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Speech Transcript (very little editing so not exact)

Unknown Speaker  0:00  

Hey, this is Morag Barrett from sky team and if you really want to learn how to level up your life, you should be listening to the time to shine today podcast with my good friend Scott Ferguson

Unknown Speaker  0:11  

burn to shine today podcast varsity squad. This is Scott Ferguson and we’re Episode 225. With my really good friend more egg Barrett from sky team. The title of this podcast is really today’s solutions for tomorrow’s leaders. But there’s so much more there’s so much more depth to my good friend more egg, especially about building relationships, about having fun living in the moment, what to do when you’re going to hire a coach about being misunderstood and understanding and I’m not going to give away any more from this fantastic interview I did with my great friend more. So sit back, relax, break out your notebooks because you’re coming. I’m really good friend. More like Barrett from sky team. Let’s level up. Time to shine today podcast varsity squad. This is Scott Ferguson. And I got my sky team Rockstar who was introduced to me by my VIP rock star Miss Casey hastin. And I got more ag Barrett from the sky team. She is the CO She’s the author of cultivate, which if you listen to the end, I’m going to have a book giveaway that will be john Hancock. by my good friend, Morag. She is again She’s the author of cultivate the power of winning relationships and the future proof workplace. Her mantra is a business’s personal relationships matter. As the founder of sky team and international executive develop company development company. She’s supported the development of more than 10,000 leaders in 20 countries and six continents and I cannot wait to dig in to my good friend more ag story and more ag please come on introduce stuff the time to shine today podcast Farsi squad, but first, what’s your favorite color? And why apple? Purple? Why

Unknown Speaker  1:54  

is that? Because it’s my favorite color. I mean, does it need to go any deeper than that

Unknown Speaker  1:59  

I do hear time to shine today, we like to know that I think Apple is vibrant is the color of royalty. There you go. You can hear it in your voice, we got a little British going on over there. And royalty is where it’s all at. And that’s what purple and purple is also red and blue. And blue has that kind of cool. And common. Red is firing and ready to rock and I think more eggs, a lot of red in there as well, somewhere. Let’s get to your story. Let’s hear about this. I want to see how we came up the sky team.

Unknown Speaker  2:27  

Oh, wow. Oh, my goodness. Well, the potted history I’m on my fifth career was going to be an engineer a bit of a geek and nerd five people and applied mathematics at high school, you know, that sort of thing. So I think there was six of us in that class, I was the only girl in both. But there was a chapter I had to do economics as well. And there was a chapter on how banks create money. And I thought, Oh, my goodness, this is fascinating. So I actually went into banking. And it’s nothing like that chapter on economics. I spent 15 years in banking in the UK lending millions of pounds to different types of companies, all stages of their evolution, all of them who came to the bank and essentially said, 30, I’ve got this new thing, we’re gonna get rich Highland cow has this fancy cash flow forecast, etc. But what I realized quite early on is it was as easy as the numbers on a spreadsheet, we’d all be rich. And what I realized was that the companies that were successful, were the ones that didn’t just invest in the widget or service, they paid as much attention to how business gets done, either human side. So that’s what pivoted me from numbers into leadership and executive development. And as a result, I ended up moving to Colorado for an American telecom company. And then 14 years ago, in the blink of an eye, I started sky team, and we now work with leaders around the world, on how to bring your human to work. And that’s the potted story of from there to here. And who knows what and in between two books a third on the way, three boys, all six foot tall. I’m a ballroom dancer for a little bit of fun when we’re allowed up close with other people. There you go.

Unknown Speaker  4:12  

I love that. I love that bring your human Tory That’s fantastic. So the more what makes a great leader.

Unknown Speaker  4:17  

One who is curious, curious about just curiosity for me is what makes the difference to a leader because when we’re curious, we’re open to other people’s points of view. wrong though they might be when we’re curious. We’re open to the fact that we as leaders might be wrong on many occasions and therefore open to changing our view. So for me, it is curiosity because from that curiosity, you can build connection with the people who work with and for you.

