Ep208 Laura Templeton - Compassionate Leadership: Building Stronger Teams Through Empathy and Clear Communication

Laura Templeton 0:00

When you work with a team, a lot of times you are giving them direction on what you need from them, but sometimes they need direction on how to make that happen.

Mike O'Neill 0:13

Welcome to get unstuck and on target. The weekly podcast that offers senior leaders insights and strategies to not only lead with confidence and vision, but also to achieve ground breaking results. I'm your host, Mike O'Neill, I coach top level executives on the power of ethical leadership, to forge teams to be as united as they are effective in each episode, join me for insightful conversations with leaders just like you, providing practical advice to help you get unstuck and propel you and your company forward. Let's get started.

Mike O'Neill 0:55

What if the key to leadership wasn't just about making tough decisions, but leading with heart. In this episode, I sit down with brand messaging expert Laura Templeton to explore the power of Compassionate Leadership. Laura challenges the traditional leadership mindset and reveals how balancing empathy and authority can transform not just teams, but entire organizations, plus we dive into her new book, Compassionate Leadership, building strong brands through empathy, connection and continuous improvement. So I invite you to listen for insights on leading with clarity, confidence and compassion, strategies for building a brand and the culture that people want to be a part of, and the reason that listening is the most underrated leadership skill. As an executive coach, I see this all the time, leaders striving for results while missing the human connection that drives true success. But there's a better way tune in now and discover how Compassionate Leadership can take your influence to the next level. Joining me today is Laura Templeton, founder and chief instigator of 32nd success with over 25 years in marketing and brand communication, Laura helps service citric businesses craft compelling messages with clarity, confidence and compassion. She's a leading expert also in integrating AI, particularly chat GPT, into brand messaging strategies. Laura is a dynamic keynote speaker. She is a past podcast guest coach and now author in her latest book, Compassionate Leadership, building strong brands through empathy, connection and continuous improvement, it's going to be a game changer for leaders who really want to create impact driven brands without losing sight of what truly matters. People. Welcome back, Laura.

Laura Templeton 3:01

Thank you so much for having me back, Mike. I'm really excited to be here with you today. I had the

Mike O'Neill 3:06

opportunity to read an advanced copy of your book. And for those who are watching this episode, this is not your first book, but over your shoulder, you have other books. What is it about Compassionate Leadership that just kind of lit you up that you wanted to write a book about.

Laura Templeton 3:26

I think the biggest thing that I'm seeing is there's so many people that are struggling in the corporate environment, but not just corporate environment and leadership overall, right? Because we have a lot of amazing entrepreneurs and small business owners who are leaders as well in their field, and some of the struggle of them being able to connect on a deep emotional level, and that's where compassion comes in, right? Having an understanding that empathy for others, it really helps us to connect on a totally different level with people with intention.

Mike O'Neill 3:58

So if you were to describe what Compassionate Leadership looks like in action. How would you do so, and why is that so critical in today's business environment?

Laura Templeton 4:10

I think we've kind of at this point in time, Compassionate Leadership is really about tuning in to what others on your team within your organization really need? What do they need to hear from you, how what kind of support are they looking for? What kind of direction? One of the biggest things that I see, challenge wise, is you have a lot of entry level leaders who are stepping you, who people saw leadership qualities in them, and they step into a management role, and now they they're struggling, and a lot of times it's because they, they have, they lack the training or the the role models of somebody who's a good leader to help them understand what it takes to support your people right? They know all the nuances of maybe. The business itself, but being a manager, and managing people and leading people really comes down to understanding those people, how to inspire them, how to encourage them, and coming from a place of positivity, right? So many times it's more of, you know, you wait till somebody's failing and then you threaten them with, you know, losing their job and putting them on plan. And, well, what did you do to help them when they were struggling, right? What did you do to help them improve their station, to become a better employee, right? What do we do to help people not wind up on plan, right? And I think sometimes managers are looking at the, you know, the the ROI and the bottom line, and, you know, I've got to get this report done, and I've got to get that report done instead of that overall team perspective, team means supporting your team, right? You know, when you work with a team, a lot of times you are giving them direction on what you need from them, but sometimes they need direction on how to make that happen and how to make it happen more effectively. We

