Lattes and Leaders w/ Dr. Brad Johnson

[Music] good morning and welcome to lattes and Leaders with Dr Brad Johnson best-selling author and accomplished public speaker specializing in education and educational leadership I am your co-host Jeremy Johnson organizational psychology consultant specializing in career coaching training and development meet us here each week to discuss topics in Education and Leadership and meet with some of the top education talent and thought Partners from across the globe so grab your latte sit back and enjoy a relaxed conversation that will leave you informed and encouraged today we have a very special guest Dr Tiffany Brunson how are you doing this morning I'm fantastic I'm doing well and I'm really happy to be here good morning yeah we're so excited to have you I've been looking forward to this I just uh I can't wait for you yeah to share your experiences and such so thank you and welcome this morning or afternoon I'm sorry yes perfect all right well yeah it's um great having you on board today let's get started can you tell us a little bit about your journey so far yeah so so far you're you're asking I'll be very brief um as it relates to a 30-year career this is year 30 and um all in education um but I started uh of course as a young teacher I was a um uh as they now call it a teacher of diverse Learners we have gotten much better with our uh terminology and language um progress is great um but I started off as a special education teacher in Chicago I'm born and raised in Chicago um and I taught students uh that at that time would have been considered um mentally handicapped or um students with very low IQs and that is you know I'm so glad that we have now changed all of our terminology but um now I was a teacher of diversity Learners I started there and I've also taught students um with various special needs I used used to sign language used to use sign language I used to teach children self you know taking care like self- skills like being able to take care of themselves to accept children with all kinds of exceptionalities if you will and so I did that for 13 years and then I moved on to become a special education teacher I'm sorry moved from being a special education teacher to then being becoming a an assistant principal and then principal and then after that all Chicago as well as in Forest Park which is a suburb of Chicago and I absolutely LED that job I was there for a very long time I loved that community and then I went on to become the Chic what is Rockford's first Chief diversity Equity inclusion officer and then went on to now in my current role as the proud superintendent of Elementary School District 159 which is a in a suburb right outside of Chicago as well and so that is my um educational journey in in nutshell but it it's been a complex Journey it has not been a straight line it has been a winding road if you will um and I've been in educational leadership for a very long time and so it is definitely as John Maxwell call calls it um being I have become a a developer of people and um that's really important to me and so I'm I'm really excited to talk about absolutely what a wonderful Journey that mindset yeah I love the journey yeah I mean you've you've experienced it all all the way up to the top so I think you bring a lot of expertise with you with that as well so yeah congratulations on where you are now because that's wonderful thank you very much thank you yep um this is my third year as the superintendent here and it's it it's been amazing as you can imagine it is a a very uh some people say difficult I just say it's a it's a challenging and complex role to be in at this time yeah um because education has changed so much and I think the role of educational leaders it has evolved and I think we're at a really great place so wonderful I really like that you said developer of people me too that's so important and I I really like the mindset behind that that's a you know great stance to take as a leader you know looking at you know more of the transformative leadership side and it's so important so that's great so what of your personal qualities do you think have made the biggest impact on your success as a leader um I will say one of my as I like to call it my superpower I think everyone has a superpower by the way um but I think my um greatest superpower is my ability to listen I'm very deeply empathetic and um very patient very very patient I think when mistakes are made or when missteps are made or things like that because that's just being human I I have a way of creating the space for people to show up as their authentic selves and it's not performative it is just you know come as you are because I think we all have talents and gifts and my other like I would say one of my other superpowers is being able to recognize and respect um people's assets and the talents and gifts that they bring to to our organization to our world and just you know to each other's lives and said so that to me um for me are um some of my greatest assets if you will as a as a leader oh wow yeah I love that yeah that sounds you know a lot about what we talk about in one of our latest books we talk about the role of compassion and and Leadership and it's so important and you know that really leads to those relationships so that's yeah that's perfect yeah and I think the importance of relationships I I I think it's really important for everyone to understand just that uh every single day you come into to work you know our our our organization schools are full of people you know um your greatest resource is your human resource investing in your people and sometimes the investment in in those people is the your patience and your compassion and um seeing the what they the they add to your organization it doesn't matter what seat they sit in or what role they play um but really understanding that our