Episode 1: Mike Miedler — On Versatility and Intention

On Board with Transparent Leadership Podcast

October 23, 2023

Episode 1 Show Notes

We are excited to start this On Board with Transparent Leadership series with Easterseals President and CEO Kendra Davenport and CEO of CENTURY 21 Mike Miedler. In this episode, Mike shares what excites him most about CENTURY 21 and how versatility and intention are critical to leadership.

He believes the buyer's emotional connection with their home and the memories they make while living there make homeownership so special. Named CENTURY 21’s president and chief executive officer in January 2019, he is a leader in residential and commercial real estate franchising, brokerage, and management. A 20-year plus veteran with the CENTURY 21 brand, Mike has served in numerous positions throughout the company including Chief Growth Officer and Senior Vice President of Franchise Sales. Prior to his tenure in these growth roles, Mike was the Vice President of Operations at C21 managing business such as awards, events, commercial and a referral platform.

Mike understands that buying and selling a house can be the most complex transaction a person ever makes, which is why he is so passionate about helping CENTURY 21’s more than 139,000 independent sales professionals defy mediocrity every single day as they transform the homebuying process from just a transaction to an extraordinary experience for their clients.

A graduate of West Chester University of Pennsylvania, Mike prides himself on living an active lifestyle, which includes everything outdoors like swimming, running, snowboarding or just the park as long as it’s with his wife and four daughters.

Transcript

Kendra Davenport:

Hi, I'm Kendra Davenport, President and CEO of Easterseals, and you're listening to On Board with Transparent Leadership; an Easterseals podcast where I speak with leaders from some of country's top organizations. Together, we explore how transparent leadership can impact communication and trust building and foster a culture of openness and accountability. I hope that our conversations can offer you practical insights and tools to positively impact your organization. And today, I'm joined by my good friend Mike Miedler. Mike believes an emotional connection a buyer has with their home and in the memories they make while living there, and that's just what makes home ownership so special. Named Century 21's President and Chief Executive Officer in January, 2019, Mike is a leader in residential and commercial real estate franchising, brokerage, and management. A 20-year+ veteran with Century 21 brand, Mike has served in numerous positions throughout the company, including Chief Growth Officer and Senior Vice President of Franchise Sales. So I'm really pleased to talk with you today, Mike, because of your background and because of all you've accomplished, but also because of how much you have done for Easterseals and how much Century 21 has done. You guys have been our partners for more than 40 years, so welcome.

Mike Miedler:

Thank you, Kendra. First of all, I didn't know that my team would give you my whole bio to read, but-

Kendra Davenport:

Whole thing, whole thing. We didn't get where you went to grammar school, but we'll cover that later.

Mike Miedler:

Exactly.

Kendra Davenport:

No, no, I've been so excited to have this conversation with you because you know I admire you and I admire what Century 21 has done with Easterseals, and you've heard me say this, it's a rare relationship to have that kind of a supportive relationship with a company. So I just really, I want to dig into some of the things that I think make this unique, but also I think a lot of it is driven by you personally. And I want to touch on that. So, Easterseals and Century 21 have been working together for more than 40 years, as I said, and you and your colleagues have continued the Century 21 commitment to Easterseals and our mission, for which we're infinitely grateful. An example of that commitment is Century 21's International Week of Giving. Can you talk a little bit for our listeners about that initiative and why you guys have stuck with Easterseals so long?

Mike Miedler:

Yeah. Well, Kendra, first of all, the respect factor is mutual here and I just love, as you know, the energy and positivity you bring and appreciate everything that you do, not just for Easterseals, but on behalf of Century 21 and continuing to expand the mission. So like you said, I mean you guys are a 100+ years old, we are 50+ years old. As a real estate brand, I like to call us the innovators in the real estate franchising space. And we wove this partnership together out of just I think the pure vision, mission, and passion of doing right by our local communities. And so it's been a great partnership and I'd say getting back to the crux of your question, in our 50th anniversary two years ago, we named our birthdate, which is July 28th, the International Day of Giving, and we've expanded that here over the last year or two to become the International Week of Giving. We're in 84+ countries, 150,000 sales professionals around the globe serving the dream of home ownership, but I think what people don't recognize about real estate is how local real estate is and how much real estate professionals do, not just for their local marketplaces and communities, but for their ultra local neighborhoods and blocks that they live in. So we really are a giving industry and I think that what you see in the International Week of Giving is really cool because we are out there not just donating dollars and fundraising, but we're literally out there, as you've seen firsthand, our hands, getting them dirty, painting rooms-

Kendra Davenport:

No, I love that. I love that.

