Ep. 43: Cheryl Bachelder on Why Leadership Should ALWAYS Be A Burden
In this episode, David sits down with Cheryl Bachelder, Former CEO of Popeyes® Louisiana Kitchen, Inc., Multi-Board Member, and Author, to discuss why leadership should ALWAYS be a burden.
Buy David’s NEW Book: https://www.trustedleaderbook.com/
Cheryl’s Bio:
Cheryl Bachelder is a passionate, purpose-led business leader — the former CEO of Popeyes® Louisiana Kitchen, Inc. Cheryl is known for her crisp strategic thinking, a franchisee-focused approach, and superior financial performance. Guided by the servant leadership thinking of Robert Greenleaf, she believes highly caring, collaborative leaders with big ambitions for the enterprise, not themselves, generate the conditions for people to perform their best work.
Cheryl served as CEO of Popeyes® Louisiana Kitchen, Inc., a NASDAQ traded company with over 2,600 restaurants in 26 countries, from 2007 to 2017. The story of Popeyes success is chronicled in her book, Dare to Serve: How to drive superior results by serving others. During her tenure, Popeyes’ stock price grew from $11 to $61, at which time the board sold the company to Restaurant Brands International Inc. for $1.8 billion dollars or $79 per share in March, 2017.
Cheryl’s earlier career included brand leadership roles at Yum Brands, Domino’s Pizza, RJR Nabisco, The Gillette Company and Procter & Gamble. Cheryl serves as a director on the boards of US Foods Holding Corp. (USFD), and Chick-Fil-A, Inc. She sits on the advisory board of Procter & Gamble’s franchising venture, Tide Dry Cleaners. She is a board member of WorkMatters, a faith-based leadership development initiative, and the Metro Atlanta Salvation Army Advisory Board.
Cheryl holds Bachelor and Masters of Business Administration degrees from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University. She is married 40 years to Chris Bachelder and they have three grown daughters, two terrific son-in-laws, and four handsome grandsons. Cheryl and Chris reside in Atlanta, Georgia and attend Buckhead Church. They are avid learners, fans of the classical education movement, and can always be found reading a good book!
Cheryl’s Links:
Website: https://www.cherylbachelder.com
“Dare To Serve” by Cheryl Bachelder: https://amzn.to/3iMZPYJ
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CABachelder
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cherylb
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cheryl.bachelder.7/
Key Quotes:
1. “By far, my father was the single greatest mentor on my life and business career.”
2. “No one wants to lay people off as a leader. But it’s how you do it and the spirit with which you do it that makes all the difference in the world.”
3. “Leadership should be a burden.”
4. “I believe people and resources have been entrusted to my care as a leader and my responsibility is to steward them well.”
5. “The single talent of leaders that is underdeveloped is listening.” – Robert Greenleaf
6. “The answer is always in the room.”
7. “The biggest obstacle to a dare to serve leader is yourself.”
8. “Humility is the thing that we are quickest to notice the absence of in others and most unlikely to notice the absence of it in ourselves.” – C.S. Lewis
9. “Our nature is inclined to think of ourselves first.”
10. “Servant leadership is only an aspiration. You can never climb it.”
11. “Count others as more significant than yourself.”
12. “Love is an action verb.” – Joel Manby
13. “Love is demonstrated action.”
14. “Time is the currency of care.”
15. “You cannot demonstrate love and care without spending time with people.”
16. “You must know the people you lead.”
17. “We just need to be the leader we’d like to work for.”
18. “I want to be an investor in human beings and helping them reach their potential.”
Links Mentioned In The Episode:
“Dare To Serve” by Cheryl Bachelder: https://amzn.to/3iMZPYJ
“The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry” by John Mark Comer: https://amzn.to/3xIYfez
“The Book Of Lost Names” by Kristin Harmel: https://amzn.to/3xHcArK
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David’s Links:
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David Horsager: Welcome to the trusted leader show it is a privilege today to have someone so on brand with trust and all the work we do.