organizations are are full of diverse wonderful people and even challenging experiences um gives us the opportunity to learn to to learn you know um from those opportunities we had a board meeting last night and I wake up I I I after board meetings I I um take time to reflect on you know I guess you want to say the glows in the in the grows of the meeting I do this for every meeting that I'm in I prepare but then afterwards I reflect and I think about how did I interact with someone did I give them enough space to get their thoughts out did I allow enough or set the table for enough people to feel like they're included if there is you know I'm not perfect so if I become frustrated or you know misunderstand something I try to decide and really reflect on where where was that misunderstanding or where did that tension come from or where to lean into whatever discomfort that is because that comes with the role of being a leader a lot leaning into a lot of discomfort and understanding tension and actually seeing those as positive yeah that's wonderful and you know when you talk about developing people you know that's what you take in you know the not just the person in the role but the person and what they bring to it it was interesting we had of all places um a guy from Australia was talking about that he he's been fortunate to travel to the United States and other places and he said it's interesting that we we talk about and and we do a good job of of bringing in diversity he's like but then we don't listen to the diversity you know and I was like that's a good point you know we we say oh we have it but we don't listen to it we all try to get to the same point too quick instead of listening to the different people and like you said kind of sifting through it and and understanding it and where they're coming from and then you're able to really you know make a better decision or come to a better conclusion or you know uh understand each other better so I love that you do that and that's the mindset of where you're coming from and I bet the people under you appreciate that too they do they do you know we call that the rushing up the ladder of infer inference right it's like because I think in in education specifically um we try to get to a solution too fast and sometimes we end up creating more chaos if you will by assigning the wrong solution for the problem or we don't have the right people in the room to make the decisions that will affect the most like in schools the people that are affected most by the decisions that we make Are Young young people and often times they're not in the room or their Spirit isn't in the room when we're making decisions we make the decisions for them because we think well I have these degrees I have this 30 years of experience you know I'm the adult I can make a decision for you and one of the things that I always talk about is what I call Circ circular or Circle leadership is that leadership is not about hierarchies it's a full circle there's no beginning and there's no end so there's no one in control the real control is the situation is actually in control of the situation you know I love that when you realize that and you recognize that you're able to make the right decisions because oftentimes we try to assign we create policies disciplinary you know um actions are taken sweeping judgments are made simp because it's the easiest thing to do it's kind of like writing an email and C seeing all of these people on the email that don't really need to be on the email you know because it's the easiest thing to do right it's convenient um and oftentimes what we feel is we don't have enough time but actually taking the time will save you more headaches and it will bring people closer when you slow down pause and reflect and then make your decisions but that's been something I've learned over the years and people who come to work alongside me it's a hard thing for them to struggle with they're like so what's the solution when we get into the solution I said no I said I want us to really understand what the what the challenge is you know and be able to look at E look at all sides and all perspectives and then be able to make a a sound decision and sometimes that can be frustrating for people and I understand that oh I love that so much it's kind of like the old saying if all you have is a hammer everything looks like a nail everything looks like a nail know so you're right on yeah yeah I love that I love that perspective yeah thank you for sharing that that was powerful yeah thank you thank you for that um I don't know I I love how you said at the beginning about leadership being transformational it is but often times we have to figure out who we are first as human beings and as people before because we bring that into our leadership style and then when you're really really quick to to make decisions one of the things I try to make sure that when hiring or when we're bringing on new teammates or whatever is not about whether they fit perfectly because oftentimes if you try to figure out who fits perfectly then you just replicate yourself often times right sometimes you need to say then then you just have an echo chamber and then it's like all of us look the same like we're we're all being rolled off of an assembly line right that is not good leadership good leadership is looking at potential and then giving people the opportunity to grow like what does that really mean yes yes but if you already want someone that's perfect and to think just like you then you you actually you you don't have other leaders in the room a real good leader creates more leaders not more followers absolutely yes absolutely love that and I love that like you said like yeah if you want them to think and and act and and reach decisions and do everything just like you what's the point of really having them you know if you know you're just