Mike Miedler:

So to me it's like there's no better feeling than actually doing something with your energy than working for someone else and giving back.

Kendra Davenport:

I did see that you guys were helping us refer a residential home run by our Easterseals affiliate in New Jersey, and it was really a thing to watch your staff come together. And I will say, my parents are both from New Jersey, which I love. You guys are headquartered there and the Jersey eats you brought to the site, just for that reason alone, I'd go anywhere with you guys. But no, it was really nice to see your team was so enthused about what they were doing that day, painting rooms and planting new plantings, and like you and I talked about, just making that residential facility someplace where the participants who live there really want to be, but also their families. So I think you guys really live your values and I think that's a nice segue to my next question. You are a very down to earth guy, that's just my opinion, but I've watched you now interact with your senior team. I've watched you interact with a lot of your brokers. I had an opportunity to speak at an event last spring with all of you guys, and it's uncommon. Can you talk a little bit about your management philosophy? Because I think you really are a man of the people and it's obvious to see the impact you have on the people inside your inner circle and those beyond it.

Mike Miedler:

I think honestly that the leadership is the people and what excites me the most about Century 21 and this industry is how close we are tied to people and bigger causes than just business. And so, my management philosophy is simple. I think we try to, as an organization, be very buttoned up on what our focus is and what actually moves the business and provides growth and will drive value to our customers. And what I like to do, honestly, Kendra, is get the heck out of the way and let my great team do what they do best. And we're very clear and very accountable on what those things are and what needs to get done. But I feel like in a lot of ways, and I hope that Greg and Christie and Amory and the folks that well would say the same thing, is I let them go run and do their thing. And I think when you're very clear on what the vision is, on what the big picture looks like, and you get the buy-in from the rest of the organization and the people on your team, there's nothing like that. And I think we've all been on teams in one way or another, whether they're sports teams or whatever it is, business teams throughout life, and it's just a matter of working well with other people and really going after that common goal together. You just get so much more accomplished and when that alignment's there, like you said, I can get out of the way and just smile and let them do all the work.

Kendra Davenport:

No, I love that. And I think you and I have similar philosophies. I really try not to micromanage and to surround myself, like I think you do, with people who are really good at what they do so that you don't have to do all the heavy lifting, your team can, and in that way I think everybody feels really good about the final product because they feel their contribution is valued. And I certainly see that on your team and in the way you interact with them. So thanks for that. I'm asked sometimes by junior employees and young women, and guys, who are just starting out in their career, did you envision yourself becoming a leader of a company, Kendra? Was it something you always worked at? And I think for the first part of my career, honestly Mike, I think I was living hand to mouth. It was all I could do to get dressed and get out the door and get my kids to school. So it wasn't until probably the middle of my career that I really started to think about, yeah, I would like to lead someday. Can you talk a little bit about your professional journey? Because you've been with Century 21 a long time, so talk to me a little bit about that, because I think that's rare too, that people stick around and stay with a company for years and years. It speaks volumes about the kind of company I think Century 21 is, but I'd love to hear a little bit about where you started and what you thought maybe you'd be doing when you came out of college, and does this reflect where you are now? Is that reflective of that vision?

Mike Miedler:

