Jan. 20, 2026

Camelot or Corporate Mediocrity: Choose Your Leadership Legacy

Camelot or Corporate Mediocrity: Choose Your Leadership Legacy
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If your leadership vision doesn’t feel a little audacious, it’s probably too small. In this episode, Gray McDowell and I explore why King Arthur’s Camelot remains a powerful leadership provocation in an age of disruption and distrust. Honor, quest, and excellence aren’t outdated—they’re precious and rare. Leave the dagger. Take the sword. Build something worth remembering.

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WEBVTT

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The topics and opinions express in the following show are

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solely those of the hosts and their guests, and not

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W FOURCY Radio.

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What's working on Purpose? Anyway? Each week we ponder the

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answer to this question. People ache for meaning and purpose

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at work, to contribute their talents passionately and know their

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lives really matter. They crave being part of an organization

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that inspires them and helps them grow into realizing their

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highest potential. Business can be such a force for good

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in the world, elevating humanity. In our program, we provide

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guidance and inspiration to help usher in this world we

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all want working on Purpose. Now, here's your host, Doctor

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Elise Cortes.

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Welcome back to the Working and Purpose Program, a thought

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leadership platform for creating inspirational leaders and destination Workplaces, which

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has been brought to you with passion and prides since

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February of twenty fifteen. Thanksure tuning in again this week.

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I'm your host, doctor ELISEE.

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Cortes.

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If we have not met before and you don't know me,

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I'm an organizational psychologist, workforce advisor, and management consultant. I

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am committed to helping leaders and their teams grow into

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their higher potential, to unite and inspire through purpose, lived

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values and healthy, vibrant cultures of GUSTO that on least

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high performance and business results have become a legacy you

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can be proud of. Let's collaborate. You can learn more

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about us and how we can work together at gustodeshnow

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dot com or my personal site at least Coortes dot com.

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With us today is Gray McDowell, a seasoned consultant helping

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companies across various industries navigate organizational transformation, change management, talent development,

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and strategy. He serves as a consulting manager at Capjim

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and I Invent, where he specializes in accelerating program delivery

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and driving for organizational change for his clients. He's the

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author of Crafting a Corporate Camelot where leadership becomes a legend,

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which will be talking about today. We'll be talking specifically

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about the promise of the Camelot Principles in today's world

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of business, some leadership challenges that I think you'll all

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relate to, and how the Camelot Foundation can strengthen organizational

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performance and help us create the legacies we crave. Great

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Joints is from Jacksonville, Florida. A hearty welcome to working

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on Priscoss Gray.

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Thanks for having me.

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You're so welcome, As I told you in one of

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our I'm sure first interactions. I absolutely love the playful

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nature of your book, its contents and all of it.

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So before we get into a bit of your background,

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let's just open with the promise and why are we

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celebrating King Arthur and Camelot.

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Well, I think the King Arthur and Camelot tale is timeless,

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and that's what first drew me to this particular allegory.

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I can't even really my finger on whether it was

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a podcast or an article that I read that really

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connected the dots for me, But as I started to

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go down that rabbical everything just kind of clicked, and

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I think whether you're living in medieval England or present

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day United States, you're struggling in some organizations, some team dynamic,

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to find your place and to hopefully inspire others.

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I so appreciate that, And of course you know, you

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and I both know because of the work that we do,

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the power of story. So being able to elevate these

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possibilities of our leadership and organizations through relating to the

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story of Camelot is just part of what makes it

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so so enticing and compelling. And I love how you

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situate that, you know, the symbolism of Camelot is so

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there for us. It represents a timeless ideal, a utopian

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society built upon ethical leadership, honorable value is purposeful quests,

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and an unwearying belief in the power of unity and collaboration.

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Sounds like a good organization to me.

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Same here, same here, And I think that's another reason

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why I thought it made such a great allegory for

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leadership in organizational change. Because most people, not just within

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our country but globally know the story, whether it's the

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original text or one of the many TV shows or

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movies or adaptations that have taken place. I think we

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can all connect the dobts and we have a general

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sense of what we're talking about. And I think it's

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also unique because it's one of those timeless stories where

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it really it takes you through an entire journey of

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somebody's life from that nobody who pulled a sword out

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of a stone, who became king, had to really pull

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together his knights of their reun table, build a kingdom

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and then faced real challenge and real adversity up until

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the point of you know, he lost his kingdom. He

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didn't have a succession plan. There really wasn't the day after,

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and I think that that gives us pause, but it

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also lets us know that hey, even if King Arthur

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couldn't figure it out, we shouldn't. It's great to have

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ambition and goals, but we shouldn't beat ourselves up if

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we some look along the.

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Way right and we will stumble along the way. That's

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the nature of today's world for sure. This is why

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we need to help and you know, a hand up.

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So I wanted to talk a little bit about your

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background and just what you've been doing, because just your

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book alone is incredibly compelling, but then you have all

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these years of helping develop other organizations and help them transform. So,

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you know, if you could say a little bit about

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your backgrounds so people understand what you've done.

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But why this.

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Area, I mean, why not you know, I don't know architecture, accounting,

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you know why this particular field.

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Well, it's funny you mentioned architecture, and because at one

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point I was an architecture major in college. Now and

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I became a business major, And the first few years

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after college I did real estate comiens. First in the

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private sector, real estate appraisal work. I was living in

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Houston at the time, wasn't very good at it, and

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I thought, well, maybe if I moved into the public sector.

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So I went to go work for the well at

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the time, the Department of Defense the Navy as a civilian,

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and that really didn't inspire me either. I kind of

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fell back into human resources, training development, really fell in

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love with it, so got my masters, began a career

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in corporate learning and development L and D, and then

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eventually just clicked with this more niche field of change management.

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And I've been doing that six or seven years. I'll

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still do training and development as part of a through

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organizational or transformational change initiative.

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But it just it.

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I'm passionate about it. I don't mind this past weekend.

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I spent almost the entire week weeken catching up on

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a new project. And although yes, it's work, work is work,

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I didn't feel like I was wasting my time, that

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I wasn't spending my time doing something more value. Add

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it fed my soul as well as my bank account.

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So I think if you can find that in life

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and not make yourself sick and not make yourself crazy,

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I think you're doing pretty good.

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I would agree.

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That's what I'm out to help more and more people

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in organizations do as well, So find that spot. So

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what I find so interesting and reading your book, of course,

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as I told it before we got on it, there's

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nothing in your book that I don't completely align with.

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There's nothing in it that doesn't I don't completely say yes,

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I agree with that. And yet so many organizations are

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foundering and they don't understand why and there and maybe

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don't even realize the extend to which they're floundering or

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they're not getting the results that they want. So one

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of the things I wanted you to speak to from

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your book and your own experience is just why so

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many organizations tend to fail in their quest to realize

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their initiatives, to to to achieve the results they're trying

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to achieve. There's just a few things that I thought

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were pretty interesting that kind of distilled into whatever it

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was a handful of things.

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I think for me, it always it always comes back

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to authenticity and adaptability. And within the book, I'm constantly drawing.

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Parallels. Again, you'll notice in the book that.

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I'm giving a lot of props, a lot of credit

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to the thought leaders that have come before me. That

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I'm standing on the shoulders of giants, and I recognize that,

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and absolutely this is this is really a phrase to

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some of my favorite thought leaders in the space. But

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I think far too often we lose our north star,

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if we had one to begin with. I think we

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feel like growing in an organization. Again, whatever industry you're in,

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whatever sector you're in, we go through these life changes.

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You're adolescent, or you're a teenager, or you're a young adult.

