need from you. And if somebody doesn’t meet those expectations, don’t be a pushover. Right, right. Like, hey, pull ’em out on it. Be willing to have the hard conversation with your employee. Like, Hey, I’m not doing this just for me. I’m doing this for the good of the whole team. This is not when, when you have leaders who are willing to have the hard conversation and yet they, they still elevate people or level them up.

We’re talking about leveling up

L. Scott Ferguson: love, love,

Laura Templeton: and when we, when you level people up by encouraging them and recognizing their. Ability to perform and the things that they’re [00:09:00] accomplishing within the organization and not just one-on-one. Right. You wanna make sure that you are ver, you recognize them within the organization that you’re, , just giving them some love, right?

Praise

L. Scott Ferguson: them in public, reprimand ’em in property, praise them in Exactly.

Laura Templeton: Exactly right. And that’s the biggest thing is having those hard conversations is part of the job. It really is, and whether you have it one-on-one or if it’s an issue your whole team is struggling with, you have it with the team behind closed doors, not in front of upper level management, right?

I love that.

L. Scott Ferguson: I love it. It, which leads us to kind of, I, I found a lot of kaizen in your book, a lot of continuous improvement, right? That, that we’re looking forward to. , It’s a ma it seemed like that was a major principle. Can we agree with that? Like continuous improvement? So how can, like the leaders of, , the companies, , encourage, I guess bravery for like, innovation, , adaptability without kind of.

Overwhelming [00:10:00] them at the same time, like how, how do you feel that leaders really should kinda like, not push that responsibility, but encourage that responsibility to, to create within the company, be their own entrepreneur and within the company?

Laura Templeton: That’s one of the things that I, I love encouraging with it.

Within organizations. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve worked with professionals who struggle to. See tooth. Tooth, their own horn per se, right? Mm-hmm. Like when they’re asked, , a lot of times I have employees that tell me, , when, when I’ve been asked what am I working on, or how’s, how are things going?

And, and they struggle to, to actually be able to communicate effectively what it is that they’re working on and, and how it’s, how it’s affecting the company and what the results are, and. Taking that extra step of saying, Hey, here’s something that I’m, that I’m excited about. Here’s something I’m proud of.

, I, I took, I took the leadership role on this particular project and this is the results. Yeah. We didn’t have the results that we [00:11:00] expected, but at least we discovered what we shouldn’t do next time. Even in that respect. Right? Because what I found when I am. Networking. Especially. There’s an organization in Philly that I love to network with.

It’s called power.org. It’s a, a women’s organization for professional women. And when I would network with a lot of professionals, I would ask them, so tell me a little bit about you. What are you working on? What? And they would immediately go into praising someone else on their team instead of themselves.

L. Scott Ferguson: Right.

Laura Templeton: They wouldn’t tell me about themselves. They would tell me about their team members.

L. Scott Ferguson: Okay. I’m like,

Laura Templeton: wait, tell, I wanna hear about you. Part of it is they’ve, they’ve, sometimes we over, we overdo it on the team mentality. There’s gotta be a balance, right? We’ve gotta, we’ve still got to elevate the team, but also elevate the individuals within the team.

And when we can elevate the individuals within the team, then they feel empowered to step into taking more of a leadership [00:12:00] role. Who themselves as well as the team as a whole. Okay. They, they feel like they can contribute more.

L. Scott Ferguson: I got confused there with, you said, elevate people within the team. Is that what you said?

Or, ’cause it seemed like, again, I thought you had said kind of the same thing, but I’m, I I see that, where I’m going with this question, but like, like what is like. If somebody is, you want them to really kinda speak out about themselves and their team. Mm-hmm. Correct. Okay. And how, how would you go about having, like if you were coaching, which I know you do coach people on this, but how would you go about coaching them to being okay and comfortable within their own skin?

Like you mentioned transparency a lot in the book as well, but , to be able to come out and like, for lack of better terms, throw some shine on themselves. As well as their team. Like how, how do you, how would you want them to who encourage them to do that?

Laura Templeton: Yeah. And I [00:13:00] think that’s the biggest thing, even as, as leaders within the corporation, is making sure that you’re asking them very intentional questions.

Right. And I encourage people to be very intentional to know their worth, right? That one of the biggest things that I, I see people struggling with, they don’t see their contribution as being worthy. We have to start elevating one another as being worthy of, , that, that we bring value to the work that we’re doing.