I mean it's an amazing question. I love telling the story because like you, I was the same way. I mean I graduated college, I was the first person from my family, my parents had never gone, my grandparents certainly had never gone, and I was a criminal justice major. I thought I wanted to be in the FBI, I watched too many X-Files reruns. And when I got out into the real world, I realized that I didn't know if I could make a difference or really have a family, do the things that I wanted to from a personal perspective and go down that path. And so I found myself into the real estate world by accident and Century 21. And quite candidly, Kendra, I say this all the time, I got started in the mail room, like the lowest level you possibly could and I thought it was the best thing in the world because I was in an air-conditioned office with a gym, a cafeteria, and I wasn't with my father working on a roof or doing some blue collar job, which can be really, really daunting and difficult. And so I thought it was great. And I think what Century 21 offered me along the way was just, as I said earlier, so many great people, so many great mentors and so many great leaders. And I think what you want to do as a young growing individual is just learn as much as you possibly can. Be super inquisitive, understand what moves the business. Every one of us is a leader in one way or another, whether you're, again, starting at that very lowest level, there's people who are looking at you, looking up to you, they could be customers, it could be the person who's making the deliveries into the mail room. I don't care what it is, people are looking at you and you are a leader in one form or another. And so you've constantly got to represent yourself as a ethical and good person, but also representing the business that you're a part of. And so I'm sure there's kids who go to school and they want to be CEOs one day and they want to be leaders and they want to be entrepreneurs. That was never one of the things that I wanted to do. But the way I got here was learning about every single job in the organization and what it takes to get it done from taking out the trash to growing the company across the nation where I spent most of my career in franchise sales. And so it's been an amazing ride, but it's been a ride where I've learned from so many different people along the way and have had that benefit of just being engaged by folks because I was inquisitive about what it took to be successful.

Kendra Davenport:

Well, you make it look easy. You really do. You make it look easy. You make it look like you're having a lot of fun all the time. And I know, I know it's not easy and that not every day is fun. Can you talk about maybe a challenge, is there a challenge you've experienced recently that really taxed you? Because I'm encountering them with greater frequency now that I've been in this role about 15, 16 months. The challenges keep coming and it can be challenging to deal and overcome. Is there something, a particular obstacle or challenge you've had to deal with recently or in recent memory? And can you tell us a little bit about how you did it, how you overcame it?

Mike Miedler:

Kendra, I mean you make a great point there, right? Because it's like, it might say Chief Executive Officer, but a lot of times I call myself the Chief of Complaints Officer. The buck stops with me. There's no other place to go with it. And so there's a lot of negativity and not a lot of place where you can go out and commiserate and really just get your head straight on this stuff. But that's why mindset is so important, and we can get into that later, but I think probably a lot of people when you pose that question, we'll talk about the last three or four years here and what we've all had to deal with in COVID, and certainly that proved to be very challenging for many different businesses and many different people in many different ways. And I think we've all been, I have shown what flexibility and how getting pushed outside of your comfort zone can sometimes offer better outcomes. But from a real estate perspective, and this is no secret, but when mortgage rates rise as fast as they have, the fastest on record, there becomes a crunch to the business in general. And when COVID changed a lot of the ways that we work or how people show up to offices or the needs and the things that consumers want and that our agents want, it pushes you to think differently and evolve. And for me, the toughest part, and what I go back to, is I'm in this for the people as I know you are and the people on my team and the people that are part of the system. And we had to make some very difficult changes over the last year plus where the things that worked and were a focus of ours, call it five years ago, are not necessarily working or a focus of ours today. And so we've had to part ways with people who were in those type of roles, and it's not that they became less valuable, it's just that they weren't part of the strategy that we had moving forward. And these are near and dear friends, people who have been to my house with their kids and visited with their spouses and that I knew everything about them. We just decided in where the business needs to go, that with their skillset, they were better off serving another company in a different part of another sector. And that's a really difficult thing to do. I don't care what role you're in or what job you have to do or how long you've been in business to part ways with people and let them know that it's not a fit anymore at your corporation, it's tough, and so-

Kendra Davenport:

Really hard, really hard. And I think like me, you really do get to know your people. So severing ties, doing layoffs, furloughs, whatever, that is one of, if not the toughest thing, I think. But also I think in terms of, and you and I have talked a little bit about this, I manage relations with 70 affiliates that are run by CEOs and they do a great job running their own shops. So I don't have to do much in the way of helping them do their jobs, but I am beholden to them and they have expectations of National. And you do that on a massive scale. You are managing, you said I think, 150,000 brokers internationally, not just in the US. How do you stay balanced? I mean managing all those expectations takes a toll on anyone. You're just one person and you do have a terrific team around you, but at the end of the day, you said it, the buck stops with you. How do you keep a balance? How do you keep your head in the game? Stay focused, remain buoyant, be everyone's cheerleader all the time when you walk into work and you don't have it, you just don't have anything in the tank, how do you overcome that?