Unknown Speaker  4:52  

Love that I love curiosity is key in leadership. And that’s what I am so curious. I want to know better So I kind of started to under shine today is like, I’m curious about everybody’s, how they got their wives where they got to why they’re there. And I can pick up a Knowledge Nugget, from every single person that I bring on here. It’s a selfish thing for me, but my squad, my listeners, get to actually, you know, get the fruits of that labor as well. So thank you so much. So then if you’re starting to work with a company, and you’re you’re kind of going to the discovery period, what is some secret sauce over a SkyTeam, if you don’t mind sharing, to help them maybe find their blind spot.

Unknown Speaker  5:36  

So it goes back to curiosity and asking questions. And being skeptical, I mean, websites and so on, will give you what the marketing team want you to believe about the organization. Glass Door, obviously will give you the predominantly negative stories, and those who’ve got an axe to grind or a story to vent. But what we like to do is go in and talk to a cross section of leaders at all levels. So for me, you’re asking, again, what makes for a great leader? Well, leadership happens at all levels in organizations. So we will go in and spend time not just reading dark documents, but also understanding what makes this place special, because irrespective of the blind spots, most organizations are successful, you’re in business that success really, but you’re missing opportunities for the sake of and that dot, dot dot fill in the blank comes through the power of those conversations. And it always amazes me, just what people are willing to share with me a complete stranger, the outside consultant, when I say to him will forgive you mentioned that to your boss, have you raised it internally? And it’ll be? No, I couldn’t possibly. So we’re able to then distill down those themes and present them in a way that isn’t finger pointing, pointing and blame, but allows a company and leadership to capitalize on the strengths that are already there. But then make an informed decision around where do you want to polish off the edges? Where do you want to course correct, so that you can pick up speed, and being nimble and agile, especially in a changing environment like we’re in right now.

Unknown Speaker  7:13  

I love that. So while you’re in that discovery period, and kind of working things out and getting the game plan in place, is there any good question that you wish they would ask you, but never do? Oh,

Unknown Speaker  7:25  

turning the magic on? I mean, I’m often asked the question that most bamboozles me befuddles me and a few other B’s is, how long will this take? And they can you do it in half a day? Or that whole desire to move? I’m always gonna minute you’ve taken months and years to behave yourself into this situation. I’m good. My team is very good. But we aren’t miracle walkers. Here’s your workers. Here’s some pixie dust and right. And so that’s the question, which is an appreciation for when we’re talking about culture change. When we’re talking about individually and collectively unlearning and relearning new habits. Anybody who’s tried to go on a diet or start a new exercise regime? We all know it takes time. Yeah. So that’s the piece where I, I wish sometimes we could have a little an easier conversation around just how long is this going to take?

Unknown Speaker  8:22  

It didn’t take somebody, you know, 20 minutes to get fat and took them months. So there’s time and there’s that gestation period of the new coaching. That happens, and I’m glad I mean, I would I wish my clients you know, when I bring them in, would ask, you know, what’s expected of me a lot of them don’t they just expect you to put that pixie dust down, like you said, and go forward with that. So I don’t want to get your because you work with companies and organizations. And my squad also wants to know, but you know, when I get brought in, you know, you’ll have your you’re usually brought in by like the highest rank or you know, like the CEO or whatever. But there’s always that guy that’s below him or girl. And they’re like, kind of hurts, because they’re like, why do we need this person to come in? When we’re going and we’re making money and we you know, but the CEO says, Listen, there’s something missing, we need to level up. How do you handle that maybe second person in command.