So helping people within the team, individuals within the, in the organization to see what value they bring to the other everyday process, and not allowing them to feel beat down when they don’t accomplish what they set out to do.

L. Scott Ferguson: Ooh. I love that, but when, if it doesn’t, okay. Like, so I’m kind of putting your leader here in kind of a conundrum.

So if the leader’s expecting [00:14:00] something to get done, it doesn’t get done right. How should the leader kind of address that to both ways to the, the, the person below them and also the people that they answer to? How do you recommend that they address that?

Laura Templeton: That’s a really tough question and that is a, a tough situation for leaders to be in.

I think there’s one of the things that we need to think about is when, when is it appropriate to give grace, understand why it didn’t get done, and whether or not it’s a valid reason why it didn’t get done, as opposed to just being an excuse. Mm-hmm. Love it. And I think sometimes you need to really understand your employees.

To recognize that. Recognize the difference.

L. Scott Ferguson: Gotcha. Right. So really well, and I think we

Laura Templeton: also need to empower our employees to say, to put their hand up when something’s, something’s validly, keeping them from accomplishing. Thank you. Thank you. Their [00:15:00] signed work.

L. Scott Ferguson: Within a, a professional timeframe as well too.

So if it’s correct, yeah, if you’re like three weeks out, we can probably do something about this like squat. I’ll tell you right now, and Miss Rhonda, I am so sorry. I messed up this morning. My friend Laura caught it, . And here it is a bestselling author that I am going out and messing up her name on a, on a thing.

And now understandably, somebody that was supposed to have handled it, but it, the buck stops with me, right? And. So with that, and, and fortunately I don’t have anyone to answer to except for Ms. Rhonda. Right. So, but if the buck stops with me, how much responsibility do I take up the ladder? Do I say, what, , Jim should have did this, but it’s on me.

Like, what, what is your feeling about that within a corporate? Because again, you’ve forgot more about corporate life than I’ll ever know Probably. But like, how do you feel that that would should be addressed?

Laura Templeton: Oh, absolutely. Ownership at a leadership level is [00:16:00] very important because as a leader, we should be, we should be in communication with our teams, , team members on a daily basis.

How are things going? What’s your progress? Is there something you need my help with? Can, is there something I could take off your plate so that you can focus on the most important task that needs to get done? These are questions that are, that are not being asked. Leaders are, leaders are literally handing over the reins and saying, here, you need to get this project done.

Let me know when it’s done.

L. Scott Ferguson: Right. Yeah. And

Laura Templeton: that’s, that’s not leadership.

L. Scott Ferguson: Yeah. That, thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you. And, and again, , some people might hear, might not agree with this man’s standards, but Elon Musk, he looks for 52 problems a year. And he gets involved only in those 52 problems that are critical.

One problem a week when he was running the Tesla and SpaceX and stuff like that, and he would actually get in there with the employees and [00:17:00] figure this out. But it had to be a problem. That was, the trajectory was going another way. But as middle management or , corporate leaders, ev that problem is your biggest problem because that’s what you have to report to.

Right? So it’s like, do you, what do you feel about. The leader digging into a project to make sure it gets done completely without making the employee feel like they’re being scrutinized or like they can’t do it. Like what do you feel about that? Like almost micromanaging?

Laura Templeton: Oh, I, I don’t necessarily know if , we’ve gotten, I think micromanaging has gotten a bad rap, to be honest with you.

I think there are ways, I mean, we don’t have to be looking over people’s shoulders, but let’s, let’s lay out a game plan. Okay. Right. You, , , I love talking, let’s talk about what it’s gonna take to accomplish this particular goal, this complete, this particular project, , and, and kind of timeline it and, and then look at it in, , in retrospect [00:18:00] to all the other things that we are working on at the same time simultaneously.

So where is it going to fit in? So it, it is a time management issue when it comes to. The micromanaging of pieces. , If you’ve got someone you feel you need to micromanage, then there’s a bigger issue.

L. Scott Ferguson: Okay?

Laura Templeton: If that person is not completing their work, if they’re not coming to you when they are having a problem, if they’re, then there’s a bigger issue.