Mike Miedler:

Yeah, no, I mean I think that's a great point and a great question. As a leader in any role, I mean as a leader or any person, any individual, I think one of the things that we all have to recognize is you cannot serve others if you are not taking care of yourself. If you're not really in the best condition, the best shape, mentally, physically, all those things, not on the top of your game, there's no way you're going to be able to serve your customers, service and take care of your family. And so for me, a big way that I like to do it, and I say this to everybody, I mean mindset is so important in anything we do in life, it is probably the most important thing that you can work on for yourself. And it's not easy, it's not easy for everybody, but you have to spend time on yourself and you have to manage your time to make sure that you're spending time on yourself. And for me, that's getting out and I like to be active. I'm out, whether it's running or biking or swimming or what the case may be, I like to-

Kendra Davenport:

Active is a little bit of an understatement. Come on, Mike. Tell our listeners here, active is a little bit of an understatement. When you say you like to be active, give them a little more because your active is I don't think other people's active.

Mike Miedler:

Yeah, my active is definitely another level. I mean I'm literally, believe it or not, Kendra, I'm a week out from a half Ironman that I'm going to do here.

Kendra Davenport:

See, this is what I'm talking about.

Mike Miedler:

And so I've been spending probably too much time on me, but the truth of the matter is it helps me clear my mind for the rest of the day and get after it. And look, I was just on the phone with one of our team members yesterday, and if it's walking the dog by yourself with your phone back at the house, clearing your mind and doing something for yourself, that's what it is. If it's meditation, if it's praying, if it's reading a book, if it's yoga, I don't care what it is, but you got to do something for yourself and work on your own mental state so that you can be better for everybody else you serve and have that frame of mind that you can be able to take care of everybody else and all the other things that are going to hit your plate. And that's for me, that's for you, leaders at the very top, and that's for everybody in all aspects of life. We all take care of somebody. We're all beholden to somebody. We all have responsibility over others. And I think you got to make sure you're taking care of yourself and being really intentional about spending time on yourself so that you can be in the best shape to take care of others.

Kendra Davenport:

I couldn't agree more. When I think about Century 21, and I'm fascinated by the company for so many reasons, A, because I think you guys are all very down to earth, you're very approachable. The brokers I've had the opportunity to meet, same way, just amazing people. But one of the things I think when I think about Century 21 is omnipresent among everyone I've met, encountered is this tremendous flexibility, their adaptability. They're very flexible about, "Oh, we could do it this way or we could do it that way, whatever's easier for you." How do you inculcate that in your work culture? And can you talk a little bit about Century 21's work culture and what you feel you personally have done to influence it?

Mike Miedler:

Yeah, I mean I think one of my mentors, a gentleman who's no stranger in the real estate world, his name's Mike Ferry, he was a coach of mine for many years. He would say that in life, versatility is key, right? I mean you're going to be dealing with all different types of people and they're going to read and react in different ways than you might as in your personality style and being versatile is certainly key. And I think in real estate, we're consistently innovating and changing and the world is just evolving. And I think that probably has a lot to do with why our team is so flexible in that they understand how fast and how quickly, whether it's the competition or the marketplace or our customers are moving out there to serve up that dream of home ownership and that we've got to be right in lockstep. And I think versatility, no matter what role you're in or how you're interfacing with people, you have to be a little bit of a, I don't want to call it a chameleon per se, you have to learn to change your stripes because your way or the highway is never going to get you to that result. Whether you're in a negotiation with somebody or you are trying to get a team member to understand why this vision is important, they might read that data and that approach differently than you might. And so it's really trying to be versatile and speaking to people on how they need to be spoken to. And I think from a team perspective, it's been interesting because over the last couple years, we've gone to a virtual environment, completely virtual, and I've been to your headquarters building, which is absolutely gorgeous. And I know you guys have somewhat of a hybrid. Right now, I'm in the office by myself, there's not another team member here, but some days it's completely packed. And I think we've changed in the way that we work, we've gotten more versatile, and I think the important part is just making sure that we're being most effective, most efficient, but learning to deal with people and how they want to be dealt with and adding that versatility to our day-to-day jobs.