duplicating yourself and that's not really you know which I guess from the ego standpoint might be okay for some people but yes not really helping you reach you know solve problems and and reach the best solution so that's a great point it stifles it stifles innovation in progress you know Innovation always comes out of uh risk taking risk yes you know yes and oftentimes leaders we don't like to relinquish the power if you will and we we don't like to share in the power and the you and that's when you end up as you can as you said like you just duplicating you know or repeating the same patterns over and over again and that's why a lots of organizations especially schools you know as we look at all of the issues that are happening in schools and this is the what I think is really critical for us to analyze is if we're in Illinois you're in Georgia if you and I are saying that we're having the same exact issues in two separate states around the same issue there's something wrong with the the system the system and you know because Mo the system there's something wrong with if you're it's the educational system as a whole if you're having the same issue I'm having the same issue then apparently that there is there's similarities in that then it really is that we're just we're not transforming or reimagining our system we're just replicating it duplicating it you know repeating the same things over and over again instead of really digging deep into why why are we have like after covid right everyone now says well we know we have an issue with our with reading we had an issue with teaching young people how to read prior to that you know you know and and we keep re we keep assigning the same Solutions if you will to the same problems over and over and over again as opposed to trying something different absolutely oh you're so right with that and I sometimes think maybe it's it's ease because you said something a minute ago that I think is really important you talked about that a lot of times leaders don't like to relinquish control and so I think part of that is because they you know like you and your position you know that you're ultimately responsible and so unless you're very confident in your yourself and your leadership you know it's hard to relinquish any of that control so the fact that you're able to do that you know speaks volumes of you know I'm confident in myself my leadership ability what I bring and I understand that you know I need to bring people on that will help even you know get us to another level but I think for some that may be hard and I think part of that though is because they're like you know well I'm the one ultimately responsible so you know it kind of needs to be my way and that's you know not a very healthy environment and you sure don't get the best from uh your staff if you do that either but that does I think take you know some confidence in in your own leadership to be able to do that yeah yeah and so it's it's kind of going from that hero to host leadership right and I think that that is traditionally what people have expected out of leaders to be fixers to come in and have all the answers like right away day one they give you the the keys they say this is your office your name is on the door and they're like you're in charge and I'm like nope I'm actually not in charge what's in who's in charge are the the the young people that we are serving but really it's the system that that creates or we either can recreate the system reimagine the system or we just keep replicating it and so we have to really decide and so that that whole thing about going from the hero just coming in with your cape and saying I'm here to fix everything or you can create you can be a host and create the psychologically safe environments in this where people can fail or you know fail up if you will um or you can create places where there's no progress there won't be any progress and so that host leadership because what do we like about hosts right hosts make you feel when you come to their home they have they have ask who's vegan who's vegetarian who likes this who likes that they they try to make sure that the that the environment is conducive to your enjoyment that it is conducive to you wanting to stay longer or for you even to tell everyone about oh my gosh I went to this party and it was amazing or I stayed at this amazing hotel and the service was this great or we went to dinner and H our waitress or our waiter were they were amazing I want people to say the same thing about when they interact with every single person in my school district you know that that standards of service I want them to say you know what I want to build a house in that Community you know I want to move my family there because the experience is so important and so amazing and that's why I tell people that you they ask what kind of what kind of leader are you I'm a host leader you I want to set the conditions for satisfaction for happiness for um the ability to to be listened to to be heard and those are the places people stay but I can tell you that it also creates some a place where some people leave because they there's a misalignment in values and sometimes that's okay right and that's okay absolutely absolutely so can you tell us about some of the challenges that you faced throughout your throughout your leadership roles well they've been very you know it depends because it varies because because of my intersectionality of my identities you know some of the issues have been because I was female some have been because I'm black you know and so I think that it just depends on which challenge you know I think it depends on which which situation I I can tell you that this this role as a superintendent because the there's 14,000 superintendant in America roughly 1% of the 14,000 are African-American women yet you know the amount of children that we