Unknown Speaker  9:14  

Oh, I love a good skeptic. And here’s the thing, I work with the early adopters. And there are always going to be I’m going to I was a skeptic. If I go back to my early banking career. I remember for example, when emotional intelligence was first being talked about as a phrase and in banking. I remember being told, it’s not personal, it’s just business. And I was still drinking that Kool Aid and I thought, oh, emotional intelligence. You know, it’s the latest buzzword. I remember my boss saying and leave your emotions at the door. Well, the more I study it, the more I come around in terms of this is core to everything. We can’t leave our emotions at the door. Think about the last 12 months I’ll be honest, learning to live in a two dimensional zoom virtual rotation world was not a world. I believed if you want to be a better human You need to learn to do that with other humans in a 3d environment. Sure. Well, the pandemic made sure that we all had to change. Well, now I have the full studio setup. And while I have experienced and some of your listeners will be the same PowerPoint presentations and virtual delivery that makes you just want to poke your eye out. Yeah, we hate bad internet, I’m going to have to hang up Fergie. When it’s done well, like we’ve learned to do it. SkyTeam it can be transformational. Awesome. You mean when you talk about laying down being Hey, not in my backyard, not me. Who needs it? Fine. You know what will accelerate the success of your peers. And when you see the results that they’re getting? You’re going to want a piece of that pie. right back to you later.

Unknown Speaker  10:44  

You keep them looped in on everything, though, right? More I say that again. You keep it you keep even the skeptics looped in on everything correct?

Unknown Speaker  10:51  

Absolutely. bring them on board, bring the skeptics into the let’s design the program, then there you go. If you don’t believe it’s going to work, what does success look like for you? What are the things that you’ve tried before that we don’t want to replicate? Or we want to try in a different way? Right. So bring them close, because then it’s not being done to them. It’s being done with them. And it’s being done with their own hearts and mind and their own wires you talked about earlier on? front and center.

Unknown Speaker  11:19  

Love it. I love that you said that. So, you know. Have you seen the movie Back to the Future?

Unknown Speaker  11:27  

I know I look very young but yes, I have seen back to the okay. Okay, a couple of times. Lovely

Unknown Speaker  11:32  

to meet you. I’m I’m coming up on 50. So I’ve seen it probably 4050 times it’s crazy one of my favorite movies, but let’s get that DeLorean with Marty McFly. Let’s go back to the 22 year old Morag more egg. What knowledge nuggets as we call him here, time to shine today, what knowledge I guess you drop in on her to maybe help her level up blast through maybe shorten that learning curve just a little bit.

Unknown Speaker  11:55  

There are two. And it’s everything that I do right now and from cultivate. It’s the fact that relationships matter. And whilst I didn’t have damaged relationships at work, I was not intentional about maintaining and nurturing them. And so at 22, if I had invested in my network, then, as I did in my mid 30s onwards, and as I do now, I think that would have accelerated my career in a different way. Now, it might mean that you and I aren’t meeting right now in a parallel universe that I’m glad I didn’t have that nugget then. But yeah, it’s never too soon to invest in the quality of your relationships. And the second one is Believe in yourself. Because certainly in my banking career, which in the 90s, because I’m the other side of 50, I’ll say forget, can’t see it, but I’ll take your word for it. Well, there you go. So, but I remember it, it was definitely a hierarchical male dominated world. When I became a bank manager and a pillar of community. I started on the entry level salary for that grade, which was a third of what the retiring male manager was making for the exact same role. But I remember being told I was too young to be a manager, I just been put through the accelerated Management Development Program. Then it was you haven’t worked in a big enough branch. So you move to the next one, then you haven’t managed a big enough team, it was always hurdles. Yeah. So here’s the thing, you’ve got to stay in the game. So you’ve got to believe in yourself first and go for those opportunities. Even if you aren’t 100%, checking all the boxes. And if you aren’t getting those opportunities where you are, have that conversation with your boss, and make a choice to stay anyway, or go to a different pond, a different company, a different team to get those opportunities while I was working still on the keep my head down, work hard, do good work, and eventually that will get recognized. And we need to all stand in our own truth and be ready to say, Actually, I am ready. Give me a chance. Here’s what I’m looking for.

Unknown Speaker  14:04  

Well, that’s amazing. And thank you for that for sharing that that’s like transparency with value add but with a story and think thank you for sharing that. So how do you want your dash remembered more? That that little line in between your incarnation date and your expiration date your life date and death date on your tombstone? How do you want Morag staff dash remembered?