David Horsager: cheryl bachelder she was in charge of a major turnaround at popeyes and I think stocks, if I noticed right rose from.
David Horsager: 11 to $61 and then sold at $79 but she’s a fan like we are of servant leadership she’s served in leadership CEO interim CEO Pier one.
David Horsager: Imports she was President kfc she serves on boards are served and leadership and everything from Procter and Gamble to yum brands.
David Horsager: and a host of others also I had the opportunity to speak at a work matters event that I I know you’re on the board or have been at work matters, but a huge huge grateful, welcome to cheryl bachelder.
Cheryl Bachelder: So good to be with you.
David Horsager: Thank you so much well you know your your your leadership and resume what we say around here’s is it’s amazing you’re on stage presence, but offstage to over 4040 years of marriage.
David Horsager: Three amazing kids grandchildren and I just love your your onstage and offstage presence of faith family friendships and leadership, but maybe you give us a little background of cheryl from a perspective that not everybody knows.
Cheryl Bachelder: Oh, I usually start with the fact that i’m the oldest of four children and that’s a tribute to my parents state and they raised four of us to be business leaders in the marketplace.
Cheryl Bachelder: They raise four of us to be people of faith they raised four of us who have been married 30 plus years each.
Cheryl Bachelder: And there we have 13 children amanda sense, so I was last and know that i’m blessed by that incredible foundation, a strong family and my parents and my grandparents.
Cheryl Bachelder: You just really invested in bringing us to the prep through the preparation of leadership right, what are your values what you believe, how do you act, how to use steward things.
Cheryl Bachelder: That is just the very important foundation of my entire life so who doesn’t make me today, it makes me a very family oriented.
Cheryl Bachelder: person focused on leadership developed in both my home and my work as you said, we have been married 40 years we have three grown daughters two terrific son in laws and four very handsome grandsons.
David Horsager: I love it well you know you said this in the book we’ll go we’ll get to leadership we’ll get to the book dare to serve, and all that, but you know you, you made a comment about Daddy Max and how he taught you.
David Horsager: Some keys to leadership that’s your father, maybe, give us one tip from Daddy Max you know the people that hear me every time I speak I share, even though we share the research and all that I tell a story of impact of my father so.
David Horsager: I I want let’s hear one from you.
Cheryl Bachelder: Sure, by far, my father was a single greatest mentor on my life and business career walked it with me right up till the last week, he was with us, he has something in 10 years ago and so he was my mentor I went to him for counsel.
Cheryl Bachelder: i’ll give you one fun story and then maybe one more principles story.
Cheryl Bachelder: I was at lunch with Tom Monaghan, the founder of dominoes pizza and he asked me to be his chief marketing officer and he literally wrote the offer on a napkin push across the table and said I want you to work with me, I said.
Cheryl Bachelder: That is such an honor i’m so excited all that you know I Monday he goes no you won’t you let me know right now.
Cheryl Bachelder: And he basically negotiated like he did with baseball players, and so I said, well then, I need to go out in the parking lot make phone call and I left the lunch table I might call my dad.
Cheryl Bachelder: I reviewed the offer terms you know why this wasn’t a good fit and a good opportunity with my dad and I came back and I accepted the job now I wasn’t young at that point, I was a full grown adult raising my own children but.
Cheryl Bachelder: that’s the degree of wisdom and counsel, I saw my dad that it was always worth five minutes to go check it out with them and run the tracks.
Cheryl Bachelder: Now my dad taught a lesson nearly every day in our home about business and about how you conduct yourself in life.
Cheryl Bachelder: So the one that stands out to me the most is he opened and ran factories in Asia, for a very long time in the electronics industry.
Cheryl Bachelder: And the business would have peaks and valleys, which means in factories that means you’re hiring people or you’re laying people off.
Cheryl Bachelder: And so there would be times of real crisis for him as a leader when he had to close a factory or.
Cheryl Bachelder: You know, reduce the team, reduce the staff and what I would see it’s been pacing the floor sweating looking almost noxious you know from the decision at hand, and you would share every bit of that.