serve that are African-American or um children of color there there's a great disparity right like statistically it it doesn't make sense right and so even in leadership you know being a woman in leadership so I can tell you that there's been there's been a myriad of challenges it just depends even when I became like when I became a teacher I would say one of the challenges because I was a teacher of diverse Learners and and now you're talking about 30 years ago um and we're thinking of like public law 94-142 it was at 1975 around in that time when our children weren't even considered to be educated in with their non-disabled peers right and so I can tell you that 30 years ago the challenges were Equity but in you know from a different you know from a different land and for a different issue you know because it was educational equity for uh me educating children with disabilities that was a challenge because I have when I was a teacher my room was changed I had the most undesirable room I was in the corner I was in I was like in a basement area like it was it was really really crazy trying to get my children included to be treated like full humans and fully access the educational experience that's that's how I started my career and that's been my journey wow ever since like you know like hey these these children deserve to to have equal access to public education and their families empowering their families so that I can tell you that that was that was one challenge that started 30 years but it also started my understanding of the inequities of Education out the gate and so I've been kind of on that journey and that that running down that pathway if you will my entire 30 30y year career oh wow wow so it sounds like you've you've spent a lot of time advocating for others and that you know that takes a lot of compassion and yes it's great that you know you have that that you have that passion I mean it's very necessary there's not a whole lot of people that are standing up and not a whole lot of people that are speaking out so you know the the ability for you to use your platform as I was going to say yeah it's it's very fortunate yeah that you've been able to have that platform so to be able to do it yeah thank you for sharing that and that's that's a really eye opener and I guess most people won't think about that and I think they'll really enjoy listening that you know even 50 years ago you know it looks so different and you you know have you've had many battles that most people may not even think about um you know that you that you endured and and Triumph So yeah thank you oh you're welcome you're welcome I do I like to think about that kind of where I started and then even you know I've had many first in my career one um one Community I became the principal I was the first woman and the and the first black principal they had and I was like oh wow and and the at the time I I didn't I didn't know it when I got hired I didn't know it until I walked into the building oh really you know my my superintendent was very Progressive and very open and um it was it was very eye openening for me because a lot of my teachers had not had a a black leader you know they have had colleagues me you know not a few but not a black leader and so it was really really really interesting so I've had like I said different different challenges along the way but for me I just looked at them as more opportunities to be to educate because I'm empathetic you know if you've never had that then you may have some bias that you didn't even realize that you had until you were faced with this this new situation and I kind of look at it that way and you know and now being a a superintendent I have been able to take all of those experiences and bring them with me so that when I am faced with a challenge from someone I try to say well why is this parent angry or why is this employee dissatisfied like really why are they and do is it something that's within my control right to change change because sometimes it's not within your control but you can still be empathetic and understand you know and I think that I have had various opportunities and so it has it's created this this wealth of knowledge that in me not only just like academic knowledge but just kind of really understanding people that's amazing and it it shows even even in how you reflect on it so can you tell us about an educator or two that have had the greatest impact on your personal development oh wow so there's been people from afar of course that I have watched Brad one three people from afar you know and and I would say that people that because what I do love about social media is that you get a chance to see people I I do I do guest speaking and you know and trainings and things like that and so I get involved with people that you see because you you you see like this this person is really interesting or they they are morals and values align like you could tell or people who are passionate about educating young people so there's there's a lot of people but I would say recently one of the people has been patina love and this is someone I I have had the opportunity to meet her in person but it's someone that I have read all her books and I I just kind of really listen to her own Journey as an as a young person to an educator and I I really am impressed by her I would say though on a personal note that it was a former principal he is now an ancestor if you will but I was a young teacher he h gave me my first job and his name was James Norris Dr James Norris he gave me my first teaching job and I remember going in for the interview and he hired me on the spot and he said he said you know I I went to the University of Illinois go L and I came home during spring break to interview because that's what you do right you're about to graduate in May you know so I had this this this one week of all of these