Kendra Davenport:

Well, I'm watching and I'm inspired by it because I think it's tricky. We're in such a interesting time. This is a fascinating time to be working, to have a professional career or be at the height of your professional career as I think you are. And having to adapt and be flexible and change mores and cultural acceptances that maybe have been part of your work life your entire career, it does force all of us to dig a little deeper. So I'm taking lessons from you. You and I have also shared stories about how tricky it is to be on the road all the time. And I think both of us seem to thrive on that, but we also have families, and I know how hard it is to balance and everything, balance, be your best self, as you said, be your best self at work and take care of yourself so that you bring your A game every day and you are someone that your people can look up to, but also that you can lead effectively. Can you talk about what you do to protect your time with your family when work is at its most demanding?

Mike Miedler:

Yeah, it's probably the most difficult, right, Kendra? I mean to your point, even travel has gotten so difficult to do in the new world in which we're in. People feel like, "Oh my God, you're out on the road, you're here, you're there, you're everywhere." It's like, oh my God, you've never checked a bag and stayed in four hotel rooms in four different nights and not remembered what room number you're in. And so, it's exhausting and giving a lot of energy to a lot of different people in a lot of different ways can take its toll on you. And I think, to your point, there's days where you can be really intentional about time blocking and knowing that you need to take, like tomorrow, Kendra, I'm taking my oldest daughter to college. First time I'm doing that and I'm all wound up about it and we're going to have our going away dinner party tonight, but I'm taking the day off. I have to take the day off, and I blocked that. And I've been cramming all other meetings in the rest of the week, and you got to be really intentional about it. Some days, like last night, I was here until seven o'clock at night and my entire rest of the family went out to see our cousins in Hoboken and had dinner without me. And so it's like, there's a give and take. And I think if you're planned, if you manage your time well, if you calendar yourself ahead of time, you can avoid I think the little potholes and hiccups that will cause you to stress out about actually being out on the road, being away so much. But it goes back to that conversation you and I were having, and you've got to carve the time out for yourself. I know you have different passions that you're really enthused about, and you got to make sure that you're spending that time on those passions and with your family in order to be your best self for everybody else that you have to put the energy out.

Kendra Davenport:

Yeah, it is tricky. And we're just about empty nesters. Our last just graduated from college in the spring, and you know it's different. It's definitely different. I remind myself how lucky we are that we still really like each other, and this is just a new phase, but to be doing what I'm doing now five years ago even would've been next to impossible because you want to give your family the best of you, and this would not allow that. So I really admire the way you do that. You balance beautifully.

Mike Miedler:

And Kendra, I think you have a couple of daughters who've got into more of an adult stage and they become different challenges from what I understand and different-

Kendra Davenport:

Oh, absolutely. Anyone who thinks that as your children grow, they need less of you. I completely eschew and want to disavow that notion. I think they need more of you in fact. You go from what they think of you in high school as being wrong all the time, or a, "Thanks, mom, I don't care." And now your opinion all of a sudden is valid and they come to you for advice. And my daughter shared an Instagram post and it was basically this girl and she's just on the phone going, "Hi, mom, what's my social security number? Hi mom, how much water do I need to boil eggs? Hi mom, is it too cold to wear..." And I thought, yeah, it sounds crazy, but I love it too. I love that they ask questions and I hope to be there, like you, we've talked about this, for the rest of their life. So final question about you career wise I want to get to. Knowing that you have had a really illustrious career, you've done an awful lot, is there anything, any box unchecked for you? Is there anything on your bucket list professionally, or do you not look at your career that way?

Mike Miedler:

Yeah, I don't. And maybe I should be more goal-driven that way, I feel like I'm a person who in a lot of ways believes in karma, that you do the hard work and it'll come around to you. And I've told this to other people in our organization, it's one of those things where sometimes you got to put in the hard work, you got to actually almost do the job, and then later on you'll get recognized and get everything else that comes with it. And so I'm a big believer in going out there. We call it the 121% rule here at Century 21, right? The first one's mindset, and we talked a lot about mindset, it's probably the most important component to it. But the second one is, as I said a little bit earlier, always be learning. There's nothing that you can't teach yourself about anything in business. I mean most businesses aren't rocket science or brain surgery. Those folks in those fields, they have it tough, but there's nothing that you can't teach yourself about anything. And so read a book, learn from others, get a mentor, ask questions, constantly be learning. And then I think the last thing, Kendra, is honestly just going out there and putting in the hard work. You got to do the activities. You got to manage your time. You got to show up every single day and just put in the hard work. And I can tell you, if you do those three things, you're going to get results and you'll continue to elevate your career. And that's the way I look at... Who knows where my next thing or next big thing will be? I kind of live by that mantra and the rest will find me hopefully.