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When you're an organization, you're a new hire, you're a learner.

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Then okay, maybe you're a lynch pin of the organization.

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You're not new, but you're also not one of the

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senior leaders are you're leading, you're steering the ship, and

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you feel like you're taking off one pat and putting

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the next one on instead of understanding that to be

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truly successful, to be value added, and to fill truly

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at home and what you're doing and where you're at,

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you really have to balance. You have to be a

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learner from day one.

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To the c suite. You have to be a.

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Leader from day one doing the little things, small stuff

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to eventually be a director, a vice president, a president,

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a CEO. And then you also have to remember that

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whether you are new or whether you're established, you have impact.

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You have impact to make the organization more successful or

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make it toxic. So you have that ability to.

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To be an author or to be a Mordred.

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I so appreciate that. And there are so many things.

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You have such a beautiful way throughout your book of

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really throwing through a lot of the major concepts that

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you sort of reinforce in different ways. Again and to

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the note of why so many organizations fail to realize

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their initiatives, one of the things that I thought was

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so interesting and that I find too in my work

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is that you say it oftentimes it boils down to

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that they're they're they're not there's a lack of authentic leadership,

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which is what you said before, that genuine collaboration and

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a clear compelling purpose that really unites people around a cause.

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And so what we're seeing, what you see you say

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in results, is that people do say there's an effective

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leadership here, there's very poor communication, they feel disconnected from

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the organization's mission.

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And these things are.

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All things that a leader can really really address and

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I know and you do that beautifully in your book.

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So I wanted to situate those things as well, because

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that's very crisp. It's easy to get your head around

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those things. If you can get some of those things right, wow,

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you can do a lot to elevate your cause. So

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let's talk a little bit about some of the foundational

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pillars of Camelot again. It was just delightful. I always,

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you know, eleven years hosting this podcast, Gray, I've been

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delighted and learned a lot about how really good books

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are organized, and yours is one of those that's extremely

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well organized and builds on itself. And so I love

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the idea that you situate, you know, some foundational pillars

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that include things like chivalry, inclusive leadership, and mentorship, which

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you tell talk about throughout your book. So let's talk

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about the idea of chivalry and how that shows up

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in today's world, because it sounds very archaic and old fashioned,

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and you almost understand that it really isn't either of

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those things.

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Well, again, thank you for the kind words. I hope

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my head doesn't get too big too. I mean the

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screen is only so so palitied, but I appreciate that.

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I broke the book into three sections. The foundation of

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came lot what we're going to talk about now, the

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challenges of leadership, and then building your corporate came a lot.

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And in the first section, to your point, we talk

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about the code of chivalry first, and then the roundtable

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mentorship and the quest. But really focusing on the code

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of chivalry. I think it's important again wearing multiple hats.

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You're the learner, the leader of the lynchpin. You really

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have to understand that when you join an organization, when

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you're part of the team, there are core value use

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there's an ethos, there's a mission vision, whether it's a

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good one, whether it's been updated, whether it's lived. It's

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there so it's understanding. As a lynchpin, you have to

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find a way to coexist in that culture, in that ecosystem.

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But you also have to be true to yourself. So

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as a learner, you have to know, even if you're

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brand new to the world of work, you have to

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know what your boundaries are. You have to know what

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are your red lines or your lines in the sand.

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And as a leader, you have to be willing to

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speak up and do the right thing, even if it

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could be potentially adverse to your reputation in terms of

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you know, this person is a good person or this

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person is a strong professional, but you don't want to

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let the intimidation of power dissuade you from doing the

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right thing, from being ethical, from treating people respectfully. All

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that's extremely important because thinking that you.

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Know you can you can.

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Turn a blind eye on a few things today to

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fight another day. You know, you don't want to jeopardize

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your position. You feel like, Okay, well, I'm in a

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position of leadership. I have so much authority. I'm going

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to let things slide. I'm not going to die on

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that bill so that I can come back tomorrow, because

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if I'm gone or if you know, the bullseyes on me,

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My team will suffer, the organization will suffer. You really

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can't look like that because it's a slippery slope and

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everybody's watching you. And if you do have authority, people

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are going to model your behavior.

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Yeah, and you you you point out some you know,

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some strong companies that you know have managed to be

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able to navigate that well over the years, like Microsoft,

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Patagony and Self and then you talk about how just

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numerically they regularly outperform their less principled peers. And then

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of course we can look to some examples where you know,

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where that slippery slope got, you know, steeper and steeper,

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and the momentum built and built, and you know those

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that didn't end well of course, like the Wells Fargo

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fake account scandal, the Volkswagen emission scandal. Boy, you know,

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being at the helm of those companies when that stuff

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goes down, who you know, that's tough.

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Yeah.

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In some organizations like Wells Fargo and Volkswagen, they're able

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to make catastrophic errors in judgment and bounce back. Now

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in some cases they're still having to dig themselves out

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of halls reputationally financially both others, Like in Ron Arthur Anderson,

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the list goes on, they're not able to bounce back,

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So again not to kind of you know, skim to

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the end of the book talking about.

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Things like.

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The fall of Camelot and trying to resurrect your kingdom

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having learned from some.

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Of your errors.

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The point is that no matter how hard you try,

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there's going to be mistakes. But often if you do

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the right thing, or if you establish a code of

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chivalry or a code of ethics or principles the organization yourself,

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how you manage your team, chances are you're going to

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be better equipped to handle those issues, those ethical dilemmas.

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There's crises and bounce back. It's not a guarantee, but

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it's definitely going to put you in a little bit

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better position. I think one of the reasons why Boltsweg

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was able to bounce back is because although they did

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some shady things on the whole, they're a pretty well

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run organizations, So you do have a little bit of

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grace to come back for something even that consequential.

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You know, this is really really critical things we're talking about.

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Let's scrunt our first break and let our listeners and

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viewers kind of think a little bit about the promise

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of King Arthur and Camelot for themselves in their leadership.

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I'm your host, doctor Relie Cortes. We were on the

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air with the Gray McDowell, a seasoned consultant helping companies

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across various industries to navigate organizational transformation, change management, talent development,

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and strategy. We've been talking about and getting into some

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of the principles of Camelot. We will continue those principles

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as well as getting in some of the main major

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challenges of leadership.

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After the break, we'll be right back.

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Doctor Elise Cortez is a management consultant specializing in meaning

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and purpose. An inspirational speaker and author. She helps companies

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visioneer for greater purpose among stakeholders and develop purpose inspired

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leadership and meaning infused cultures that elevate fulfillment, performance, and

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commitment within the workforce. To learn more or to invite

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a lease to speak to your organization, please visit her

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at Elisecortes dot com. Let's talk about how to get

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your employees working on purpose. This is working on Purpose

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with doctor Elise Cortes to reach our program today, or

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to open a conversation with Elise, send an email to

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Alise A Lise at Eliscortes dot com. Now back to

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working on Purpose.

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Thanks staying with us, and welcome back to Working on Purpose.

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I'm your host, doctor Elise Cortes, as I am dedicated

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to help them create a world where organizations thrive because

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there are people thrive and they're led by inspirational leaders

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that help them find and contribute their greatness. And we

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do business at Betters the World. I keep researching and

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writing my own books, so one of my latest came

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out called The Great Revitalization, How activating meaning and purpose

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can radically in liven your business, and I wrote it

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to help leaders understand today's workforce. They want in need

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to give you their best and want to stick around.

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And then I give you twenty two best practices to

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equip you with your organization and your culture to provide

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that for them. You can find my books on Amazon

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or my personal site at least quretest dot com if

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you are just now joining us. My guest is Gray McDowell.