interviews and I just remember walking in and he said you know he he we went through the interview and he looked at me and he said you're going to do great things one day but I want it to be here is where you start those were his words and I was there for six years he was the one who encouraged me to go on to pursue and become a principal because he said you should he said you have great leadership you know I was always volunteering you know just you know can can anyone you know be the coach of this I didn't even play golf I took golf lessons because I wanted I wanted to bring golf to the souths side of Chicago for these young children I took golf lessons then I brought golf because I wanted our children to have access and opportunities that they didn't have like those types of things and he was like no one would have thought about doing that you know but you did like that kind of stuff and so he was just like you know and so I ended up following his footsteps becoming a a principal then I actually got my PhD from Loyola University because he went to Loyal University it was one of those things you know and he just was like thank you and then when it was time for me to go to then you know move on he was very influential in seeing something in me beyond what I can see myself you know as a young 21 year old teacher right and um I love that he right on the spot and he said so I want you this to be where you start and I I never forget that six years of learning so much from him and stayed in touch with him afterwards but he really poured into me and he challenged me too we we we got into some some very um uncomfortable conversations because I was a firecracker and you know but but again I was the one advocating and fighting for my students and their rights and you know and I was I was a spe I was a um Special Olympics coach you know like I was really really into it you know what I mean and so for me advocacy meant so much and I changed I I my classroom went from the basement till we we had a prime location at the center of the at the center of the building you know what I mean because that was important to me exactly so yeah so yeah but that's amazing about that well I was going to say and it's wonderful to have somebody like you said and you know a lot of times I share that that even with students you know teachers a lot of times see something in them that they don't see in themselves yet and I think even as adults we're like that and so it's always wonderful to be able to remember someone or pinpoint someone that that did that for us that saw something in US because a lot of times we don't think about what strengths and talents we have we see them in others a lot of times easier and quicker than we see them in ourselves so to have someone you know impact you that way and you know help help you get to your level and now think of the number of people that you've impacted that way because he impacted you that's what's so beautiful about that whole story yeah thank you Brad so one of the quick Story one of the things that I you know when I get a chance to get in front of the entire staff I always try to create an atmosphere of joy and celebration even if we are going to have a serious conversation or you know because the work of what we do like I tell people I take my work seriously I don't take myself seriously I said there is a difference right yeah and so at the end of the year my closing you know I guess you want to say um word for everyone is I went through all of these teacher memes for the year and we had a ball laughing at them because teacher teacher Twitter or teacher X is hilarious and the memes you know it's all and so my whole presentation was full of memes teacher I got and we laughed at ourselves and we laughed at the ridiculous things that children said and things that children did and the you know the the ridiculous interactions you've had with parents and all of the funny stuff like and we just we just had such the whole Auditorium we were laughing and then at the end I played a video um and it you know it was about one video that was showing all of these students thanking their their teachers and I said you have to remember that even as challenging as it is there's going to be a child who becomes an adult who's going to reflect and you're going to be their favorite teacher that's right and it may not be the kid that was your favorite kid right absolutely absolutely you know but it was the kid that came in they turned every work you know all their work in late all the time they were you know they were your most um rambunctious you know or Lively you know child that may not have been the one that followed all the rules but one day when their acts are going to say you know what that was my favorite teacher and they will have a reason why so I always tell them just remember that every single interaction matters yes they don't forget it they do not forget those and so yeah so that's what I like to do we talk serious but I also like to remind everyone that this doing the work that we do and touching the lives that we touch it is an honor and a privilege to be able to do so that's beautiful yeah because it's not always it's not always always joyful no it I you know I I I agree I you know I I think teaching education it's one of the toughest jobs there is but the flip side to that is that it's one of the most fulfilling whether the students tell you or not like you said at some point somewhere they're going to reflect on you and the impact that you had on their life and that's that's what's just so special and amazing about it so thank I've had so many of them find me on on social media they find you on social media and they like do you remember me and I'm like of course I do of course taller you taller you got a beard now that's weird but yes you know but you do and they find you and you're like wow because now I'm saying 30 