You need to have a deeper conversation with them and say, look, I, , we need to talk about your ability to manage your time. Do you need help? Do you need to help? You need, do you, how about we sit down and we look at your calendar and figure out where things need to fit in? And if you’re not able to accomplish everything in that timeframe, then we need to get you help.

L. Scott Ferguson: Right? But see, a

Laura Templeton: lot of times employees just think it’s all on them and they need to do it, and they shouldn’t ask for help because then, then they’re gonna, then they’re gonna be judged that they can’t co, they are not adequate in doing their job. When in all, when in [00:19:00] reality, sometimes the job’s too big and it takes more than one person.

L. Scott Ferguson: Right. And that leads kind of the kind of compassionate leadership from the leader to understand, okay, they’ve, they’ve bitten off a lot, they come to me, they’re honest, they’re transparent, right? What I do see in some companies is they make them the mistakes. Within that communication, like how, how can they really improve that communication?

Like almost role play with me. , How they can with within leaders or even like, , your, your corporate management, , which they, they have to answer to somebody, but they have to also make sure that brings down like how can a conversation like that go, , if I was to come to you and say, Laura, , like I’m kind of running behind.

, But I come to you within a, a reasonable timeframe. Like how should that ’cause one, you, you talk a lot about trans transparent communication in this, in the book, right? So how, how should that kind of conversation go? I mean, Rebecca did have that conversation, but again, like how should it go, do you feel?

Laura Templeton: Yeah, and I think that’s the biggest thing is number one, [00:20:00] you, you want to be able to have an open door policy with your employees that they can come to you. And, and kind of set guidelines with them. Here are the things that you, , you can bring to my door at any specific time. You’re struggling with this or you need answers on this.

You’re not you’re having trouble getting, maybe you’re having trouble getting information from another. Another team, another or group, right? Right. You’re not, you, you’re waiting on outside sources to give you what you need. Right. That can delay projects. You need to come to me, , if it’s a late a day, whatever your, your guidelines are, you need to set them.

You need to set them up from the beginning and make sure that you are reiterating them on a regular basis with your team. Say, Hey, don’t forget you need me. My door’s open. Here’s what you wanna bring to me. If this is an issue, make sure that you come to me. And if you see those challenges consistently occurring, then take it to upper level management.

Say, look. We’re doing our best to get these things done, but we’re bumping up a problem where we’re not getting the information we need from this team or this team, [00:21:00] or this team. Can you step in and help us with this?

L. Scott Ferguson: I love it. That’s

Laura Templeton: a prime example that I have seen time and time again where teams falter because they’re waiting for information from other groups.

I. That’s one of the other conversations we could have very deeply is how divisive it has become. You’ve got my, we, we refer to them as little fiefdoms, right? Everybody’s protecting their information in their group and they, they don’t want anybody else. , Getting into their group and getting information or stepping ahead in line and, , like, but teams aren’t talking to one another anymore.

And when I worked at, I worked at NatWest Bank in New Jersey and one of the things that I had to, I had to coordinate teams. I was construction project management. You can’t imagine how many different teams I had to be in touch with every single day to make sure a building got built. Right. If you’re in construction, how to get a building built and if one, if one person’s late on delivering.

It’s the domino effect on your timeline.

L. Scott Ferguson: I love it. And, and it’s,

Laura Templeton: and it’s outta control. And it happens in corporate,

L. Scott Ferguson: [00:22:00] right

Laura Templeton: when we’re not. Talking when there’s too many barriers between the different groups within an organization.

L. Scott Ferguson: Yeah, I love that. And, and squad one thing that like Laura’s kind of putting out there.

She’s not saying, oh, we’re outta staplers or we’re out of this. This is actually key to the project. Okay. And. , With my team, I’m blessed that they come to me with an agenda of what we’re going to talk about within a half hour of our verbal meeting or in person meeting. So what do you think about my practice with that?

Yes, I do ask to say it’s a small little agenda. It’s not like broke down. It’s like subject line, and this is how my mentor taught me and he wasn’t a nice mentor that taught me a business. He’s like, , come to me. One thing that I would also encourage people is make sure when you come to your leader come with recommendations.

Come with what you feel is right now, the leader might shut it down, but at least you’re showing that you’re involved, you’re trying correct.

Laura Templeton: Absolutely. Absolutely. Bringing the ideas to the table a [00:23:00] potential solution and getting their, and getting a leader’s blessing on it is a great way to, to actually help expedite the things that need to be done.