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He's the author of Crafting a Corporate Camelot where leadership

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becomes legend. So we talked about we talked about the

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first one of the first pillars of Camelot, that being chivalry.

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I wanted to talk next about the idea of the

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iconic roundtable, and that really speaks to King Arthur's inclusive leadership,

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which I think many many leaders are not. I don't

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think they understand the draw and the beauty, the promise

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and strength of that.

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So let's talk about that one.

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Yeah, this one's really important.

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As my first book, it took me a little while

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to be satisfied with the manuscript, to actually work up

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the confidence and find a publisher. So when I started

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this it was a couple of years ago. So as

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you read the book, I think it does age very well,

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some of the example, some of the cases. But I

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think the topic of inclusive leadership in terms of the roundtable,

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really carries more weight now actually than when I first

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started writing about it. I think a lot of leaders,

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a lot of people, professionals in general, will make the

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mistake of thinking inclusivity has to do with metrics, will

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have to do with Okay, as long as I'm checking

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a box, as long as I'm fulfilling a quota in

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terms of you know, whatever, measurement that you want to

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equate in the circumstance. But I think at the end

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of the day, inclusivity means including people within your roundtable,

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within your team, within your organization that make your kingdom thrive,

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make the whole.

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Much more substantial.

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So I think when it comes to talent acquisition, are

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promoting from within. We want to identify people that aren't

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necessarily the perfect fit from a technical competent standpoint. Are

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because we went to the same school, we have a

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lot of the same friends, maybe we were from the

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same town, so we're probably going to think the same way.

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But we want to make sure that we're complimenting one another.

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And it's not just.

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Enough to give these people a seat at the table

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and say, Okay, we're going to have an inclusive workforce,

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we're going to have an inclusive word of directors or

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c suite or leadership team, but you actually have to

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give them voice and give them agency, and you have

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to respect their opinions, even when on face value those

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opinions conflict with your own and may actually rub you

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the wrong way and offend some of those uh, some

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of those chivalra codes that you may have right your

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values and believes because again, if you put, if you

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keep that learner hat on your learning, not just about

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the organization and other people, but about yourself, you've got

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to continue to flex and to stretch beyond that comfort zone.

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And one of the things that I really implied that

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you have written about throughout your book. In order to

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really pull off the idea and get the benefits of

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that inclusive leadership, you have to establish and constantly monitor

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for psychological safety. And people hear that phrase and I

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think it sounds a little too academic. So let's talk

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more about what is psychological safety and how can we

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ensure that we have it in our organizations.

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Yeah, and really, the expert, or I would say, the

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individual that's most known for this as Amy Edmondson. So

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if somebody really wants to go down that rabbit hole

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and learn more about I would say, read her, watch

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her on YouTube.

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She's got a lot of great stuff in that space.

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But the way I refer to it in the book

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is that logical safety isn't necessarily only something that an

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organization or established authority figures are responsible for cultivating. But

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each and every one of us needs to be respectful

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and needs to be mindful of other people's feelings, other

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people's pain points, pressure points, and adapt accordingly. That doesn't

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mean walking on eggshells, but that does mean allowing people

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to say their piece, not monopolizing a conversation, not cultivating

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a culture or a workplace climate where people feel intimidated

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to speak up because they think, okay, on these topics

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or on these issues, this is the way things are.

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We don't want people to disengage from the conversation. We

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don't want them to disengage from productivity and performance because

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they don't feel like they can bring their whole selves

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into the equation. And that's almost worse than them just saying, Okay, well,

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this is clearly not the place for me, so I'm

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going to move on. I'm going to leave the organization.

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That's bad.

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But what's worse, and we've probably all experienced it, is

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when somebody is so is so burned, is so feel

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so diminished, that they recoil and then they become that Mordreid, right,

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They become a toxic team member, and then they start

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doubt in ways that maybe they don't they never really

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thought of themselves. But it's just the situation they're in

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and now we're on a slippery slope.

427
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Yeah, yeah, yeah, beautifully said it was. It's so important

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because I know so many leaders are like, hey, no,

429
00:24:48.359 --> 00:24:51.400
it's good, We've got a great environment here. Actually many

430
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most organizations have problems somewhere to that end, and that need,

431
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that constant need to monitor is so so important to

432
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that end.

433
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No, that's a great point, and I definitely want to

434
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just kind of put a pin in that because with culture,

435
00:25:05.599 --> 00:25:10.319
I think you would agree it's so overused but underinvested.

436
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And a great way that I've wrapped my head around

437
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this concept. When I'm working with organizations and we're talking

438
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about culture, don't treat culture like decore, right, Don't treat

439
00:25:21.640 --> 00:25:23.759
it like Okay, we're going to decorate for the holidays,

440
00:25:23.839 --> 00:25:27.240
or we're going to renovate the house. Treat it like infrastructure.

441
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Because with the core, you do it once every few years,

442
00:25:30.799 --> 00:25:38.039
you changed the layout of the furniture, the branding, your website,

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00:25:38.160 --> 00:25:38.599
you're done.

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That's culture infrastructure.

445
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You have got to maintain constantly so that the bridge

446
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doesn't collapse when things start to get a little dicey.

447
00:25:48.920 --> 00:25:53.440
Indeed, completely align with that for sure. Now one of

448
00:25:53.480 --> 00:25:56.039
the other pillars that I think you do an exceptional

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job in your book. Really, I would say, in a

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way that really stands out among other works that I've

451
00:26:00.720 --> 00:26:03.359
seen as well, is you talk about the importance of

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00:26:03.440 --> 00:26:09.079
mentorship and the concept of organizational quests. I think that

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what you talk about there Gray really distinguishes that. Boy,

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if organizations did a fraction of what you put forth

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00:26:16.599 --> 00:26:18.480
in your book, they would be so much better for it.

456
00:26:18.519 --> 00:26:21.559
So let's talk a little bit about how purpose driven

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missions inspire, challenge, and ultimately transform employees, and how that

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00:26:25.640 --> 00:26:27.640
mentorship really makes a difference along the way.

459
00:26:29.160 --> 00:26:30.000
So I knew I.

460
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Wanted to talk about mentorship in this book, but I

461
00:26:32.720 --> 00:26:35.960
didn't necessarily want to go down the same path that

462
00:26:36.160 --> 00:26:40.559
a lot of my mentors or a lot of the

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00:26:40.599 --> 00:26:43.799
people that have inspired me and my career have gone.

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I wanted to take a different tactic. So we think

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about the Arthurian ideal of mentorship. We think about Merlin

466
00:26:51.160 --> 00:26:55.160
mentoring author or author as an older king mentoring his

467
00:26:55.319 --> 00:26:56.319
younger knights.

468
00:26:56.559 --> 00:27:00.799
But at the end of the day, the best teams.

469
00:27:00.839 --> 00:27:03.680
When we think about team, what comes to mind a

470
00:27:03.759 --> 00:27:09.680
sports team, right, a military unit. Folks that you know

471
00:27:09.799 --> 00:27:14.519
didn't necessarily choose who they were going to form this

472
00:27:14.759 --> 00:27:19.000
team with, but they were drafted or recruited and they

473
00:27:19.000 --> 00:27:22.599
were pulled together different personalities, right, and they've had to

474
00:27:22.640 --> 00:27:28.720
come together, adapt and survive and thrive. And so for

475
00:27:29.000 --> 00:27:32.000
the whole mentorship and the quest, I think that the

476
00:27:32.039 --> 00:27:37.720
best teams, the best organizations thrive when they have something

477
00:27:37.759 --> 00:27:40.240
that they're fighting for. It's easy when you're a sports

478
00:27:40.240 --> 00:27:43.759
team or if you're a military unit. You know what

479
00:27:43.799 --> 00:27:46.279
your mission is, you know what mission success looks like.