Unknown Speaker  14:26  

Oh gosh, having said goodbye to both of my parents. My dad’s funeral was part of the catalyst for me because it wasn’t just that he knew somebody he knew everybody. And the first thing that came to mind when you ask about that dash, is that dash is a connector. Yes. And that’s what I want to be remembered for. Because the quality and the powerful professional relationships and social relationships we have is what transforms the satisfaction with life with work with everything. And so if I want to be remembered It’s as the connector, the go to person who will either help you to identify and resolve your blind spots and challenges. Or if I can’t, I know somebody who can. And either way you when you move forward love that

Unknown Speaker  15:13  

love such as place of service right there fantastic. More than what keeps you up at night.

Unknown Speaker  15:21  

Other than indigestion. It was funny this week, I had a 10 hour sleep night, which I’ve never had, but I put it down to the second COVID job, and I woke up the next day energized. But what keeps me awake at night, and I’m definitely a glass half full person. I am excited by life. Though I share that with the caveat that I recently published a LinkedIn post talk talking about how I’d lost my mojo and found it again. So as much as I’m glass half full, that’s what keeps me awake at night, more often than not, is the ideas and the excitement about how can we communicate the importance of our network and relationships at work in a way that resonates for people. And the dark days when I still have them like losing my mojo at the beginning of this year. It’s the How do I it’s still around how do I move faster? It’s usually the negative side which is not moving fast enough. Right? And I have to give myself grace to under give yourself some props man,

Unknown Speaker  16:23  

pat on the back. You’re killing it. I love it. So then what do you think people misunderstand about you the most?

Unknown Speaker  16:33  

What do they miss understand the most other than my accent? I love it. I love it. Thank you, Texas drawl when I’m not on camera at a keynote where somebody said, Are you more expert, you’ll know she’s not from around here. She doesn’t speak English. And I’m thinking Actually, I do you can English, right? Um, so how am I often misunderstood? I think my pace, one of the things I am continuing to learn is to enjoy and revel in silence. I’m now being at home arrest for the last year, I’ve got to enjoy the silence a lot more. But because I think quick, I joined dots in different ways I get excited about what you’re saying. I can talk quickly. I have a habit of interrupting. And I have to remind myself that that gets interpreted as rudeness arrogance, I’m not interested in what you’re saying. And in fact, it’s quite the reverse. It’s you’ve just said something fabulous. And I want to go deep, deep. Yeah, I’m using a new phrase in my workshops, it will be in the third book that my misunderstood genius. Is somebody else’s brilliant jerk at best. And that’s where again, you’re misunderstood brilliance. Yes, you’re misunderstood genius, or genius. Is somebody else’s brilliant jerk. Hopefully brilliant. You can drop the brilliant, but that’s it. And so when I’m saying well, they just don’t understand me. That’s not their problem. That’s mine. I’m

Unknown Speaker  18:16  

just a brilliant jerk. Jerk. Yeah. Okay, now that colleague we just got there she goes

Unknown Speaker  18:23  

the heck up. Sometimes you’re not saying it out loud. But you’re thinking, hey, smile on your face. So what is your definition of a life well lived?

Unknown Speaker  18:34  

Well, if you look at my corporate values, they kind of represent what they do represent my life values, we have a corporate values. What you need to know is four of them have fun. Okay. And so for me a life well lived is fun, live in the moment, prepare for the future, because we don’t know what’s going to happen. But live for the moment. Don’t put off the things that you want to do, whether it’s travel to write a book to be a keynote speaker to start a business, give it a go. Because what you don’t want to do as others are talking about the the connector the dash, at your eulogy. Yeah, to be going oops, too late.