Cheryl Bachelder: And that particular night that I remember, he was proposing a plan in penang Malaysia of people that he knew we’re really.
Cheryl Bachelder: going to be hurt by that their families are going to be hurt by that decision, it was a very poor community and he had come to love these people and he said cheryl he said, I have to make these decisions, but they should just make you sick to your stomach.
Cheryl Bachelder: When you.
Cheryl Bachelder: make a decision that harms families and at you know how do you forget that, I mean I remember that for 40 years since that happened and.
Cheryl Bachelder: It really it’s like an embedded principle and how I lead is yes, I have made some very difficult decisions and and had some very tough conversations with people, and I have weighed people off, no one wants to do that as a leader.
Cheryl Bachelder: But it’s how you do it and the spirit with which you do it that makes all the difference in the world and that principle I used at pop is when we had.
Cheryl Bachelder: One layoff and the 10 years that it was significant and I said to my team, it is how we treat these people that signature of this event, we have to do it, but I want everyone to leave with their head help I didn’t we didn’t have that walk out of your box.
Cheryl Bachelder: That is.
David Horsager: i’ve seen it we started a big company, you would know.
David Horsager: When they lost trust for a decade, because of the way they did it not, that they had to do it.
David Horsager: So I like this, I remember the first time I had to lay someone off, and I think I can at least feel now maybe good about I I was sick for a month.
David Horsager: To have to do it, and I was in my 20s and I was kind of director over all my staff was older than me and was a I just can’t remember the feeling of that and I have had to do it sense but it’s it’s a the work of leadership is heavy you know, I think.
David Horsager: Ever yes it’s a it’s a heavy burden it shouldn’t be alone people that say they’re leaving alone are doing it wrong lead, you know we need teams and we need others but, but it should feel heavy I think that’s true so.
David Horsager: there’s so much more we could talk about about who you are and all the leadership roles and many people know you here, but I thought, something that you just said came out of.
David Horsager: That I picked this up in in your book and it’s a subtlety but it’s not going to get into some principles in the book but it’s a subtlety of how you say things that made me just so impressed with who you are and the word.
David Horsager: You said it already Oh, you said stewards it’s it’s it’s not this feeling of these are the people I lead.
David Horsager: it’s, these are the people, in fact, you said in the book several times, I can’t remember the wording, but something like these.
David Horsager: People i’m i’m charged with leading or i’m given to lead or i’m i’m kind of called to steward and it’s it’s like the investor us and we’re there to steward we’re not that.
David Horsager: it’s it’s it’s such a different feel of humility and I know you’ve been influenced by you said it there with Collins.
David Horsager: level five with a you know humility with ambition, but you know tell us where that that humility came from that seems genuine and that is something I see missing in the leaders I walk you know, alongside that i’m consulting or working with.
Cheryl Bachelder: Well, I agree it’s largely absent it’s culturally absent to.
Cheryl Bachelder: honor and uphold stewardship is a leadership trait, in fact, so much so today, I was being interviewed by a large big four.
Cheryl Bachelder: Accounting firm that you would recognize and on the subject of the SG which one of the aspects of ESP is governance and boardrooms and he said what thing, are we not measuring in the boardroom that we should be measuring.
Cheryl Bachelder: And I said, you should be measuring the steward the development of leaders as stores.
Cheryl Bachelder: And the reason is because we have very few people with that mindset and yet we’re interesting huge groups of people and huge amounts of resources to leaders in large companies or institutions any institution that right.
Cheryl Bachelder: And there’s no training up of stewardship beliefs values and behaviors right and our leaders, so why are we surprised that they don’t steward it well.
Cheryl Bachelder: Why are we surprised that they don’t create an environment where people feel treated with dignity, we shouldn’t be surprised we’re not training it up.
Cheryl Bachelder: we’re not expecting it we’re not measuring it like we do everything else in the business world right.