480
00:27:46.920 --> 00:27:50.599
But when you're an accountant, when you're a consultant, it's

481
00:27:50.640 --> 00:27:53.559
a little different. Right, we have to get creative, but

482
00:27:53.680 --> 00:27:58.000
it's having these long term goals, but that are backed

483
00:27:58.039 --> 00:28:02.920
up by midterm goals, quick successes. So it's important to

484
00:28:03.079 --> 00:28:05.079
establish that and if you don't know how to do it,

485
00:28:05.200 --> 00:28:09.319
that's when you really need somebody, whether it's your supervisor,

486
00:28:09.359 --> 00:28:14.440
your team manager, are someone within the organization that you

487
00:28:14.519 --> 00:28:19.039
can count on to be that authority figure to help

488
00:28:19.119 --> 00:28:23.880
you see opportunities, not necessarily to upskill yourself from a

489
00:28:23.920 --> 00:28:28.559
competent standpoint, but understand how to maintain that ambition and

490
00:28:28.640 --> 00:28:32.319
sustain that engagement. Because as you and I both know

491
00:28:32.680 --> 00:28:36.839
and probably most of the people watching you're going to

492
00:28:36.880 --> 00:28:38.640
have bad days. You're going to have days no matter

493
00:28:38.720 --> 00:28:41.440
how much you love your job or love your boss

494
00:28:41.599 --> 00:28:45.680
or love your business, where you're just burnt out and

495
00:28:45.720 --> 00:28:47.200
you're ready to tap out.

496
00:28:47.480 --> 00:28:47.920
Yeah.

497
00:28:48.000 --> 00:28:51.960
Yeah, I appreciate too that you really put forth the

498
00:28:52.000 --> 00:28:54.839
idea of really creating a structured program and that you're

499
00:28:54.839 --> 00:28:59.039
monitoring it. You're also cultivating resilience throughout the along the way,

500
00:28:59.079 --> 00:29:02.079
and you're celebrating and people are growing and learning, right,

501
00:29:02.160 --> 00:29:03.400
not just And that's one of the things that I

502
00:29:03.440 --> 00:29:06.839
do when I work with organizations too, is I oftentimes

503
00:29:07.000 --> 00:29:09.680
catch myself saying, hang on a minute, the person that

504
00:29:09.720 --> 00:29:11.440
I knew a year ago would not have done what.

505
00:29:11.480 --> 00:29:12.000
You just did.

506
00:29:12.200 --> 00:29:15.200
Let's not let that go by without celebrating that, right,

507
00:29:15.240 --> 00:29:17.119
And so therefore it helps bake it in and for

508
00:29:17.160 --> 00:29:18.880
them to go, oh, yeah, that's right.

509
00:29:19.359 --> 00:29:20.440
So so those are some of the.

510
00:29:20.400 --> 00:29:22.319
Things that I got also from your book Grade that

511
00:29:22.359 --> 00:29:26.039
I thought were also really useful about creating a really

512
00:29:26.559 --> 00:29:30.960
intentional program that supported and guided that people stick to

513
00:29:31.119 --> 00:29:32.480
and stand by.

514
00:29:33.920 --> 00:29:35.880
And that's why the concepts like team of teams is

515
00:29:35.920 --> 00:29:39.359
so popular because you're part of something bigger. I think

516
00:29:39.400 --> 00:29:42.440
we as humans want to be part of something bigger.

517
00:29:42.480 --> 00:29:47.160
That's why you know we have fandom.

518
00:29:47.200 --> 00:29:50.599
You know we're fans of a particular entertainer or sports

519
00:29:50.640 --> 00:29:54.559
team or college. Is because we want to feel like

520
00:29:54.599 --> 00:29:57.279
we're connected with other people and we're in pursuit of

521
00:29:57.319 --> 00:29:58.119
something special.

522
00:29:58.799 --> 00:30:00.359
Yes, and you know, I just got I read that

523
00:30:00.400 --> 00:30:03.960
gray when I was researching meaning and work in identity,

524
00:30:03.960 --> 00:30:06.599
first for my PhD and then as a post stock researcher.

525
00:30:07.200 --> 00:30:08.640
That was one of the things that I found is

526
00:30:08.680 --> 00:30:11.480
a great source of meeting was being feeling like you're

527
00:30:11.519 --> 00:30:13.799
part of something bigger than yourself that matter to you.

528
00:30:14.440 --> 00:30:17.720
So that right there is very very important. Okay, So

529
00:30:17.759 --> 00:30:18.960
now what I want to do here is I just

530
00:30:18.960 --> 00:30:21.880
want to talk just briefly about a couple of the challenges.

531
00:30:21.880 --> 00:30:23.720
You have a whole section related to challenges, and I

532
00:30:23.759 --> 00:30:25.079
don't want to spend a whole lot of time on

533
00:30:25.119 --> 00:30:26.839
that because I want to move with the legacy as well.

534
00:30:27.240 --> 00:30:29.680
But we don't some of the negative stuff.

535
00:30:31.000 --> 00:30:34.680
That's important, right, But the two major challenges that you

536
00:30:34.720 --> 00:30:37.960
put forth are the idea of betrayal and of course complacency.

537
00:30:38.559 --> 00:30:40.960
So I do want to talk specifically about the idea

538
00:30:41.000 --> 00:30:44.000
of betrayal and its many forms that that shows up

539
00:30:44.039 --> 00:30:45.160
and you do a beautiful job.

540
00:30:45.200 --> 00:30:46.880
So let's talk a little bit about how.

541
00:30:46.799 --> 00:30:51.160
Would we recognize betrayal in today's modern organization.

542
00:30:51.240 --> 00:30:51.960
What does that look like?

543
00:30:52.480 --> 00:30:53.279
Yeah, believe it or not.

544
00:30:53.359 --> 00:30:55.920
I had the most fun writing this middle section of

545
00:30:55.960 --> 00:30:59.440
the book where we talk about betrayal, yes, and the

546
00:30:59.480 --> 00:31:00.279
fall of the them.

547
00:31:00.160 --> 00:31:02.759
A lot, because it's.

548
00:31:01.880 --> 00:31:05.119
Spicy, right, I mean, I'm I'm, I'm this, this is

549
00:31:05.200 --> 00:31:07.240
this is my reality TV moments.

550
00:31:07.559 --> 00:31:10.279
Okay, you think of morgin.

551
00:31:10.359 --> 00:31:13.160
We whether it's been us or whether it's somebody we know.

552
00:31:13.640 --> 00:31:15.279
We've been part of a team or been part of

553
00:31:15.319 --> 00:31:19.079
an organization, a group where there has been.

554
00:31:19.400 --> 00:31:20.279
A rotten apple.

555
00:31:20.880 --> 00:31:24.359
And I don't know about you, but very few of

556
00:31:24.400 --> 00:31:28.720
those rotten apples showed up rotten. They they you know,

557
00:31:28.960 --> 00:31:31.359
they started to get a little old on the vine.

558
00:31:32.880 --> 00:31:37.359
They were they were neglected. And I think that those mordreds,

559
00:31:37.400 --> 00:31:41.559
those toxic team members, that's the seed of contempt, right.

560
00:31:41.759 --> 00:31:42.400
I think that.