Unknown Speaker  19:13  

Right. Right. And the thing is, is I have my coaching clients and my company is I always tell them to overlap happiness. And what I mean by that is, everything’s finite. Whether you’re going through a bad day, that day is going to end if you if you’re like I’m going to visit Fergie, I’m speaking with Fergie in Miami. Next weekend. You’re so stoked. Guess what? That weekend’s gonna end right? You’re gonna fly back to Colorado, beautiful Colorado, but you’re so stoked. Like, I just am a big believer that overlap happiness, whether it’s holding a door for someone and making them smile, or passing on the compliment. That’s that’s one thing that I know that you do, because I’ve watched so many of your YouTubes I’ve watched you in action a little bit. And I love that you do that. So let’s take our cell phone, our computer, our tablets, anything electric tronic out of this question, let’s take it out. What are three things that more I can’t live without?

Unknown Speaker  20:07  

So I can’t live without the ballroom dancing only a few years that we have to look that up. Goodness. That is like Fly Me To The Moon a bit of Frank Sinatra good Foxtrot, or going to the grizzly Rose and the cowboy bar and doing it swing dancing or whatever. And something that I didn’t think I would ever be able to do. So that and music and so when my mum passed away because classical music was what I grew up with, I was not rock and pop and stuff. Because classical music when she passed away for literally five years, I couldn’t listen to music, it was just too ingrained in memories. It was heartbreaking. And it coincided at the end of that period moving to the States, and joining the Broomfield Symphony Orchestra, and I’m bassoonist flautist, I also play the piano and I remember your long term blue taste I think is how you pronounce it. But I remember coming back from that first rehearsal forget and I was literally bouncing off the walls I had refound myself because I put it in a little box and put it away kind of connected dancing. That’s the movement music and just you know, good chat a glass of wine and friends and colleagues. It’s the fun piece in a different way but at a slower pace.

Unknown Speaker  21:23  

Background music and just putting the world right here a lot of community and those three things and I love that about you. That’s fantastic. Time to shine today podcast. Firstly, Scott, we are back with my sky team rock star more like Barrington, where we like to take our interview ease through our leveling up lightning round you and I could talk literally and I’m not even exaggerating an hour on each one of these questions. You have five seconds with no explanation. So that urge to talk and explain. Drop it for the six or seven questions. You’re ready to rock. Indeed. All right, let’s level up. More. What’s the best leveling up advice you’ve ever received? Take the step forward. Yes. share one of your personal habits that contributes to your success. Passion. Yes. Other than sky team that’s sky e team.com. And of course time to shine today.com my shameless plug. What website Do you like to go to to level up? HBr beautiful. Mark, you’re seeing me like Fergie just looks like he’s in the doldrums. He’s a little bit down other than cultivate. What book would you hammy to level up?

Unknown Speaker  22:34  

Oh, the advice trap by Michael bungay.

Unknown Speaker  22:37  

You’re the first friggin person ever say it. And that’s fantastic read. So I’m putting that in the show notes. Thank you so so much. More. What is your most commonly used emoji?

Unknown Speaker  22:48  

Oh, smiley face or a unicorn.

Unknown Speaker  22:50  

Love it. Okay, and don’t friggin lie to me on this young lady. Okay. But if you can stay one age, for the rest of your life physically, physically for the rest of your life, and still keep all the knowledge you’ve garnered, and continue to seek wisdom. What age physically would you stay for the rest of your life? Whatever it is today. Okay. Well, your take 32 all day. I’ve been in combat sports my whole life. I’m coming up on 50 I’ll take 32 year liar. But I love you. So what’s your favorite charity and organization like to give your time or money to? Alright, so anything to do with the arts? So music? Yeah. Awesome. Last question. I know you didn’t really get into music, but what is the best decade of music to you? 6070s 80s or 90s? You can elaborate?

Unknown Speaker  23:36  

Oh, no, I’m so I’m going to go with the 90s. Really? Okay, why No, I was just leaving high school and I was listening to more of it then. But that’s still an eclectic set selection.

