On today’s episode of No Bullshit with Alex Willis, you’ll be guided through the different ways power, position, and privilege show up on-site. Rather than challenging or ignoring them, Alex breaks down the ways you can leverage those existing dynamics, create a fair work environment, and create a culture of respect at your company. 02/04
What is Power? Who has it, and what does it look like?
When it comes to power, most people think of the rich and famous. However, not all power dynamics are self-evident. There are dozens of factors in play that influence the power we have over others. Even those with a leadership title must earn the respect of their peers before they are truly leading in their workplace.
On today’s episode of No Bullshit with Alex Willis, you’ll be guided through the different ways power, position, and privilege show up on-site. Rather than challenging or ignoring them, Alex breaks down the ways you can leverage those existing dynamics, create a fair work environment, and create a culture of respect at your company.
What to look out for in today’s episode:
In our second segment, The Level, you’ll dive into how power works in an organization, and what you can do to influence your position as a leader in the eyes of others. It turns out: the more power you give away, the more power you have in the long run.
Tune into our next segment, The Foundation, we explore the question: “What is respect?”. Starting at basic human decency, Alex breaks down our “force-field of values” and why it’s important for high-performing teams to have a standard of respect for each other.
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[00:00:00] Alex: Hey. Hey my friends. Welcome back to episode five. No Bullshit with Alex Willis, the go-to source for leadership development in the construction industry. Welcome to the level. Let's jump right into the level. So in our last segment, we talked a little bit about how we view people in society. Right. We talked about class, we talked about how we view people, how we rank people based on the latter system, but what can we do personal, right?
[00:00:33] Alex: So I love to show this thing called the five levels of leadership. This is something from John Maxwell. I mean, it's a phenomenal thing. We talk about it with all the leaders that we get a chance to in the construction industry because this, my friends will definitely change your life and how you lead and how you influence people.
[00:00:50] Alex: Right now, if we go back to talking about our first segment, we talked about power. And if we're really being honest, power as well as leadership is just influencing your ability to influence people, right? So what are those five levels that you need to think about as a leader that you need to use to your advantage to create belonging environments?
[00:01:11] Alex: Now, at the very, very bottom of the pyramid, we have what we like to call the positional leader. Now understand this, my friends, this is what I like to say is the lowest level of leadership, the lowest level of influence is here at this level. People follow you because they have to. They don't like you, they don't necessarily agree with you, but because you have a title that the company has given you, they follow you.
[00:01:34] Alex: Trust me. This is where you get little effort from the people as quick as possible. You wanna move out of level one into a level two. The level two is a permission leader right now, this is where you built great relationships with people, and people follow you because of what you have done for them, right?
[00:01:53] Alex: They follow you because of the relationship that you've built for them. You've gotten a chance to know them. You become culturally curious about them. This is where you really begin to say, yep, I understand that. I have a position here. But my job is to bring people together and create belonging environments, and you begin to really interact with people to get to know them well.
[00:02:15] Alex: Now, by doing this, my friends, it gives you a major level of influence in people's lives. When you can do this really, really well, you begin to see them for who they are. You begin to understand them. You begin to create relationships and understand the challenges that they have, where they are in life, and you're willing to talk to them about and have those challenging conversations.
[00:02:36] Alex: Right? Understand this, my friends, it's at this place right here that you begin to get rid of that statement that society used to say dumb shit, like I don't see color and I don't see gender. Dude, that is the worst thing in my opinion, that you could ever do or say. Please, please, please understand, you cannot miss the fact that I am a black male by you saying you don't see color.
[00:03:00] Alex: You negate my entire experience and what things I may go through on the construction job site, and life. Now, I'm not saying you necessarily have to treat me differently as a result of it, but you have to see it. You have to see it and say, wait a minute. Alex May face some challenges because of this.
[00:03:18] Alex: Because of that. By seeing that, understand that's doing a great job at that level two of creating great relationships. And at that point in time people begin to follow you and listen to you on your team and they give you permission to lead them. Now it's at that point, my friends, at a level two that you have to.
[00:03:36] Alex: Fast right now it's, it's as if someone has given you the keys to the car and they're said, Hey, listen, I trust you. I feel safe with you. You're creating a belonging environment. Hey, I'm willing to follow you at that point in time. You need to do maximum effort to create belonging environments, to be very inclusive, to get them involved right now.