561
00:31:43.880 --> 00:31:51.759
Regardless of how an individual becomes a mordred, it's it's

562
00:31:52.039 --> 00:31:55.559
it be who's the organization and the manager, the leader

563
00:31:55.680 --> 00:31:58.480
to identify early who that individual is.

564
00:31:58.559 --> 00:32:01.000
I think there are a.

565
00:32:00.599 --> 00:32:05.799
Lot of ways where you can start to see the signs,

566
00:32:05.839 --> 00:32:08.279
and we talk about this in the book The Symptoms.

567
00:32:08.319 --> 00:32:10.880
You can recognize that when somebody is kind of going

568
00:32:10.880 --> 00:32:13.720
down that path and intervene, and most of the time

569
00:32:13.799 --> 00:32:16.440
you can salvage the relationship. You can turn it around

570
00:32:16.519 --> 00:32:20.920
before the relationships hours too much. In some cases it

571
00:32:20.960 --> 00:32:24.039
may be more beneficial for both parties to walk away

572
00:32:24.519 --> 00:32:29.480
and if you have adult conversations with each other, then

573
00:32:29.519 --> 00:32:32.960
you can end on a good note and maybe down

574
00:32:33.039 --> 00:32:35.640
the road that individual can come back. It could be

575
00:32:35.640 --> 00:32:38.680
a boomerang employee as we call it. But I think

576
00:32:38.720 --> 00:32:43.920
if we let those people faster and we don't deal.

577
00:32:43.799 --> 00:32:47.000
With it, it's just going to make the situation a lot worse.

578
00:32:47.079 --> 00:32:50.200
Not only is that individual going to become more unhappy

579
00:32:50.559 --> 00:32:55.559
and more disruptive, but their immediate circle, their team is

580
00:32:55.599 --> 00:32:58.359
going to not only fill the burden of having to

581
00:32:58.400 --> 00:33:03.279
work with somebody who has a bad attitude, who is unproductive,

582
00:33:03.920 --> 00:33:07.599
is an underperformer, but then they're going to feel like, well,

583
00:33:07.599 --> 00:33:09.799
why do I need to show up and perform If

584
00:33:09.799 --> 00:33:14.200
this person can act this way, behave and perform at

585
00:33:14.200 --> 00:33:16.359
such a poor level, and still have a job.

586
00:33:17.160 --> 00:33:18.119
It's going to put the.

587
00:33:18.079 --> 00:33:22.359
Manager, the leader in a position of lacking credibility within

588
00:33:22.400 --> 00:33:26.440
the broader organization. So you've got to mitigate and manage

589
00:33:26.440 --> 00:33:30.240
if you can. But if that point has come and gone,

590
00:33:30.640 --> 00:33:32.680
you have to I mean it's tough. Nobody wants to

591
00:33:32.720 --> 00:33:35.119
fire anybody, but at the end of the day, you've

592
00:33:35.160 --> 00:33:37.480
got to make the tough call for the betterment of

593
00:33:37.519 --> 00:33:38.759
the team and the organization.

594
00:33:40.079 --> 00:33:44.240
And I appreciate that you put forth ways to equip

595
00:33:45.160 --> 00:33:47.519
the organization and its leaders and managers to be able

596
00:33:47.519 --> 00:33:50.359
to deal with that. So you offer things like making

597
00:33:50.359 --> 00:33:52.200
sure that you have a finger on the post, paying

598
00:33:52.240 --> 00:33:55.359
attention to those subtle shifts and team dynamics. Are people

599
00:33:55.400 --> 00:33:57.440
suddenly maybe not talking as much as they used to,

600
00:33:57.480 --> 00:34:00.799
are are they not speaking pushing back talk about then

601
00:34:00.839 --> 00:34:04.640
they need to create safe channels for that honest employee

602
00:34:04.640 --> 00:34:07.119
feedback so we can learn those things before they fester

603
00:34:07.160 --> 00:34:10.360
into something really, really awful and negative. And also to

604
00:34:10.519 --> 00:34:14.920
train the managers to recognize the subtle toxic behavior signs

605
00:34:15.000 --> 00:34:17.079
early so they can be able to do with those things.

606
00:34:17.360 --> 00:34:20.840
And then of course you know modeling transparency, psychological safety,

607
00:34:20.920 --> 00:34:23.840
respectful communication, all those kinds of things can go a

608
00:34:23.880 --> 00:34:26.800
long long way and being able to create and sustain

609
00:34:26.840 --> 00:34:29.400
an environment where those kind of behaviors don't get out

610
00:34:29.440 --> 00:34:31.400
of control. So one of the many things I love

611
00:34:31.400 --> 00:34:33.920
about your book is that you explain the opportunity, then

612
00:34:33.960 --> 00:34:36.239
you provide us all kinds of ways to equip us

613
00:34:36.280 --> 00:34:37.880
to be able to deal with these things.

614
00:34:40.159 --> 00:34:44.280
The one thing that has always driven me crazy as

615
00:34:44.280 --> 00:34:47.880
a consultant and as somebody that was part of an

616
00:34:47.960 --> 00:34:54.559
organization as their learning and development, organizational development development specialist

617
00:34:54.679 --> 00:34:58.960
or manager is why do we have engagement surveys or

618
00:34:59.000 --> 00:35:01.239
pulse surveys and absolutely nothing with the.

619
00:35:01.159 --> 00:35:02.039
Feedback right right?

620
00:35:02.079 --> 00:35:03.000
Because that happens.

621
00:35:03.320 --> 00:35:07.480
If you think it's only you, you're not crazy. This

622
00:35:07.480 --> 00:35:11.559
this happens. This is a systemic problem. And having those

623
00:35:11.599 --> 00:35:15.320
type of pulses and not doing anything, honestly, is worse

624
00:35:15.360 --> 00:35:19.280
than having any feedback. Asking for any feedback, because now

625
00:35:19.320 --> 00:35:22.880
you've set the expectation that the standard that Okay, we're

626
00:35:22.880 --> 00:35:25.960
going to do something about it. So it becomes even

627
00:35:26.360 --> 00:35:28.559
even worse when we don't respond.

628
00:35:28.320 --> 00:35:29.199
One hundred percent.

629
00:35:30.039 --> 00:35:32.559
Okay, let's grab our last break while listeners and viewers

630
00:35:32.559 --> 00:35:35.159
think about maybe some of the mordreds in their organization

631
00:35:35.280 --> 00:35:37.960
and how they might start recognizing and dealing with them.

632
00:35:38.400 --> 00:35:41.199
Let's take our last break. I'm your host, doctor Reli's Cortes,

633
00:35:41.239 --> 00:35:43.639
who are on there with Gray McDowell, a seasoned consultant

634
00:35:43.719 --> 00:35:48.519
helping companies across various industries navigate organizational transformation, change management,

635
00:35:48.639 --> 00:35:52.239
talent development, and strategy. We've been talking about some of

636
00:35:52.280 --> 00:35:55.840
the challenges that organizations face as well as some of

637
00:35:55.880 --> 00:35:57.519
the pillars that we can build on. We're going to

638
00:35:57.599 --> 00:35:59.639
talk about one more challenge after the break that is very,

639
00:35:59.719 --> 00:36:02.360
very and immediate. Then we're going to get into how

640
00:36:02.400 --> 00:36:05.400
you can build your own corporate camelot and really create

641
00:36:05.440 --> 00:36:06.760
a legacy that you can be proud of.

642
00:36:06.920 --> 00:36:07.679
We'll be right back.