L. Scott Ferguson: Love it. And with all the technology now, it’s like teams can interact with other teams. , Say like, you have this fastener and you have this door and this, this project can’t get done without the fastener and the door. There’s, there can be timelines. I know I coach a, I’m blessed to coach a company.

They use that Monday, , thing. And like they’re all within each other. Which I, I, I, I absolutely love that. ’cause they know where they’re at. They’re not stepping on toes. But they are challenged for timelines if you, if what I mean. I’m not there to coach on leadership. I’m more there to coach on mindset for them.

Do I keep them involved, keep them excited about the new projects that are coming out and leading to that, the this, this kind of compassionate leadership I is kind of lonely. , Especially in this day and age and like I know people like yourself and you and me too, even a certain extent, are trying to kinda switch that over [00:24:00] into more of a compassionate leadership.

So what advice do you have maybe for leaders that are like kinda struggling, with, , fostering the deeper connections while still staying a leader?

Laura Templeton: I, I think you need to find your tribe, right? You need to find people who are like-minded to you. They’re, they’re out there, right? There are other people within the organization, outside of the organization. Like I mentioned, one of the greatest organizations that I ever met, because they want to foster.

That relationship and those connections within corporate is power.org outta Philadelphia. Now, I wish it was a national organization, but it’s not.

L. Scott Ferguson: Mm-hmm. Right.

Laura Templeton: And I like, I am excited for when it does happen because they, and Elevate is another women’s organization that is really great. Totally. Yeah.

Mm-hmm. Elevate Network, and they really foster those connections. Again, it’s about finding your tribe. Yeah. And I, and I really believe that when you have other people who are [00:25:00] like-minded to you and you can bounce ideas off of them or tell ’em what you’re struggling with, whether it’s with your team, even if they just said, look, you need to take this to management.

L. Scott Ferguson: It’s like

Laura Templeton: they’re reaffirming what you’re feeling. Right, right. Yeah. Having someone to bounce ideas or even an accountability partner, those are, those are huge. I mean, we do, we. Strong in, in small business, in entrepreneurship. That’s one of the biggest things that we coach people to do is find an accountability partner.

Somebody who thinks the way you think, who has the same vision, you they’re moving in the same direction,

L. Scott Ferguson: right?

Laura Templeton: And that you can go to for support. Because let’s face it, sometimes people in your family. I have no clue what you’re talking about. They don’t, right. They, they, they haven’t experienced what you’ve experienced.

They don’t understand what you’re trying to build and it’s a different mindset. Right. I, but I have a really good friend whose dad was in corporate for years. He was an executive and he gives her amazing advice. So she’s very blessed to have that

L. Scott Ferguson: lucky girl, but find

Laura Templeton: someone who can do that for you.

L. Scott Ferguson: Yeah.

Yeah. Right. Yeah. It, and I think

Laura Templeton: it’s [00:26:00] very, very powerful.

L. Scott Ferguson: I love that you’re kinda like, get your asking gear, right. Like ask for that help. That, , that again, ego like stops. A lot of people, especially, they’re afraid, oh my gosh, if I ask this, , oh my gosh, they’re gonna think less of me. Which honestly, it’s like I, there are dumb questions out there, don’t get me wrong, but it’s like, just again, squad come to them with some kind of outline with what you’re asking for so they can be prepared to really help you with that the situation.

So. We kind of like tune things down here for the listeners out. No, hold on. I gotta good into this one. ’cause you wrote an awesome book, stand in your brand. Right? And it’s about the AI and stuff. So I actually went into ai Okay. And plugged your book in there. Okay. And I came up with one question. Okay. The rest of these questions are mine, but like the one question I have, I’m gonna read it as per what I named my my, chat, GPT Philo. ’cause that was my call sign in the military. And so Philo said, in the digital age, [00:27:00] technology and AI play an increasing role in leadership and branding. How do you recommend leaders balance technological advancements with a human touch?

Laura Templeton: Hmm, great question. Ai. I appreciate that one. Yeah, I think, and I would, but I, I honestly get that a lot.

Okay. How do you, how do you balance the use of technology with, without losing the human touch? And it is a big question. One of the things that I encourage people all the time is to, to remember your humanness. Right? AI can only respond to the questions you’re asking it. Yeah. So if you’re very intentional about your questions, if you’re very intentional about how you phrase them, if you spend time, and this is one of the things that I teach people, I actually have a workshop on it, is how to make, how to program chat GPT.