Cheryl Bachelder: And so I I use the word and trusted I believe people and resources have been interesting to my care as a leader and my responsibilities to steward them well.
Cheryl Bachelder: And, and if I steward them well, maybe I should get paid well and do well in life but that’s not the motive, that the motive is.
Cheryl Bachelder: I am a leader who has been entrusted with much and and should steward it to its best possible outcome i’m not in control of everything apart right, but I should steward best I can.
Cheryl Bachelder: To a better outcome So what does that look like a practice I think it’s real important to say how do you do that, not just philosophy.
Cheryl Bachelder: And, and my whole premise of pop is that the book is written around is what if we lead this company.
Cheryl Bachelder: As if the franchise owner who invested in the store the people, the Community.
Cheryl Bachelder: Was the Center of the universe, and we were to take care of them and set them up for success and I said a million times that we will measure our success by their success that’s the only measure of my team success is whether those franchise owners.
Cheryl Bachelder: are more prosperous when we leave them when we got here um now, why is that rocket science, I really wonder right.
Cheryl Bachelder: A, it is a business model, they need to perform well to continue to invest in the business to build more units or to innovate, are all those ways that we invest, so why wouldn’t I as a leader, think of them as the point of service, the point of stewardship.
Cheryl Bachelder: But you know franchisees in many, many organizations will tell you they are not value, they are not with respect their prosperity is not measured as a measure of the business success, I mean I don’t get it, I don’t get it.
David Horsager: i’ve seen that you know I work with an have spoken to and consulted with many franchise and franchisees and corporate.
David Horsager: And you know I can’t you know you see it all the time, and I can see the challenge but they won’t care about their franchisees they don’t they don’t there’s a risk that they won’t corporate there’s such a lack of trust between franchisee and what some people would call corporate right.
Cheryl Bachelder: Well, and I think you’ll appreciate, you know that relationships governed by a contract right, how does the contract have help you build prosperous business conditions.
Cheryl Bachelder: I you know I view a contract is something I only take out of the drawer and on a really bad day because right it’s like a marriage contract that’s the day you’re getting divorced same inbred I think the day you need the contract.
Cheryl Bachelder: You are getting divorced, and so I want to be well out ahead of that right any only thing ahead and that’s why I admire your research and your teaching is the only thing ahead of that is to have a healthy trusting truly prosperous business relationship.
David Horsager: So let’s take one idea from you, because I saw many, but just one idea of how did you build trust with your franchisees.
David Horsager: In popeye’s you know you went you went from me people don’t know this is a big deal from $11 a share to selling in $79 a share from I mean it wasn’t it did affect the bottom line this service leaders this dare to serve way of being.
David Horsager: It actually affected the bottom line.
David Horsager: And people you know more more people wanted franchises more people you know they spent money on upgrading their stores him in the story, the first half of the book story of of popeye’s really is just this example of.
David Horsager: People don’t care almost to we want to be a part of this right, how did you get what’s one idea of people could take away to build trust with others, that they serve.
Cheryl Bachelder: Well, I think it was greatly You said the single.
Cheryl Bachelder: talent of leaders that is under developers listening so i’m going to start there, the first thing we did pop it since we went to seven cities and we listened to our owners.
Cheryl Bachelder: And to the general managers of our restaurants and to our customers, and I mean literally behind the mirror, so we weren’t in the room, and all we could do is bring a pencil.
Cheryl Bachelder: And we listen to them talk about the strengths and weaknesses of the business the model and the decisions that have been made and we let them give us their best thinking on what was wrong and what needed to be fixed.
Cheryl Bachelder: And you know somebody told you a long time ago, the answers, always in the room, and it just is it just is, if you ask the people closest to your business model.
Cheryl Bachelder: what’s wrong they know they may not know how to solve it that’s a whole nother question, but they do know what’s wrong and they’re quick they’re happy to tell you, if you have.
Cheryl Bachelder: The patience to listen and write it down and take it home, and they would give anything if you just like act on that feedback right if you just take it home and Africa here so like One example is they told us that our.