643
00:36:23.639 --> 00:36:27.199
Doctor Elise Cortes is a management consultant specializing in meaning

644
00:36:27.239 --> 00:36:31.079
and purpose. An inspirational speaker and author, she helps companies

645
00:36:31.159 --> 00:36:34.960
visioneer for greater purpose among stakeholders and develop purpose inspired

646
00:36:35.039 --> 00:36:39.000
leadership and meaning infused cultures that elevate fulfillment, performance, and

647
00:36:39.079 --> 00:36:42.280
commitment within the workforce. To learn more or to invite

648
00:36:42.280 --> 00:36:45.039
a lease to speak to your organization, please visit her

649
00:36:45.119 --> 00:36:48.360
at Elisecortes dot com. Let's talk about how to get

650
00:36:48.400 --> 00:36:57.159
your employees working on purpose. This is Working on Purpose

651
00:36:57.280 --> 00:37:00.679
with doctor Elise Cortes. To reach our program or to

652
00:37:00.760 --> 00:37:03.440
open a conversation with Elise, send an email to a

653
00:37:03.559 --> 00:37:08.920
lease A Lisee at Eliscortes dot com. Now back to

654
00:37:09.079 --> 00:37:10.199
working on Purpose.

655
00:37:15.000 --> 00:37:17.159
Interesting with us and welcome back to working on Purpose.

656
00:37:17.239 --> 00:37:20.000
I'm your host, doctor Release Cortes. As you know by now,

657
00:37:20.000 --> 00:37:22.639
this program is dedicated to empowering and inspiring you along

658
00:37:22.639 --> 00:37:25.280
your journey to realize more of your potential. You want

659
00:37:25.280 --> 00:37:26.719
to learn about how we can work together and how

660
00:37:26.760 --> 00:37:29.400
the Gusto Now Academy supports learning and development for leaders

661
00:37:29.400 --> 00:37:32.440
and individuals. Make your way to Gusto dashnow dot com

662
00:37:32.639 --> 00:37:34.880
and then go to the training tab to find the

663
00:37:34.920 --> 00:37:37.519
academy if you are just joining us. My guest is

664
00:37:37.559 --> 00:37:40.519
Gray McDowell. He's the author of Crafting a Corporate Camelot

665
00:37:40.599 --> 00:37:44.679
where Leadership becomes Legend. So we would be or miss

666
00:37:44.760 --> 00:37:46.239
if we did not talk about one of the other

667
00:37:46.400 --> 00:37:50.400
major major leadership difficulties that I unfortunately know that so

668
00:37:50.440 --> 00:37:52.679
many organizations suffer from it because it's just part of

669
00:37:52.719 --> 00:37:55.440
being a human and trying to get by in today's world,

670
00:37:55.840 --> 00:37:59.920
and that leadership challenge is this little thing called complacence.

671
00:38:00.039 --> 00:38:01.840
See talk about that.

672
00:38:04.719 --> 00:38:05.679
I think it's.

673
00:38:07.480 --> 00:38:12.880
I think it's easy to believe that success is a

674
00:38:12.920 --> 00:38:18.039
fixed point on the map, that if we've achieved a

675
00:38:18.079 --> 00:38:23.679
certain position or rank, if we earn a certain income

676
00:38:24.119 --> 00:38:29.480
salary bonus, that if our house is big enough, if

677
00:38:29.599 --> 00:38:32.360
our car is fast enough, we've made it. And I

678
00:38:32.400 --> 00:38:35.559
think that that type of thinking, which is very human,

679
00:38:37.000 --> 00:38:42.000
is able to flourish in an organizational setting. We'll list

680
00:38:42.079 --> 00:38:47.079
on our laurels, we'll convince ourselves that we no longer

681
00:38:47.199 --> 00:38:53.880
have to improve ourselves, our organization, our products, our services,

682
00:38:54.880 --> 00:38:56.599
our customer experience.

683
00:38:57.599 --> 00:39:00.159
But we just have to kind of keep doing.

684
00:39:00.320 --> 00:39:04.519
What we're doing, being who were being, and everything will

685
00:39:04.679 --> 00:39:09.400
continue to work out in our benefit. And that's just

686
00:39:09.440 --> 00:39:16.239
not how life works. Everything's in motion, life's time. We're

687
00:39:16.280 --> 00:39:20.480
all moving forward, and once we kind of find ourselves

688
00:39:20.559 --> 00:39:24.960
in a rut, life will pass us by. And I

689
00:39:25.000 --> 00:39:30.920
think some of the best organizations have been the ones

690
00:39:30.960 --> 00:39:34.960
that have fallen the hardest, because it just seems so

691
00:39:38.039 --> 00:39:42.239
unbelievable that they too could fail. I mean, if you

692
00:39:42.280 --> 00:39:45.440
and I went back to nineteen ninety nine and told

693
00:39:45.519 --> 00:39:50.039
our younger selves that, you know, Blockbuster, that our kids

694
00:39:50.079 --> 00:39:53.559
today wouldn't even know what Blockbuster was, right, it would

695
00:39:53.559 --> 00:39:56.679
be like, get what are you talking about. So many

696
00:39:56.760 --> 00:40:03.800
organizations just for whatever reason, they all to kind of

697
00:40:03.880 --> 00:40:09.159
keep up with the ambition with the energy of their

698
00:40:09.239 --> 00:40:12.920
competitors and found themselves on the wrong side of legacy.

699
00:40:13.719 --> 00:40:15.079
Mm hmm. Yeah.

700
00:40:15.119 --> 00:40:17.199
And I think what I just want to reinforce on that.

701
00:40:17.280 --> 00:40:20.039
And I know that this is exhausting for leaders, And

702
00:40:20.079 --> 00:40:22.119
this is where our compassion comes in for you, is

703
00:40:23.079 --> 00:40:24.960
it's just so important to keep that finger on the

704
00:40:25.000 --> 00:40:27.960
pulse and keep striving, keep reaching, keep you know, sharpening

705
00:40:28.000 --> 00:40:30.719
the saw if you will. And it's just it's just

706
00:40:30.719 --> 00:40:32.760
that's the world we live in today. And I know

707
00:40:32.840 --> 00:40:34.599
that's hard. That's why there's people to help you, right,

708
00:40:34.599 --> 00:40:37.039
That's why we're here to support too. But it's just

709
00:40:37.119 --> 00:40:39.960
so important that complacency piece, you know, across our whole

710
00:40:40.000 --> 00:40:41.920
life is such an important thing to be on the

711
00:40:41.960 --> 00:40:46.199
lookout for. Okay, so let's talk a little bit about it.

712
00:40:46.199 --> 00:40:47.679
We won't have a whole lot of time to get

713
00:40:47.679 --> 00:40:49.519
through a lot, but that's why, ladies and gentlemen, you

714
00:40:49.559 --> 00:40:51.320
just need to read the book. It's just chock and

715
00:40:51.360 --> 00:40:52.800
full of all kinds of things for you to build

716
00:40:52.840 --> 00:40:55.119
your own corporate camelot. But I do want to go

717
00:40:55.159 --> 00:40:56.800
into a little bit of a discussion here, Gray on

718
00:40:57.079 --> 00:40:59.480
just that building your corporate camelot, and you have a

719
00:40:59.480 --> 00:41:02.039
whole chap you're on the stone in your sword, which

720
00:41:02.079 --> 00:41:06.199
is not a concept that I'm really super familiar with,

721
00:41:06.639 --> 00:41:08.159
but I do want to talk a little bit about

722
00:41:08.159 --> 00:41:10.280
what you mean by that, especially when it comes to

723
00:41:10.400 --> 00:41:11.760
building your corporate camelot.