[00:03:56] Alex: By doing that, it allows you then to move that ladder or the pyramid to that level three. And what's a level three leader? Well, level three is what I like to call a production leader. This is where you've done a great job of building relationships, building teams, and all of a sudden now you have high performing teams that can produce and perform well together because you cut down barriers between them.
[00:04:17] Alex: Right now as a leader, it's at this level. You get great results, my friends, because you've done a hell of a job cutting down difference and distance, alright? Difference and distance. You have to do that well to have high performing teams. Now I know what you think, Alex, what the hell does difference and distance have to do with diversity, equity, and inclusion and belonging?
[00:04:42] Alex: It has everything to do with it, my friends. This is what I like to call the soil. That helps us create phenomenal environments for teams. I want you to think about this. The higher the difference, the more I feel different, and the more you create an environment to make me or anyone on your team feel different, it creates a gap.
[00:05:03] Alex: The more distance you create between people, Hey, you go over there. Hey, you are this title. Hey, you can't talk to that person. When you begin to create barriers between people because of ethnicity, because of age, because of job title, because of skillset, you begin to create. Distance. So when I feel different and I have distanced my friends, all of a sudden, man, we have huge environment of exclusion.
[00:05:33] Alex: So as a leader at this level three, you wanna do a hell of a job doing a great job of creating less distance and small difference. If you can do that, you can begin to galvanize your team. Bring 'em together and people begin to work together really, really well. Here's the other thing. We realize at Level three, my friends, that people love winning.
[00:05:57] Alex: It's something about winning teams that people love, right? It's the same thing in corporate America. It's the same thing in our industry, in the construction industry, if you are a production leader who works on great projects, you make a shit load of money, you succeed quite frequently. Trust me, people want to be on your team.
[00:06:14] Alex: And it gives you a level of influence because of the results that you've gotten for the company, that you can then use that to create belonging environments and create places where people feel like they are a part. You can lose your influence. Now, here's the tough part about this. Most of our leaders in construction cap out at level three.
[00:06:35] Alex: They never make it to the top two tiers of the pyramid. And oftentimes I have leaders ask me, why is that, Alex? Why is it that in our industry, We typically don't make it to level four and five, and here's why. My friends, part of it is if we're being honest, our industry is all about results and numbers.
[00:06:55] Alex: So oftentimes leaders, if they're hitting their results and they're getting their numbers, they say, well, why do I need to go any further? Why should I do more? The other piece, my friend, is that oftentimes incentives stop at level three. Oftentimes you don't get paid to go to the top two levels, right?
[00:07:13] Alex: Those are things that you take on yourself to really begin to do other things. And so because of that, people tend to stay at that level three. The other reason they stay at level three is because oftentimes in our industry, we tend to have what I like to call an old mindset. Not necessarily a growth mindset, but we kind of stay stagnant in our ways, right?
[00:07:32] Alex: And we don't think that there's enough success for everyone. So therefore, we hoard our secrets. We hoard our secrets, we keep 'em to ourselves. Instead of sharing our knowledge, giving things away. In the construction industry, we say, Hey, listen, so that I can have a leg up on Jim or on Sally, I am not going to help them in their career.
[00:07:52] Alex: I'm not gonna tell them the secrets that I know, right? We don't realize this though. Truth be told, true power. True power lies in the top two level. The next level, level four is. People development. I'm going from just being a production leader, from just getting results to actually developing people in investing in people to help them become the best that they can be.
[00:08:19] Alex: This is where we really begin to take the bull by the horns. When it comes to inclusion, we're making sure that all people have fair chances. We're giving them opportunities. We're setting them up for success. We're trying to get them promotions. We're doing everything that we can to make them the best that they can be.
[00:08:37] Alex: And at this level, my friends, people follow you because of what you have done for them. I want you to think about it for a second. It's at this level that true leaders understand. The more power you give away, the more power you get. Give you a visual example. Oprah Winfrey. I guarantee you, if Oprah called Dr.
[00:09:00] Alex: Phil or Dr. Oz at any given time, they would drop what they're doing to come help. Why? Because she was a level four leader in their life. She helped build their careers. She was a champion to get them to where they are today. She what gave power away. She used her influence, she used her network to give it away to invest in others.