Mike O'Neill 6:15

have seen that ourselves with bench builders, and that is, you know, our core training offering is a series of modules we call build your bench, and it's designed to kind of address those skills that a supervisor must be comfortable with, that they're going to be successful. What we have found, though, is for those who are transitioning into a leadership role, they don't teach you how to do that. And so we've actually created a series for that very, very purpose. So let's continue on this. Because you're such a gifted speaker, you're a great writer, we're talking about compassion, we're talking about empathy, and then we don't want to lose sight of how you help individuals and organizations with their communication? Can we go down that path just for a moment? How can leaders use empathy to craft their brand messages? And when I say the word empathy, can you define it in a way that might be relatable to the folks? I

Laura Templeton 7:20

think the biggest thing when we think about empathy is care, right? We how do we care for others? And having a deep understanding of what someone else is going through, and when you bring that into your communication? And one of the things that we know, even from the marketing perspective, for years, we've always talked about knowing you, knowing your audience, right, identifying your ideal clients from a business perspective, but knowing your audience from a team perspective. What do they need? What are they struggling with? How do you communicate with them and show them how you can help them and support them? Looking at their pro you know their DISC profile or their you know the benchmarks that that really help you understand who they are as a person, how they learn, how they operate, what are their organizational skills, and how can you support them to a, improve in that station and B, to integrate it into the team effort? Right? Because you want to make sure that there's cohesion there for them to feel like they belong. And I think that's one of the biggest things that we've struggled with for years now in corporate America, is that sense of belonging. They're saying what that's one of the biggest things that reasons for millennials to leave a job is that sense of belonging is not there. They want to be part of something bigger. They want to feel like they belong. They want to feel like they're heard. And a lot of times that's missing from some management styles, being a empathetic listener, right, and yet still coming from a place of authority when it's time to say, Okay, I need this from you, or here's how I here's what I need and how I need it, right? So still, a lot of times I feel like managers, managers almost avoid being too empathetic or being too close to their employees, because number one, you know you want, you want to maintain that a little bit of that. You know that leadership role and the respect needs to be there, but when you become friends and all of a sudden, the lines get blurred, not saying not to be friends with your employees, but you still need to maintain that leadership quality, that leadership role of being able to discern when it's time to be sympathetic, empathetic, understanding, caring, and yet you don't want someone to take advantage of you, right? So there's a balance that comes with it. And I think good leaders, leaders that have a deep understanding of how to relate, how to connect, how to. Communicate well with their employees. Understand that balance.

Mike O'Neill 10:06

That balance seems to be the thing that is one of the biggest challenges. And you mentioned, how do you balance empathy with quote authority and that those two words are so so loaded. What might be some practical tips you have for our listeners, for those who are in leadership, they want to find that balance between empathy while not relinquishing that they are in authority, if you will. Are there some tips that you have for for us that would kind of help us strike that balance.

Laura Templeton 10:43

You know, one of the things I think it's really important when it comes to finding that balance for leaders is again, and when you're in a in a role of leadership, making sure that you are are communicating well with your team, that you are listening well, and making sure that people feel hurt, right? So a lot of times, one of the things is like repeating back. That's one of the easiest ways to acknowledge that you understand where someone's coming from. Like, okay, Mike, I understand that you want to, you want me to explain the, you know, the balance between empathy and authority, and the easiest way for me to do that is this, right? It's really repeating back that I've heard you, that you've been heard, and yet from a place of authority, it's like, Okay, here's my understanding of what you're asking me here, and here's what I would have like you to do with this information, right? It's still coming from the place of authority. It's giving good, clear direction. And I think sometimes that's, that's what's lost in the chaos, right? Sometimes there's, there's this feeling, I know this is one of the things that I've witnessed, it in some of my corporate clients, that they feel like there's just payoffs. Things are coming at them all the time, right? They're getting and then they go to their their boss and say, I need some direction. What's the most important thing? And the boss says, everything. Afraid to prioritize. They're afraid to prioritize for their employees. Okay, here's what you need to be working on, first, second, third, right? Your employees are looking for you to give them direction. If they come to you for direction, they'll just slough it off. Help them figure out what's the most important, and if those priorities change, you need to help them understand how to make that shift. That's one of the biggest struggles that I find with my corporate clients, is they feel like everything is everything's a fire drill, yeah, and they have no one to tell them what's the most important thing, you

Mike O'Neill 12:52

know, when you mentioned that thing that kind of popped in my mind is that they go to the boss asking for direction, and odds are very good that boss is asking the same thing from their boss. It's the kind of the nature of the corporate world out there. We've been talking a bit about kind of one on one thus far. And how do you convey empathy, but as a leader, and you're trying to kind of build a team, a team that understands a culture. How do you advise your clients on how to use compassion as a way to positively influence culture?