724
00:41:12.920 --> 00:41:17.800
Yeah, so depending on the version of the Arthurian legend

725
00:41:17.840 --> 00:41:22.199
that you think of when we talked about camelot, it

726
00:41:22.280 --> 00:41:26.199
wasn't just anybody that could pull the sword es caliber

727
00:41:26.280 --> 00:41:31.079
out of a stone. For most most adaptations, it was

728
00:41:31.119 --> 00:41:38.039
a young poor kid, so not the strongest, not the noblest,

729
00:41:38.159 --> 00:41:43.280
but it was because of who he was, what was

730
00:41:43.320 --> 00:41:45.239
inside of him. And I think that goes back to,

731
00:41:45.960 --> 00:41:48.519
you know, what makes somebody an authentic leader and why

732
00:41:48.599 --> 00:41:52.159
I really respect the concept of authentic leadership.

733
00:41:52.519 --> 00:41:56.239
We are who we are, that we shouldn't try to be.

734
00:41:57.079 --> 00:42:03.159
If you admire somebody, lie Jeff Bezos, right, you shouldn't

735
00:42:03.199 --> 00:42:07.480
necessarily try to do things exactly like Jeff Bezos. You

736
00:42:07.480 --> 00:42:09.760
can kind of take bits and pieces that have made

737
00:42:09.840 --> 00:42:14.480
him successful and learn from that and take those tools

738
00:42:14.559 --> 00:42:17.840
and put them in your toolbox. But you're not Jeff Bezos,

739
00:42:17.880 --> 00:42:20.800
and you're probably not going to be Jeff Bezos. The

740
00:42:20.880 --> 00:42:25.280
point is you have to find ways to uncover your

741
00:42:25.400 --> 00:42:29.480
natural talents identify how you want to round those talents

742
00:42:29.480 --> 00:42:35.920
out by learning from others, reading, taking classes, getting the experience,

743
00:42:36.719 --> 00:42:42.199
and making yourself more successful. And authentic leadership really does kind.

744
00:42:41.960 --> 00:42:44.400
Of dovetail with adaptive.

745
00:42:43.800 --> 00:42:49.159
Leadership because how you lead in one scenario in one

746
00:42:49.199 --> 00:42:52.400
instance may be very different than you lead in the other.

747
00:42:52.599 --> 00:42:55.920
So the authenticity and the adaptability go hand in hand

748
00:42:56.000 --> 00:42:59.239
because the best leaders, when we think of the very best,

749
00:42:59.480 --> 00:43:04.119
are able to persevere in crisis as well as know

750
00:43:04.280 --> 00:43:06.679
how to win when they're on top.

751
00:43:10.280 --> 00:43:13.280
Yeah, there's just so much there. You have a whole

752
00:43:13.320 --> 00:43:16.280
section in your book that I you know, as you know,

753
00:43:16.400 --> 00:43:18.559
I take copious notes as part of the way I

754
00:43:18.679 --> 00:43:21.159
do my research, so I can capture the page arm

755
00:43:21.239 --> 00:43:23.599
everything else. But you have a whole section on building

756
00:43:23.639 --> 00:43:26.800
and a culture of excellence, which we don't really have

757
00:43:26.880 --> 00:43:28.280
the time to talk about, but I just wanted to

758
00:43:28.280 --> 00:43:32.920
showcase for our listeners and viewers. That is gold in there. Great,

759
00:43:33.000 --> 00:43:35.760
it's gold. What I do want to do next, though,

760
00:43:35.840 --> 00:43:38.159
is I want to finish the conversation and devote the

761
00:43:38.239 --> 00:43:41.320
rest of the conversation to the idea of really building

762
00:43:41.320 --> 00:43:43.880
that legacy. And you talk about when you think about

763
00:43:43.960 --> 00:43:45.960
as a leader, how do I want to build a

764
00:43:46.039 --> 00:43:49.320
legacy that I'm really proud of us that stands the

765
00:43:49.400 --> 00:43:50.119
test of time.

766
00:43:50.480 --> 00:43:51.920
So let's talk about that.

767
00:43:52.039 --> 00:43:55.760
How can leaders really create something that endures?

768
00:43:57.760 --> 00:44:02.639
I think you first have to realize would I think

769
00:44:02.679 --> 00:44:08.480
most of us really struggle with And that's what success

770
00:44:08.519 --> 00:44:11.639
looks like in the near term, in the midterm, and

771
00:44:11.719 --> 00:44:15.679
the long term. Who do we want to be when

772
00:44:15.679 --> 00:44:19.159
we grow up? What kind of leader do we want

773
00:44:19.199 --> 00:44:22.239
to be? Again? What kind of team member? What kind

774
00:44:22.320 --> 00:44:25.800
of family person do you want to be? And I

775
00:44:25.840 --> 00:44:32.920
think that writing down what that what those characteristics are

776
00:44:33.559 --> 00:44:36.840
is very hard and it's not sexy, but I think

777
00:44:36.880 --> 00:44:40.920
it helps you to really visualize and helps you structure

778
00:44:42.079 --> 00:44:45.000
what you need to do to get there. I think

779
00:44:45.039 --> 00:44:51.840
anytime that we start to craft what our future selves

780
00:44:51.920 --> 00:44:56.239
look like, if we're leading an organization, how are we

781
00:44:56.320 --> 00:44:58.719
going to leave it? Who's going to be our successor

782
00:45:00.199 --> 00:45:03.079
where do we want this organization to go once we leave.

783
00:45:03.840 --> 00:45:08.039
If you're starting out, do you want to stay within

784
00:45:08.079 --> 00:45:10.840
the same organization your entire career, and if so, which

785
00:45:10.920 --> 00:45:12.440
path do you want to take? Or if you want

786
00:45:12.480 --> 00:45:15.880
to move around and eventually end up in a particular

787
00:45:16.039 --> 00:45:20.119
role or have a set of responsibilities that will fulfill

788
00:45:20.199 --> 00:45:23.519
you and really make you feel like you've arrived, that

789
00:45:23.559 --> 00:45:26.239
you achieved what you set up to achieve. And then

790
00:45:26.280 --> 00:45:29.880
be flexible because what you want at twenty five, I'm

791
00:45:29.920 --> 00:45:31.880
pretty sure is going to be different than what you

792
00:45:31.920 --> 00:45:35.480
want at fifty. So you need to revisit those because

793
00:45:36.400 --> 00:45:41.639
your legacy evolves as you grow and develop. But you

794
00:45:41.719 --> 00:45:45.360
don't want to burn bridges. You don't want to alienate people.

795
00:45:45.679 --> 00:45:48.800
You don't want to step on the people that, if

796
00:45:49.000 --> 00:45:53.039
they're not helping you today, can certainly help you or

797
00:45:53.480 --> 00:45:57.119
possibly hinder you tomorrow if you leave them with a

798
00:45:57.159 --> 00:46:01.400
bad taste in their mouth. So it's strategic, but I

799
00:46:01.440 --> 00:46:07.199
think it's essential ensuring that not only you're moving in

800
00:46:07.239 --> 00:46:09.559
the right direction, but you're having a good time along

801
00:46:09.599 --> 00:46:14.280
the way, because isn't that the secret sauce of life?

802
00:46:14.360 --> 00:46:16.599
Absolutely and I thought that some of the things you

803
00:46:16.719 --> 00:46:19.880
offer to us to really help that along were really powerful.