So it sounds like you with your custom instructions. Thank you. I’m pretty sure I told you about custom instructions, didn’t it?

L. Scott Ferguson: Oh yeah. Oh yeah. Very much so. And, and by the [00:28:00] way , Ms. Templeton Philo is kind of offended that you didn’t call him by his name. You called him by Chad, GPT. So I’m just saying,

Laura Templeton: sorry, sorry, Philo, because my chat, GPT is named Chaz, so there’s that.

L. Scott Ferguson: It’s funny, now I’ve got it using a lot of your advice Okay. To the point of like, , I want you to tell Laura what I do and, and he will come out and say, , a mindset gap coach, like everything about me that they remember. It’s such a strong, your book is by the, , squad pick up that book as well.

I’ll throw that in the show notes. It’s phenomenal, right? Because I actually have like a relationship with it and it’s as. It evolves. I’ve noticed that it’s wrong more. Right, meaning like, it’s not like you’re just going into Google and pulling facts. I’m saying that in air quotes. If you’re watching, if you’re not watching squad, it’s like it’s wrong more.

So you actually kinda have a interaction with people and be like, dude, this is wrong Philo, this is not right. He goes, oh my gosh. You’re right. ? That’s right. And then they, they actually work through to fix it, which. [00:29:00] It’s no different to me than really fixing something within a company and asking the powerful question to work through it.

Does that make sense with what you’re kind of bringing out with that? It does

Laura Templeton: it, it really does. It’s, but again, it comes down to having really great conversations. Right? And then I think that’s the biggest thing is teaching people how to converse with AI is one of the most powerful things you can do is, is think of it as having a conversation with someone that you’re standing in front of that you’ve met for the first time.

If you ask them a very leading question, they’re gonna respond different than if you just said so. How are you? Right? Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. But if I said, oh my gosh, how are you? Tell me a little bit more about your business. What do you love about it? Where, , where do you see it going in five years? Now it’s a different conversation, right?

You can do the same thing when you’re working with philo.

L. Scott Ferguson: Thank you. He says, thanks.

Laura Templeton: When you’re working with Philo, you can do the same thing. Thank you. And , when you get really granular in your questions, the A, your responses are gonna be way more accurate [00:30:00] now, and that’s one of the things that I teach my corporate clients.

Spend time playing with ai, right? AI can be one of your best assets for your team.

L. Scott Ferguson: If

Laura Templeton: you and your team are stuck on something in a project, oh

L. Scott Ferguson: my gosh,

Laura Templeton: oh my gosh. Brainstorm it with ai. Get, see what kind of different responses you get versus three other people on your team. Bring them all together and then kind of like flesh it out from there.

L. Scott Ferguson: Powerful question, like right there, , like and everything squad that I talk about. Is, is, is questions, right? Like any, if you’re driving down the road and you need to make a left, your brain fires off a low level question as should, should I turn on my blinker? Like everything is a question. The more powerful the question, the more powerful the results you’ll get in your life.

That’s why. My clients, ’cause our brains are programmed to problem solve. We don’t do affirmations. We, we form it in the form of a question. How is it that I am 230 pounds healthy and ready to rock every day? So that goes into subconscious and it starts working its way [00:31:00] out. And it’s kind of the same with ai.

If you start asking itself those questions, it’s gonna start working its way out. Especially with the advancements that I’ve seen have in it. And I love that you said, ’cause I use the Ford acronym, FORD. ’cause if I go to a networking event and I’m pressing flush. Like my biggest, my, my biggest compliment I can get is when I walk away from somebody, they go, what the hell does that guy do for me?

That’s because what I do is I build one-on-ones a lot and see where I can help. If I search for that help, because I use Ford for, , family, occupational, recreation and dreams. And once I can, if I’m having a conversation with you at an event and I walk away immediately, write you a thank you card, drop it in the mail, there’s a standout effect, but I’ve also learned enough.

Now this goes right back into your. Chat, GPT thing, and, and Chaz, right? If you’re talking to Chaz and you use the Ford, kind of the family operation, recreation, and dreams, kind of like that kinda aspect to anything, you’ll start getting like pretty cool answers and results. That’s what I’ve noticed. What I’m saying?