Laura Templeton 13:37

So for the for the effect of influencing culture, and I love that you say that, because I talk a lot about that, you know, building your brand, right? The you know, building, you know, a team that is willing to go advocate for your brand and to speak up and share what your brand is all about. I think the biggest piece of that is having buy in on your mission, right, helping your team understand what the mission of the organization is. Well, what's the mission of your team? Right? So if your team is specific to you, know, maybe it's R and D, what is that that specific mission for that team? What kind of results does that team need to be looking for in their day to day actions. So when you have a mission for your team, that's part of the overall mission of your company, and how does it support the brand overall? And it's so fun when you start like you build a team that has a mission and they have a purpose, and they're really humming along, and they're they're creating, and they're feeling like they're part of something bigger, and yet they feel like they're in this protected bubble because they know that the people in their team have their back right? They're all moving in the same direction. They're not fighting against one another. They're they're looking to support one another and grow to. Other. And, you know, that's that, you know, even from an HR standpoint, comes down to helping people understand what their career path is. And that can, that can play into it as well, right? I know it's so it's so funny. I have a client who, year after year, always got amazing ratings, amazing ratings, amazing ratings, right? But never got any kind of promotion. And he finally said to his boss one day, he's like, why haven't I gotten a promotion? I've been doing all this for years. He goes, well, so first of all, you're at the top of your level. There's nowhere else for you to go. He never asked about what the career path or what the next step was, because the next step for you is my job, and I'm not ready to quit yet. So where do you go? Right? So helping your employees understand their next step, their career path. But then he's he finally said to his boss, okay, I want to be more. I want to do more. And his boss said, Well, you know, there are other opportunities within other divisions, maybe we can find help you find something else. And they sat down and planned out the group. Right again, it's that the ability to really kind of you want to grow yourself, but you also want to grow your team. When your team starts to get recognition, when people start Wait, wait, what are they doing different? How can we, how can we take what they're doing and and implement it across the board with it within the company, and make everything better?

Mike O'Neill 16:30

You know, Laura, when you mentioned that, what kind of neatly came to mind for me is if you surround yourself with capable people, and those capable people have a clear idea of what the organization's mission is, what are the major goals for the organization, and they understand for their part of that, that there is literally a kind of a team mission, and there are things that we need to do as a team that are aligned With those corporate goals. That potential for alignment is phenomenal. What I really love is the fact that you brought up career progression, because it could very well be that people do, in fact, top out. And if you are as a leader, doing the things we're talking about, your team is going to be recognized, or there's something going on there. It's positive, and that oftentimes reflects positively on the leader of that team. So in the example you just gave, if that leader said, You know what, maybe my job is to help you prepare for the next role. And it won't be in my area, but it might be over here, when that transition takes place, what you have done, because the reputation of your team is there will be people probably lined up who want to join your team because you've got something going on that they want. Does that resonate with

Laura Templeton 17:58

you? Absolutely and and it doesn't. You have to. One of the things that I talk about, especially from the brand advocacy side of things, is people catch winds. It doesn't stay within your company, right? People outside of your company. Here, when you're doing good things, right, when you are treating your employees well, when your team when your employees are happy with their teams and the work they're doing, they have a tendency to talk more about your company, yes. And then their friends want to be part of that, right? The people that they're hanging out with, the people that they're networking with, want to be part of that. Hey, are there any openings within your company? Let me know if there's an opening that comes up. You know, hey, here's my resume. Pass it along. And that stimulates even more growth. We know that when referrals from employees come in as as new and new hires, statistically, they stay longer than somebody who just came in off the street or or through an agency.

Mike O'Neill 18:56

Yeah, I know that the statistics back it up. But what is your sense? Why do folks who get referred into the organization by current employees? Why do they tend to stay longer?

Laura Templeton 19:11

I think it's a lot of times. It's because they are from. They're already familiar. They can hit the ground running faster. They have someone to bring them along and encourage them, right? They have a friend. They have a friend in the organization, and they don't want to disappoint that friend, and I think that's a big part of it, right? So when you're building a culture where there are friends across lines, maybe in different different departments, and yet that you know, it really does enhance the growth of your culture and within the organization. And those friends are important because they take the time to let people know, hey, when you come in, this is what you can expect. Here's who you want to here's who you want to get to know your organ, your your department, is doing this right now. So again, they can hit the. Around running much faster than somebody who's new and isn't familiar with the internal workings of the organization.