804
00:46:20.320 --> 00:46:23.719
You talk about investing in strategic innovation, Boy if asn't

805
00:46:23.760 --> 00:46:25.800
in a great way to be able to create something

806
00:46:25.840 --> 00:46:29.679
beyond yourself. And then also you talk about you're prioritizing

807
00:46:29.719 --> 00:46:32.159
talent development as legacy building. One of the things I

808
00:46:32.239 --> 00:46:34.559
learned in my research and in my work with what

809
00:46:34.599 --> 00:46:37.320
I consider to be great leaders is they're focused on

810
00:46:37.360 --> 00:46:40.840
how many careers can I help create? Right, And so

811
00:46:40.960 --> 00:46:42.559
I think that's really an important point. And then the

812
00:46:42.599 --> 00:46:43.760
other thing that you talk about that I think is

813
00:46:43.840 --> 00:46:45.880
really really important. There are several things ship like I

814
00:46:45.880 --> 00:46:49.039
don't know seven or so points, but integrating environmental and

815
00:46:49.079 --> 00:46:53.960
social responsibility into what you're doing, because that helps unite

816
00:46:54.000 --> 00:46:56.880
the team and the greater community around what you're doing

817
00:46:56.920 --> 00:46:59.719
and connect selves to you and being part of something

818
00:46:59.719 --> 00:47:02.199
big or so so many things that you offer to

819
00:47:02.280 --> 00:47:05.519
us that help us really create that legacy that we

820
00:47:05.559 --> 00:47:08.320
can be proud of that endures, that really matters.

821
00:47:09.320 --> 00:47:12.400
Yeah, once we step outside of these buzzwords and some

822
00:47:12.480 --> 00:47:16.559
of these hot topics and realize what what's the meat

823
00:47:16.599 --> 00:47:19.320
on the bone, what is the intention? What is the

824
00:47:19.360 --> 00:47:24.639
real meaning behind things like sustainability and inclusivity, and we

825
00:47:24.800 --> 00:47:30.000
realize it's respecting others, it's doing the right thing. It's

826
00:47:30.239 --> 00:47:36.679
doesn't mean that you're sacrificing your success or you're not

827
00:47:36.679 --> 00:47:40.840
not pursuing greatness whatever you measure greatness. But it's realizing

828
00:47:40.880 --> 00:47:43.000
that you're never going to do it by yourself. There's

829
00:47:43.079 --> 00:47:48.599
not one person alive today, have been alive in the past,

830
00:47:48.719 --> 00:47:51.719
or will be in the future, that have become successful

831
00:47:52.360 --> 00:47:57.400
or have failed on their own. We're symbiotic. It's just

832
00:47:57.480 --> 00:48:01.679
the nature of who we are. So realizing that there's

833
00:48:01.760 --> 00:48:06.239
that relationship ecosystem that you have to manage and it's

834
00:48:06.280 --> 00:48:08.400
not a one off. It's not screen cleaning. You have

835
00:48:08.480 --> 00:48:10.320
to do it every day, every week. You have to

836
00:48:10.360 --> 00:48:13.239
manage those relationships. You have to learn. Again, it goes

837
00:48:13.280 --> 00:48:16.960
back to the three hats. Every day, what are you learning?

838
00:48:17.800 --> 00:48:20.559
How are you leading? It can be small things. And

839
00:48:20.599 --> 00:48:23.360
then what are you doing to give back? You know,

840
00:48:23.400 --> 00:48:26.000
if you're a cog in the wheel, right, if you're

841
00:48:26.079 --> 00:48:30.639
just another cog in the machine in the organization, well,

842
00:48:30.679 --> 00:48:33.280
how are you making other people's lives better? How are

843
00:48:33.320 --> 00:48:36.320
you giving back to the company. If you're a titan

844
00:48:36.320 --> 00:48:39.119
of industry. How are you giving back to your community,

845
00:48:39.480 --> 00:48:45.280
your country, the planet. These things all ripple, and whether

846
00:48:45.440 --> 00:48:50.800
you see those benefits today are not, they really do matter,

847
00:48:50.960 --> 00:48:54.360
and they really do determine what your legacy is going

848
00:48:54.400 --> 00:48:55.480
to be remembered as.

849
00:48:56.639 --> 00:48:59.239
What a powerful way to finish. Gray, I am so

850
00:48:59.320 --> 00:49:01.039
happy to know you, to learn from you, to be

851
00:49:01.119 --> 00:49:03.239
inspired by you, to share with my listeners across the

852
00:49:03.840 --> 00:49:06.440
globe who are here to learn about their own leadership

853
00:49:06.440 --> 00:49:07.760
and how to be able to create that kind of

854
00:49:07.760 --> 00:49:10.599
a legacy. Thank you for being you, bringing the book

855
00:49:10.599 --> 00:49:12.039
into fruition and coming.

856
00:49:11.760 --> 00:49:12.679
And working on purpose.

857
00:49:13.599 --> 00:49:16.599
Thank you for having me listeners and viewers you were

858
00:49:16.599 --> 00:49:18.639
going to learn more about Gray McDowell, the work he

859
00:49:18.679 --> 00:49:21.880
does helping to transform leaders and companies, and his new book,

860
00:49:22.159 --> 00:49:25.440
Crafting a Corporate Camelot where leadership becomes legend.

861
00:49:25.559 --> 00:49:26.559
A couple of things you can do.

862
00:49:26.639 --> 00:49:28.719
Find you on LinkedIn, for sure, that's one of the

863
00:49:28.719 --> 00:49:30.639
best ways. He has a very robust portfolio and he

864
00:49:30.679 --> 00:49:33.280
does respond very well there. So his full name is

865
00:49:33.360 --> 00:49:39.280
William Gray McDowell and mcdowall's McDow e L L So

866
00:49:39.320 --> 00:49:41.719
William Gray mcdowells. How you find him on LinkedIn. He

867
00:49:41.840 --> 00:49:44.840
does have a Medium account and how do you get there?

868
00:49:45.039 --> 00:49:47.559
Again? Gray, where's the Medium account? What's the address there?

869
00:49:48.199 --> 00:49:51.920
So it's going to be at W dot Gray d

870
00:49:52.079 --> 00:49:54.880
r A y dot McDowell awesome.

871
00:49:56.079 --> 00:49:57.480
And last week, if you missed a live show, you

872
00:49:57.480 --> 00:50:00.280
can always catch via recorded podcast. We were on with

873
00:50:00.360 --> 00:50:04.320
Ryan Gotfredson, a leadership development consultant, talking about his book

874
00:50:04.360 --> 00:50:07.960
The Elevated Leader, leveling up your Leadership through Vertical Development.

875
00:50:08.400 --> 00:50:11.320
Next weekly on there with doctor Stephen Post talking about

876
00:50:11.320 --> 00:50:14.960
his book Pure Unlimited Love, Science and the Seven Past

877
00:50:15.000 --> 00:50:17.599
to Inner Peace. See you then, together, let's lean in

878
00:50:17.639 --> 00:50:20.559
and learn how to create destination workplaces where people thrive

879
00:50:20.800 --> 00:50:22.800
while doing business in a way that betters the world.

880
00:50:23.039 --> 00:50:24.199
Let's work on Purpose.

881
00:50:27.440 --> 00:50:30.079
We hope you've enjoyed this week's program. Be sure to

882
00:50:30.119 --> 00:50:33.760
tune into Working on Purpose featuring your host, doctor Elise Cortes,

883
00:50:33.880 --> 00:50:37.199
each week on W four CY. Together, we'll create a

884
00:50:37.239 --> 00:50:41.880
world where business operates conscientiously, leadership inspires and passion performance,

885
00:50:41.960 --> 00:50:44.719
and employees are fulfilled in work that provides the meaning

886
00:50:44.760 --> 00:50:48.559
and purpose they crave. See you there, Let's work on Purpose.