Unknown Speaker  23:49  

God I’m an 80s guy just because everything happened. I was born in 72. So like 80s was my years. So you had you know all the British Invasion more. I mean, obviously the Beatles but in the 60s but like you had the British invasion, Irish invasion with YouTube Duran Duran all that stuff. So I’m an 80s guy but I respect the 90s I was in the military the whole time The 90s were so it was funny. I would go to see I’d come back and all these new songs will be on the radio they were so good. They’re like that song came out like seven months ago. Like I mean gone a year. That’s awesome. So Miss more like how can we find you?

Unknown Speaker  24:23  

So the website which you kindly shared earlier, Sky Team Sky e team.com. But the reality is with an unusual name, just google more ag Barrett, you’ll find me and please do connect with me on LinkedIn. I’d love to get to know your story.

Unknown Speaker  24:36  

Excellent. And we’re going to put that on the show notes and squad. We’re also going to have a giveaway of cultivate the power of winning relationships paperback version. I’m going to purchase it and send it to my good friend Morgan. She’s going to sign it and send it to the first person that comments on either LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, anywhere with Sky team. I love sky team and must say I love sky team and we will get your information I’m going to send the book to I’m going to purchase the book Morag will sign it and hopefully she’ll take care of the posters if not I’ll take care of that as well. But that was fantastic I can’t wait to read I just put it on my list I’m sorry that I’ve just been crazy booked are also usually read all my guest stuff, but I’m going to read it and more if you can pretty please leave us with one last Knowledge Nugget you want us to take with us internalize and take action.

Unknown Speaker  25:31  

Investing in your professional relationships is not a nice to do. It’s a need to do because businesses personal and relationships matter.

Unknown Speaker  25:40  

Yes. So it’s not a nice to do button you need to do and love that is going as your quote in squad. We just had a free masterclass my really really good friend, Maureen Barrett, who is in her fifth career, you know, she wants you to bring your human to work. She believes that a great leader is curious. It keeps you open to others point of view even if they’re wrong, you can still learn from that also, you might pick up a step from one of your subordinates that can actually help you level up just make sure you give them the credit also, you know, she believes in asking powerful questions and listens with all the senses not just your ears, but her eyes are they she’s going to watch your your emotion she’s going to watch your reactions and when she wants you to remember that relationships matter to be intentional them and maintain and nurture those relationships. We want you to believe in yourself. Stay in the game. Like we say hear from my good friend Leah would forget you’re asking your if you don’t know something, ask somebody in stand in your own amazement. She will she will be remembered and she is being remembered on a macro scale as a connector. the go to person she does that all through the service. She She does what she loves in the service of people that loves what she does. And that’s what I love about my good friend, Maureen. She wants you to communicate to resonate. She wants you to learn to rebel in silence, like we say, have a daily sabbatical. Just shut up. silence is golden. The answers are always in silence. And also I have pages of notes. I’m just picking the ones that really she wants you to have fun in the moment, but prepare the two for the future. And relationships in good and business and personal is not a nice to do but a need to do and like she said before maintain and nurture those relationships. That’s what my good friend Warrick does, she’s humble yet hungry. She levels up her house. She levels up her wealth. She’s part of the time to shine today podcast varsity squad. She’s earned a varsity letter. I’m blessed to know and I can’t wait to collaborate with her a little bit in the future. Love your guts so much. Thanks, Fergie. It’s been a pleasure. Talk soon. Bye now. Hey, thanks so much for listening to this episode of time to shine today podcast. Proudly brought to you by Southern Nugent real estate real estate excellence, who can be reached at 561-249-7266 and online at www dot Sutter in nugent.com. If you’re a business owner or professional who would like to be interviewed on time to shine today, please visit time to shine today.com flash guest. If you liked this episode, please subscribe on Apple podcast, Google podcast, Stitcher, Spotify, I Heart Radio or wherever you get your podcast. There’s a link in the show notes to our website. Also there you will see our recommended resources. We hope that you will support our show by supporting them. If you like what you have been listening to, it’d be great if you could just give us a five star rating and tell your friends how to subscribe while you’re at it. I’m your host, Scott Ferguson. And until next time, let’s level up. It’s our time to shine.

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