years like that's people are they're adults right you know and just remembering our influence and our impact and I I carry that with me especially the way that as a superintendent you're impacting your influence but what are you impacting and what are you influencing ex is what you have to have to question yeah I love it so tell us a little bit about your book centering our voices yes so there it is an anthology and I must say now an awardwinning anthology all right so we re International book awards we received two we were we won a finalist award for women's studies women's issues and we won an award we won first place for Anthology you know you know you all write books you know it's all these different categories and so it is a an anthology of 22 African-American women we're all across the country we all met and came together via social media and we were you know having conversations about our experiences our individual experiences and you know Dr Taran Gan she's out of Texas and she said you know we should we should should write a book and she brought together all these very brilliant women some are you know principals uh teachers Educational Consultants professors and I'm the only superintendent in the book statistically that's that's that's about right right yeah and so we all share our own experiences as Educators and we also talk about how ourselves as people and then our belief systems and our passion for this work and is it is so beautifully written and I love the honesty of the women and how they have Shar this book is for anyone like if anyone who cares about education just anyone who who wants to hear and learn about other people's experiences because that's really what it's about you know that's what it's about and it's been um it's been a great addition to my life this year because the book was just published in women's history month is when we worked hard started in the fall and we worked hard to get it you know written published and out for distribution and by women's history month and we M we made it and now it's available and it's been it's been wonderful oh that's awesome yeah congratulations that's always a a big deal you know I mean it's an accomplishment because I don't know about you but I always find writing I enjoy it but sometimes it's tough work too to sit down and really pour your emotions and everything into it so but yeah we'll definitely post this when we post the podcast with the link to it and everything like that so everyone thank you yeah I'm with you Dr Brad I love writing it's one of my favorite things to do and I want to shout out Mr McGrath who was my journalism teacher in high school all right who who gave me who gave me he gave me the confidence to for public speaking and for writing and you know and really respecting my own voice is what he taught me and I don't know about the other kids in class I was a sophomore said I don't know who else is not who else is excited but it was my favorite class because he taught us about the history of Journalism and you know telling stories and how important the journalism has been to our history as As Americans and and around the world and how we used to be well journalists journalists used to be so important but now we they compete now with social media as well right but the importance of telling the story and keeping an oral history going and I I just love that and so that's that's why I write and I love it I started working on my solo book and working on that I do have a title called all the answers are in the room meaning when you bring all your people together you can solve any problems and the answers are already in the room oh I like that I like that so so I'm I'm working on it the hope is by next spring but you know like you said it's hard sitting down when you have a you know a a job that takes up a lot of your time speaking of which I think his next question will fall on that so it sounds like you have a a lot going on a lot in the works and you you know obviously you know give a whole lot of yourself so how do you take care of yourself it's my favorite question because I love how it keeps it top of mind right because you know people say work life balance I like to say it's life work balance instead I have great groups of friends that I work really hard to keep in touch with like once a month I have a group of ladies that we go and we have dinner or brunch like it's a standing meeting and we call it a standing meeting because that's how serious it is and then I as a matter of fact this weekend I'm leaving to go on a all girls trip we do one once a year I mean we have gone Puerto Rico Costa Rica you know we're going to Jamaica so every year every year and it's you know and this is without our children and without our husbands our spouses or you know our um love other loved ones if you will but so those are the grand things that I do you know trips and things like that or whatever but the small moments like this morning I got up to take the long I take a four or five minute Five Mile Walk you know and I like to listen to podcast I like to listen to books audible you know books on Audible music but it's a it's those Quiet Moments and I'll tell you this one of the biggest things I do for self-care is if I don't want to do anything I just don't I just don't like you know you're an adult right and I'm like I really should do laundry well Cal down just not going to not today you know and I think we just have to listen to if we need to shut the computer off like not not answer that email so some of the self-care is I can get something that I can see that's going to bring me stress and decide at that moment to not deal with it at that moment because it still has to be dealt with but to just kind of assess myself and say am I emotionally ready to handle this situation now some situations of course come at you and it's just walking through the door and