Mike O'Neill 20:06

Great answer. I think you're spot on there. Laura, you mentioned the word brand or brands earlier. Let's go back to the title of your book, Compassionate Leadership, building strong brands through empathy, connection and continuous improvement. Elaborate, a little bit about strong brands. What is it you're referring to? There

Laura Templeton 20:28

brand recognition. It's that's what it boils down to when you're building a brand, whether it's a personal brand or the brand for your company, right? What do you want to be known for? So when you you know brand recognition, if even to this day, when I mentioned RCA, now maybe some of the young people in the audience may not know who RCA is, but you and I remember nipper, right? Like the RCA was like a major brand when we were growing up. They they cornered the market on recordings, but then they did a lot of different r, d things, even in the technology space. And you know that brand recognition, even after all these years, they're gone, probably close to 30 years now, when people still recognize it, still remember it. It's the it's the brand recognition. It's being known for, for being a good company to work with, a good company to work for, right? It's that brand recognition like, Hey, if you could get your foot in the door at RCA, or, you know, like, day this, day and age, it might be Comcast or spectrum, or, you know, one of the big corporations, it was like, you you were, you were set, right? So the brand recognition really comes down to people understanding what your brand stands for, again, coming down to your mission, your values, what does your brand stand for, and is it consistent, right? And I think that's where the consistency of your brand has to come in, and we look at it and personal brand as well. So think about, we were talking about building your team, and your team having a mission there. That team is branding itself as one of the quality teams within the organization. It's got some mission. They have a purpose. People know who they are. That's their brand. The individuals within that organization, or the leader within that organization is building their own brand, right? Their personal brand, like this is who I am. This is what I stand for. This is what my beliefs are. This is how I teach my people. This is how I lead my people, right? That's what they're known for. Your brand is really what you're known for. Now we have in marketing. You've got your visual brand, you've got your graphic you know, like there, your brand comes down to who you are, mainly as a person. How are you showing up, who you are as an organization? How is your organization showing up? And the consistency in your messaging, right? You want to be very consistent in your messaging, so you're not confusing your audience, and that's where brand communications piece comes in, right? Are you consistent cross board? Are you consistent in your marketing? Are you consistent you know, in your advertising, in your in your social media, are you consistent where you're showing up online? Are you consistent in what you're sending out in your newsletter? Are you consistent in where you're when you're showing up at networking events? Are you saying that they saying things that you're putting out in writing, right? Are you consistently showing up as a professional?

Mike O'Neill 23:32

Well, it's a powerful phrase. Are you consistently showing up as a professional? And that consistency is key to brand awareness. Let's talk about when it might not go as planned. The thing that kind of comes to mind is a situation where perhaps a client got stuck. And when that happened, what did it take to get unstuck? What did it take to kind of help them break through?

Laura Templeton 24:01

That's a great question. And it's so funny that you mentioned that one of my favorite clients was an amazing woman who has this great organization in New York, and they do some really deep work. They do really deep work. And she was she there, she had an ideal client that she really wanted to be attracting to her organization. Like she said, in 10 years, I want to work with this person. In 10 years. I want to, like, why 10 years? Where is that coming from? So really digging down, you know, like in her mind, she needed to learn more before she could work with this particular client. So we kind of dug into, what do you need to learn? Why do you think you need to learn that? Where? Who made you think you needed to know all this before you could work with that specific client? I knew she was ready for that client. It was just that she didn't believe it herself. She didn't think she was ready because somebody told her she wasn't ready. I see i. Somebody else who was already working with that level of client, by the way, so there was a little competition there, and she didn't see it. She felt like this was a mentor of hers. She was trusting in what they were saying in her heart of hearts. She didn't believe it. So we had to dig deep into figuring out what was, what that belief was, and move it aside, right? And it took work. It really did take work to really uncover it. It took us quite a, you know, like quite a a bit of time to, you know, a couple sessions, to really kind of dig in. And I even asked a friend of mine, who does some mindset work, to help her out, because it was just this block was there. She just did not believe she could work with that particular level of client within her organization. Now, she had an amazing team, and even her team was ready for it. They were begging her to change some of her her marketing, to really focus on this. They they were excited about going in that direction, and she just kept putting it off, and she finally, she finally was able to get that cleared up and start moving forward. And then, and when she started to really tap into it, and started the belief, and we even sat with her team and said, Okay, here's what you know we want to work with. Here's who we want to work with. More importantly, here are some of the fears that keep coming up. Here are some of the here are some of the challenges keep coming up. When these challenges come up, what are we going to do?