Kendra Davenport:

I agree with all of it, and I could talk to you for hours. I'm so grateful for your time. We like to end our episodes with an Ask Us Anything segment with our co-hosts from the Easterseals podcast series, Everything You Know About Disability is Wrong, so stick around for that. But before we do that, I want to ask our guests, Mike Miedler, one final question. So anyone who knows me, and you kind of alluded to it, "You have passions, Kendra," anyone who knows me knows I am a voracious reader. I don't sleep that well, so I often read in the middle of the night, but I read on planes, I read in the car, I read whenever I can. And to your point about being a lifelong learner, sometimes I'm reading self-help, sometimes I'm reading biographies to learn from other people, sometimes I'm just reading fiction. But I wondered, is there anything you've read recently that you would recommend to a leader, to someone who aspires even, maybe not be a leader, but aspires to ascend professionally and grow? Is there any book you've read recently that you might recommend?

Mike Miedler:

Yeah, so I'm a big Simon Sinek guy, and let me just make this publicly known, I'm not a big reader like you, and I do adore my sleep. I need my sleep and I don't read that much. But that being said, I'm a big Simon Sinek guy. Most of the stuff I do from Simon Sinek is literally his YouTube videos and his TED Talks. But I will say, the Infinite Game is an interesting read in the comparisons that he makes in how business is not like any other game that has a beginning and an end and a winner and a loser. It's not like chess, it's not like football, it's not like tennis. What you're looking to do is continuing to extend your business into the future and that you've got to be playing for the infinite game, the long-term. And it's kind of like, I kind of equate it to fitness. You don't want to say to yourself, "Hey, I'm going to lose 10 pounds," or, "I'm going to get in shape," and you know what? This week I'm going to go work out and eat really healthy, and then next week it's over. It's you got to go into the gym and be there for an hour or a half hour or 10 minutes every single day throughout the course of your lifetime. I can't just say, "Okay, I'm going to go on a diet this week and eat really, really healthy, and then next week eat pizza, chocolate cake, and all those other things." And so you're working towards this infinite game with your business. And I think that's the way we've got to look at it, even with our competition, is you're constantly evolving to where you want to be, but there is no endpoint. And so I think it's a cool, interesting read and certainly a good one for any leader who's trying to propel their organization towards this infinite game.

Kendra Davenport:

Very cool. Very good suggestion. I love the undertone of competitiveness. I think you and I could talk about being competitive and how that factors into our role today, where we both sit and what we do. So hold that thought and we'll do that on our next podcast.

Mike Miedler:

Awesome.

Kendra Davenport:

Thank you. Thank you so much for taking the time out of your busy schedule to talk with me and our listeners. I know they're going to really like this podcast. Great job, Mike.

Mike Miedler:

Always my pleasure to be with you, Kendra.

Kendra Davenport:

Thank you so much. Erin and Lily, I am so glad you can join me as leaders in your work, and as co-hosts of the Easterseals Everything You Know About Disability is Wrong podcast. Let's go to our Ask Us Anything. What have you got for me today?

Erin Hawley:

Well, thank you for having us on.

Kendra Davenport:

Oh, you're welcome, Erin.

Erin Hawley:

I know you're very busy, always going, nonstop, but I'm curious, how do you balance work life when you're leading such an important organization like Easterseals?