[00:09:26] Alex: When we talk about creating belonging environments that are inclusive, the level four leader man, you get people to run through brick walls for you because of what you've done for them. Now, at the very, very top, at the pinnacle of the triangle is this thing called respect. It's at this level that people begin to follow you simply because of who you are and what you stand for.
[00:09:52] Alex: They may not know the project that you're working on. They may not know how long the project is going to last. All they know is that you are involved and your reputation is so strong. You've done a great job of creating belonging environments. You've been an inclusive leader to the point that this group wants to come and follow you.
[00:10:14] Alex: If we can begin to do this really, really well, my friends, we really begin to have an impact and an influence on the entire environment. Now, what does this look like? Well, It doesn't require money. It doesn't necessarily require a ton of resources. I want you to think about it. Some of the best level five leaders that we know were dirt dog, poor Mother Teresa Gandhi, but they had people willing to follow them to the ends of their Earth.
[00:10:41] Alex: Why? Because of who they were, because of what they stood for, right? The level five leader is a leader that truly respects others and others give respect to them. So I want you to think about this. I need you to think about this. Where are you on this list? If you really had to grade yourself level one through five, a positional leader permission, where you've built relationships, are you a production leader?
[00:11:10] Alex: Have you really begin to branch out and develop people at a level four where you're developing people? Who are you up there at the very, very top level? Five, right? I hear people all say all types of things. Leaders tend to do one or two things when I ask that question. One, they tend to underrate themselves.
[00:11:24] Alex: Say, Alex, oh, I'm a 0.5 man. I just, I just low, low as me. I'm just as lonely, lonely leader, right? So I wanna challenge you. Don't do that shit to yourself. You're better than that, but don't do what people do on the opposite side either. I've had some leaders say, dude, I'm a seven. I'm like, dude, the fact of you saying that shit, bro.
[00:11:41] Alex: Means you are way down on the list, guaranteed, right? So it's important for you to self-evaluate yourself, but what's more important is this. What's more important is that you really begin to dive deeper and ask your team, ask those around you. Say, Hey, listen, from a scale of one to five, right, one being the lowest, five being the highest, where would you rank me?
[00:12:06] Alex: Here's why that's important. My friends, because their perception. Of you is your reality. You need to see where you are and understand that this is either going to give you the power to influence belonging environments, or you may be crippling yourself, hindering high performing teams and bringing people together because of your level of influence, right?
[00:12:28] Alex: So grading yourself out helps you do a hell of a job of understanding where you are. Now, the higher you go up on that list, the easier it will be. To gain influence over others right now. Please, please, please understand at any given time, my friends, we bounce around with this. If you start a new position, if you start with a new company, please understand you go back to one usually, and we have to work our way back up with new teams.
[00:12:55] Alex: As long as I like to give this advice, as long as you are staying between level 2, 3, 4, and five, you are dancing between those quickly. You're doing a hell of a job of creating belonging environment. Now, here's the deal. We all strive though, for the very, very top to be respected, right? That's what you wanna be respect now, but what the hell is respect?
[00:13:18] Alex: What is respect? In order to get there, we have to really understand what it is. How to get it and then how to give it to people. So in our next segment, my friends, in my next segment, we're going to really begin to dive in and talk about that top level tier. What the hell is respect, what is it? What does it look like?
[00:13:38] Alex: How do you get it though? Do other people deserve it? Can't people lose it? Is it important to build environments and understand? We're going to really, really talk about that in the next segment of the foundation. We're gonna build a strong foundation. To talk about respect. So I look forward to seeing you in the next segment.
[00:13:55] Alex: So I want to thank you for tuning in to No Bullshit with Alex Willis, the go-to source for leadership development in the construction industry. Now be sure to subscribe to YouTube and your favorite podcasting platform so that you can be notified when we release a new episode right now. For those, I wanna challenge you to leave a comment.
[00:14:14] Alex: We want to hear what you think about the show. I also wanna challenge you to leave some comments of some leadership challenges you may be seeing and facing at work. Because remember, we are here for you. We wanna help you be the best boat at work and at home, my friends. So until next time, I'll see you later my friends.