there's nothing you can do but I even in those situations you all I will my my tell and I'm I'm giving away the secret is I usually off I usually offer people a bottle [Laughter] water because that and then I offer him a seat I was like would you like a Bott of water would you like to have a seat and they're like wait it's like they have to like figure out what's going it's like right yeah like it's like slight of hand magic like they're like what did I miss they're like sure I'll take a bottle water because now you take you take control over the situation exactly no I love that yeah and you know you calm them and so some people may offer you know cup of coffee or a cup of tea or something like that but that's usually what I do and then I ask them to have a seat and then we're a able to be kind of on the same playing field if you will it it works every time I promise you work every time but that's a little self-care because I'm like oh man what am I gonna do they look really really angry walking down the hall now that's smart but your trips sound fun too oh yes I mean non-stop laughter just Freedom you know to just be a full human and not have all those responsibilities just for a little while yeah I mean I think that's part of it too like you said yeah you get to just leave all even your life responsibility for just a little bit and just totally relax and recharge and yeah that's you know there's an not saying that you know that's cheaper than a hospital bill you know by not taking the time yeah and I do I think we do ourselves a disservice because you know that rise and grind mentality you know uh I do more in 24 hours than most people do in three days and that I mean that's not serving anyone well that that is a heart attack waiting to happen you know I mean you know and so I I um I try to be very mindful if I don't want to do something you know it's okay that you know Noah is a full sentence and sometimes I just can't do it that's right yeah I love that I agree that's so true all right so here's the hardest question you're going to get okay so bring it home this is called lattes and leaders so what is your favorite beverage of choice is it coffee latte cappuccino espresso or something totally different I am a tea drinker and so I uh I love a chai tea or um oh yeah some you know something with a little Spice in it and so that's usually I'm a tea drinker I I really do enjoy a nice glass of herbal tea any I really love something that is has a story behind it you know where is it from or a different you know region of the world you know area of the world or something because usually you know tea Tails a story and so I I really do en enjoy a wonderful glass of tea okay all right so do you have any last nuggets of wisdom you want to leave with the listeners what I can say is you don't have to have all the answers there give yourself time to pause and reflect As Leaders there's so many everyone has a everyone has a um their own opinion of what you should do and how you should be as a leader everyone has an opinion MH and the only person that you really need to make proud is yourself are you proud of the decision that you made can you look at yourself in the mirror even when it's a difficult one because I you know I was saying this the other day to someone I said the hardest part of my job is when I have to have courageous conversations with people you know and because I know it's either going to make them feel imp empowered or inspired or it has the potential to harm them you know for them to feel harmed even if it's not your intention but it still has the potential for that person to feel harmed by you or to to not feel good about themselves and so I always try to be tell tell leaders to say is it important for you to say that right now now or is it something that you may be able to say tomorrow you know because it it depends it really really depends because your words have so much power and it's you cannot cannot take them back so really I think that that's that's my biggest the biggest takeaway I want for people to think about is is that is thinking about the your impact and your influence and treating people with care even even treating people with care and be always be kinder than what people sometimes even deserve oh yeah that's tough but so true it is tough it is tough it is it is very tough and so yeah so and and now usually it it works I mean and sometimes I mean I've I've been harmed by people you know either you know emotionally harm but at some point you cannot reciprocate that harm like you can't that that's not helpful right you know so but thinking about that your influence and your impact yeah that's wonderful well we have just really appreciated talking to you today and you've had some wonderful insights that you know we really appreciate and I feel like we're pretty like-minded on just a lot of a lot of things and you know it's just a pleasure this morning oh thank you so much I I it was a privilege to to be in community with you and to share this space and this time oh abut thank you very much for thinking of me yeah thank yeah thank you so much for taking time I loved your story and just the wisdom that you've collected is just important for leaders to understand especially people new to leadership and so I think this will be a wonderful podcast for them to take notes from and uh maybe realign their Vision as they go forward too so thank you so much for being here thank you thank you very [Music] much this has been lattes and Leaders with Dr Brad Johnson we hope that you leave today feeling informed and inspired for more educational content be sure to add this podcast to your list and follow Dr Johnson on any and all social media platforms forms for more information on Dr Johnson Jeremy Johnson and special guest check out Dr Brad johnson.com that is d o c t o r Brad johnson.com hope to have you back soon [Music]