Kendra Davenport:

That's a great question, and I think it's something all of us struggle with. I have a colleague, she's one of your colleagues, Kat Wallace, will often say relaxation and work-life balance looks different for everyone. For some people, work-life balance includes a time to completely recharge, just power down. There's a scene in the movie Wedding Crashers where Vince Vaughn says, "I'm going to take this moment. I'm going to recharge. I'm going to recharge the batteries. I can't talk right now." And it always makes me laugh because that is not how I recharge. I recharge by doing, by doing things that aren't related to work, that have nothing to do with work. I paint, I do needlepoint, I play with my animals, I ride my horse, whatever. And I think that's incredibly important, but it's also important to note, I think, that that time, that recharge, that work-life balance looks very different for different people. And I think it's important to have a work-life balance. I just sent my team, you guys probably got it if you read the Daily Message I do, a piece I read about why passion might not be the be all/end all or why passion is not necessarily necessary. This was the author's thought, and it was a piece that came out in the New York Times, why passion is not necessarily an ingredient for success at work. I think you know me, I completely disagree with that, but one of the things I did really agree with in the article is great to be passionate about work, providing that there's a balance, that you have other things in your life that you're equally passionate about. I just met someone I knew in college, I dated him actually, and while I was dating my current husband, but we lost touch and we reconnected because he saw me on [inaudible 00:30:53] and I just saw him and he was telling me, well we met for dinner and I said, "All right, catch me up on the last 30 years. What have you been doing?" And he said, "There's no great story to tell, Kendra." And I said, "No, come on, come on. There's got to be a highlight reel. What makes you tick? How are you who you are today?" And he told me about one pastime that he spends all his time doing, and he was like, "You look disappointed." I said, "I'm not disappointed. There's got to be more. There's got to be more than just that one thing you do." And he said, "No, there isn't. And that's why I'm not married. That's why I don't have other interests. That's why I am kind of a loner." And I felt sad, but also concerned. No one can have just one thing in life. It can't just be your job because you're not going to be great at your job if you don't have other things to influence you, other friends, other colleagues, past times. What I really think is that you need to maximize every single day of your life because we're only given so many days. And my kids will say, "That's what makes you a fatalist, mom, and that's not healthy either." And I am a little bit of a fatalist, but I'm also a firm believer in maximizing your day. And for me, that doesn't mean just working like a dog for 12 hours, it means I went up to the rooftop deck this morning just to take in the morning, just to take in the sun, just to look at the planters and really admire the beauty around us. It will probably involve a little needle point. If it doesn't, that's not really a good day for me, a totally good day. So I think knowing what makes you thrive, knowing the things that help you recharge, like Vince Vaughn, for him it was sitting down, just having quiet in the movie, eating his breakfast and not talking to Owen Wilson. But for most people, it's more than that. And I think work-life balance, Erin, is something you have to work at. There are times in life when work is overtaking, overshadowing everything, and then there are times when your personal life comes into play, and sometimes that means work is going to take a backseat. It's really important, I think, if you have a team that you recognize that. And if you look at the teams that are most successful, and I think this bears true non-profit, for-profit, regardless of the business, it's those teams that care about one another and care about people's lives beyond work. It's about asking people, "How are you?" "Well, work is good." And most people at work go right into what they're doing and what they're working on or why they're behind. We have a colleague, Dana Bunky, who will often lead with that. She'll be like, "I'm behind on this." I'm like, "I didn't ask about that. I don't care about that right now. I care about what's going on in the moment in your life. How are your kids? How's your husband? Let's cover that first." And I think it's important that managers promote that work-life balance, Erin.

Erin Hawley:

Definitely. Yeah. I'm very fortunate to work on such an amazing team. They really value personal comfort over anything else. And I think that's so important because I've never had that in a job and it makes it very stressful. So, I totally agree. Great advice. Thank you.

Kendra Davenport (Commercial segment):

You may not know that Easterseals has been trusted by families nationwide for over 100 years. At Easterseals, we share a commitment to the people we serve, and each of our locations offers a variety of important services to meet their community's needs; services like early intervention to help young children achieve their developmental goals, adult day and in-home services, community mobility options, behavioral health and wellness programs, caregiver and veteran services, and much more, so that all people of all ages and at all stages of life can have all the access they need so all people with disabilities can feel empowered and included, and so all families continue to receive support they can trust. Learn more by visiting easterseals.com.

Kendra Davenport:

That concludes our episode. Thank you so much for listening. If you like what you heard, be sure to write a review, like and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts, and join us next episode as we discuss how we can all get on board with transparent leadership.