Mike O'Neill 26:29

Yeah, I love this example. Most of the time we talk about overcoming matters that's more on an individual level, but what you just described well, it's powerful. This is a a key leader who had it in her mind, it's going to take 10 years to get there. What do we have to do over the next 10 years to get there? What's interesting, though, is that she had as part of her team people who were were almost or were already there, and if you couldn't have helped with that mindset shift and the person that you kind of brought her in, she would probably begin losing team members. Would she not

Laura Templeton 27:12

absolutely, absolutely her team was getting frustrated. I think that was part of the reason why we started working together. She's like, I need help. You know,

Mike O'Neill 27:23

it's one thing. We've talked about, the power of forming high performing teams, but if you're going to do that, you've got to make sure that you give them the runway to perform, and if whatever reason, they're held back, and particularly if you as a leader, are holding them back, not intentionally, you're not going to achieve what is it you're you're all about. You know, Laura, thus far, we've had a pretty far ranging conversation. Kind of tie in in how compassion can be a good business model, but you also have a unique ability to kind of you have that balance. I'll go back to that word of demonstrating compassion at the same time, finding results. Making that very, very clear as you sat down to write this book, and this is not something that you knocked out very quickly. You've been working up for a while. This book is just now getting out in the process of writing. I think this also triggered other book ideas for you. Did it? Not it,

Laura Templeton 28:33

did it did? I have a couple of books that I want to in this series that I've already started developing. So, yeah, so I think right now, I'm up to three in this series. So there's Compassionate Leadership. The second one is going to be conversational leadership, and the third one, I'm not sure if it's going to be contagious leadership or another title I'm playing with. So we'll see. We'll see. I

Mike O'Neill 29:00

don't do this very often. You are a repeat guest. For those who are watching and listen, you can see why, and I'm quite confident when those others come online, I look forward to having you back on as you kind of reflect on this conversation. And if you were to kind of identify closing thoughts or takeaways, what would be one key piece of advice, something you would give leaders who want to infuse more compassion into their communication and leadership style?

Laura Templeton 29:35

I think the key piece of advice Mike is really to listen. Really listen with intention. Ask good qualifying questions of your team. Sit with each one individually and sit with them as a group, yeah, but be intentional about listening. Take notes and then reflect on it before you take action. Sometimes. We take action too fast. Sometimes we just need to listen and let it sink in. And you know whether you're listening for ideas, listening for ways to improve, or listening for ways to help your team listen and then let it sink in before you take action.

Mike O'Neill 30:22

You know, Laura, the kind of work you do and the kind of work that we do, since they are complimentary what you just shared, it's great insight, effective communication and compassion, leadership. They go hand in hand, and you use the word listening. It really starts with listening. So I want to invite our listeners if you're looking to sharpen your leadership approach, align your team and drive measurable success, bench builders can help visit bench builders.com to learn more about our executive coaching and leadership development programs. Laura, thank you again for sharing your insights. For listeners who want to connect with you and learn more about your work, how to find your book, what's the best way for them to reach out to you?

Laura Templeton 31:11

So the easiest way to find me is at 32nd success.com and I brand it everywhere on social media, the same way, 32nd success is the name of my company, and it's been an amazing almost 10 years. So I'm excited to to I know

Mike O'Neill 31:27

we're wrapping up, but I have to ask the root of the title or the name of your organization, 32nd success, help us understand, what is that referring to?

Laura Templeton 31:39

32nd success really was an organization that was founded on helping people develop that 32nd message for when they are connecting in a networking environment. I love helping people with their brand message, and that's the foundation of the organization.

Mike O'Neill 31:54

Well, it ties perfectly to this conversation, and that is the first time that someone might meet you or learn about your organization, they have to be able to get a quick idea, and so I know you're very good at helping people craft that message in a compelling fashion. Again, Laura, it's been a real treat to have you back on the podcast.

Laura Templeton 32:19

Thank you so much for having me back on get unstuck and on target. I appreciate you having me, Mike. It's been wonderful hanging out with

Mike O'Neill 32:26

you. Well, thank you. I also want to thank our subscribers for joining us, and I hope today's conversation with Laura has inspired new ideas to help you get unstuck and on target. Thank you for joining us for this episode of get unstuck and on target. I hope you've gained insights to help you lead with confidence and drive your organization forward. Remember at bench builders, we're committed to your success, your leadership excellence and your strategic growth. If you've enjoyed our conversation today, please leave a review, rate and subscribe to keep up with our latest episodes. This show really grows when listeners like you share it with others. Who do you know, who needs to hear what we talked about today? Until next time, I encourage you to stay focused on the target and continue to break new ground on your leadership path.

AI VO 33:30

This show is powered by media leads to get your next great podcast produced. Go to media leads, co.com you.