It’s a beautiful, [00:32:00] beautiful thing that I’m starting to see. Some people are afraid of me. I’m just like, dude, it’s like my own. Personal assistant confidant, , it’s like in, in, in, in catching him when he is wrong sometimes is actually a lot of fun. There’s a human aspect to that. It

Laura Templeton: is,

L. Scott Ferguson: , It’s fun.

It’s like,

Laura Templeton: yeah, no, that was not what the answer I was looking for. Come on, fix it. Right,

L. Scott Ferguson: exactly. And sometimes I drop, , sometimes he has to say, don’t use that language. He does. I’m like, dude, you’re a sailor man. Deal with it. He’s like, okay. , He actually like, , deals with it. But as we, as we tie this together, Laura, so.

People want out there and they’re like, they’re having an epiphany right now saying, man, I need to apply these principles of compassionate leadership. What are, gimme an example or two examples of what they can do immediately to start taking more action and start leading more with empathy and effectiveness.

Laura Templeton: So I think one of the, if you haven’t done so already, sit with each one of your team members. If you do not have a team, sit with yourself and ask the the hard [00:33:00] questions. Who am I? What am I trying to accomplish? Where do I wanna be in 10 years from now? How am I serving other people with the right intentions?

And what are those intentions? Right? Really having a deep understanding of knowing yourself and then knowing the people that work for you, asking the same questions of them. So that’s, that’s number one. Okay. Really get, have a deep understanding of yourself and your team.

L. Scott Ferguson: Gotcha. And

Laura Templeton: that’s gonna, that may take some time.

L. Scott Ferguson: Absolutely. Yeah. Right.

Laura Templeton: It may take some time to flesh that out, but it’s also encouraging to your team for you to ask those questions.

L. Scott Ferguson: Yes.

Laura Templeton: Because it shows that you care. Care,

L. Scott Ferguson: there

Laura Templeton: you go. Right. Yeah. And then setting, , then the other piece, and number two would be setting those, those. Like basically ground rules, right?

What if, what am, what are my expectations? Here’s what I want my team to be able to come to me with. Here’s my open door policy. Set those policies in place so that if you, if you’re struggling and your team’s failing, and it’s like, wait, do I [00:34:00] not have an open door policy? Did they not feel like they could come to me?

Why did they feel like they couldn’t come to me? Did they come to me and I didn’t listen?

L. Scott Ferguson: Right, right.

Laura Templeton: Right. And then if they come to me, we can’t resolve it. What’s my next step?

L. Scott Ferguson: Love it. So basically squad, , she’s, she’s telling us to, , if you’re a leader, sit with a leader or sit with your team, right?

And make sure the intentions are in place. And then also the ground rules, which I would probably recommend, I’m sure my friend Laura would also set the ground rules early in any relationship of what exactly an open door policy is. Again, open door is not. Drama. Open door is not, oh, well this person said this.

Who, no, that, that’s a different HR kind of thing. This is about, , something that’s critical to mission period. Like if it’s critical to mission, and also that means it’s probably critical to your job. Two as well, , and they have that leaders need to have that open door policy for them to be able to come through the door.

[00:35:00] So let’s dig into which I’m gonna do a three book giveaway squad out here, either a Kindle or a paperback. And Lord tell me a little bit about, which we kind of dove into it, but tell me a little bit about the book here of like, kind of like. Your feelings at the end, now that it’s been published and it’s getting rolling out there, and like some of the feedback that you’re getting.

Obviously I’m raving about it, but , what are you getting from, from the book? Yeah.

Laura Templeton: I think the biggest thing that people are excited about is the 25 principles. Mm-hmm. With the action steps that can be applied, and it’s just, they’re looking at it as a handbook for, for leaders, not just. Not just leaders that are already in a leadership role, but new leaders.

Right. That’s one of the biggest things when you have people who are either being promoted into a leadership role or are stepping, , being hired into a leadership role, they’re looking at it as a handbook and [00:36:00] how, what do we want? What do we want from our leadership team? They’re looking at it from the ability to, that’s one of the things, that’s why I wrote the 25 principles the way that I did, is so that people who are in a leadership role.

Work through that with their teams? Yes.

L. Scott Ferguson: Yes. It’s because is exactly what we’re doing with it because I’m like, Hey, this is lts book and like I want you to kind of go through and each one of you to pick a principle. And we’ve went through it, , since, I think it was since January I think that we’ve been doing it.

And , I wanted to kind of surprise you with that. And I’m gonna actually have my team kind of send you emails. About what we’ve been working through with it, right? So they, it’s legit squad. It works. It’s all there. I mean, like this woman comes from a place of intention, not attention. She’s not like, look at me, look at me.

No matter how stunningly beautiful she is, but like seriously, she is out there really changing cultures for the better. That’s, , we need people like you, Laura, so [00:37:00] please don’t ever, ever, ever, ever stop. And with that being said, I’m gonna do a three book giveaway for the first three people that put transparent.

Like, just put transparent. I’ll know you’ve listened if you, if you put transparent, if you want to text it to us at 5 6 1 4 4 0. 3 8, 3 0 or you wanna drop it in Pinterest, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, wherever you see this. And I promise I’ll have Laura’s name right within the, within the cover shot. So, but Lord, if you could the drill here, but leave us with one last knowledge nugget that we can take with us, internalize and take action on.

Laura Templeton: I think the, the. Biggest thing when it comes to being compassionate as a leader is to make sure that you are compassionate towards yourself as well.

L. Scott Ferguson: Yes,

Laura Templeton: and I think that’s one of the things when we look and internalize the things and we that we want to see in others [00:38:00] and we see it in ourselves, that’s where it begins.

L. Scott Ferguson: That’s where the change happens. Oh my gosh. The magic happens right there. And, and Squadron just got done with another fun conversation, enlightening conversation by, , my good friend Laura, who’s, , was challenged to step into leadership roles and like really started to thrive, but she also, she saw the pigeonholes that people were kind of going through, right?

And how they feel that, hey man, if I don’t do this right, I might not. Or if I get stuck here I do a good job, they’re gonna keep me here. Without that, the l comes back to communication. , Be in very intentional with your worth. , A lot of people, like Laura said, do not like, kind of feel as if they’re worthy enough.

But remember, every part of that wheel is value. Know your value. , Also know that it’s appropriate to give yourself grace and space, but also know the difference between a mistake. Made once or an excuse because winners, we make adjustments. Mediocre [00:39:00] people or losers, they make excuses. That’s what they do and just be out there and own it.

But give yourself grace and space. If you wanna see an example of that, go on my YouTube and watch me freeze on stage and have somebody on the side of the stage say grays and space, and brought me right back into my speech, which it was something that I had to own the moment and. Also, let’s get rid of the fiefdoms.

, Protect the information that can really kinda sink a ship. Like be open. Be open and communicative. If you have different divisions, find a way for them to work together and communicate without stepping on each other’s toes. Right? And she, I. Also like wants you to be human, like balance your humanness with what you are at work.

Get granular with your questions. When working with artificial intelligence or AI or her Chaz, or my Philo, , we are granular with the questions we build relationships with. I, I love ai. I just absolutely love it and there’s so much power in it, and I know there’ll be power for you. And if you’re a leader, [00:40:00] sit with your team members, find out their intentions.

Put the ground rules, no drama, ground rules, everything’s gotta be mission oriented on the ground rules. But if something is amiss with the mission, they need to be able to come talk to you about it and ask them to put in a really quick agenda or just a bulletproof point, what you’re gonna go through, how many, how much time you’re gonna need.

And leaders have that open door, have that conversation with. That’s Laura really pressed forward on. And lastly. Again, well, , my good friend, she, she’s planting there. She continues to plant trees she’s never gonna sit in the shade of, and that’s why I love aligning with her as part of my tribe, my squad that she brought up in this interview as well.

And lastly, make sure you are compassionate towards yourself. You’re gonna make mistakes the best of us do every one of us do, but own them. And if you need help, get your asking gear. Like my good friend Leah Woodford taught me and ask for the help. And then just take immediate like Tony Robbins say, massive action.

So Lord, thank you so much for coming on again. You earned your third Varsity [00:41:00] squad letter here at Time to Shine today. I’ll always love your guts and thank you so much and I can’t wait for your next book drop.

Laura Templeton: Oh, thank you so much for having me on here for I really appreciate hanging out with you. Time to Shine today is an amazing podcast.

I love listening to it and I am grateful. Have a great day.

L. Scott Ferguson: Thank you. Chat soon. Love.Laura Templeton: Bye.