Cheryl Bachelder: Innovation was not there, we weren’t watching any exciting new products.
Cheryl Bachelder: And 10 years later, we were the leading watcher of exciting new products in the industry because we took that feedback and said we’re going to build.
Cheryl Bachelder: The best new product development process that generates successful new product launches in a fast food restaurant we’re gonna build that thing.
Cheryl Bachelder: And it’s going to help us prosper and then we involve them every step of the way they got to taste the new products they got to see the test results.
Cheryl Bachelder: They got to challenge, whether or not we launched them right because it’s there you know restaurant and investment we’re putting these new products, and so we solve our problems we first lesson and then we solve our problems together.
Cheryl Bachelder: Most franchise orders want to bring the solution and tell you.
yeah.
Cheryl Bachelder: And one time, one of my franchisees said, you know the best meetings we have with you is when you don’t bring a PowerPoint presentation.
David Horsager: hmm that’s good.
Cheryl Bachelder: I think it’s really good counsel.
David Horsager: that’s that’s really good counsel so let’s let’s this gets this kind of takes that and gives personal took it takes a couple things we’ve talked about already together.
David Horsager: You start the book with this idea of basically the biggest problem leaders have is spotlighting themselves, instead of others so shining a spotlight on others, in fact.
David Horsager: shift the spotlight you call it the spotlight problem and actually I like this quote that.
David Horsager: From your book there to serve we’ll put the links for everybody, but I really liked it, so I mean I talk a lot about a lot about a lot of books here a lot of things we’re working on, but this is really true and really valuable, so the biggest obstacle to a dare to serve leader is yourself.
David Horsager: it’s so true this kind of the spotlight focus and yet look at our culture, look at our kids look at your grandkids what are they growing up in when I watched football games and people.
David Horsager: One growing up, they all cheered together now, the first thing someone does is point to themselves pointed their name on their back point to their number pointed the self self self.
David Horsager: And there’s this big focus in leadership and in our culture to focus on ourselves spotlit herself.
David Horsager: You know I kind of goes back to we talked about before humility, but how do we get over this obstacle of ourself there’s even companies now it’s like build your personal brand as a leader not you know build the corporate brand build the the team, what are we going to do about it.
Cheryl Bachelder: One of my favorite quotes is from CS Lewis and i’ll get it mostly right where he says humility, is the thing that we are quick us to notice the absence of and others and most unlikely can notice the absence of it in ourselves.
Cheryl Bachelder: And that’s just true if you want to know a truth in the world that’s the truth, the truth is our nature is inclined to think of ourselves first and we’re just flood that way.
Cheryl Bachelder: And so I actually this is deep rooted principle for me, I am a flawed human likely to look out for myself if I don’t work against that urge.
Cheryl Bachelder: I often say servant leadership that it’s only an aspiration, you can never claim it because it’s a daily aspiration to become a better version of who you are we are not basically good.
Cheryl Bachelder: And I have arguments with people who actually believe that humans are basically good i’m sorry I know i’m not and i’m pretty sure you’re not.
Cheryl Bachelder: And it is hard work to put yourself in a filter of and people ask me, you know what is humility.
Cheryl Bachelder: What is servant leadership is simply thinking of others, more often than yourself right just putting the others lens on the situation more often than your self interest a simple example at work.
Cheryl Bachelder: How many times have someone come in and ask you as the leader for a race all the time people ask you for a race my number one question when you asked me for a race is when time when’s the last time you gave your team a race.
Cheryl Bachelder: So check that out, I don’t really want to talk to you about your race until you put it through the lens of i’ve looked at the compensation of all my team and where we step up and i’ve taken good care of my people okay now let’s talk about you.
Cheryl Bachelder: But that’s not human nature human nature is take care of me taking you know get my race get my promotion get me to the top of the you get my resume looking better, that is our nature, so we have to fight it.
Cheryl Bachelder: To be a leader different than that, and the best ones I figured out was this counting others as more significant than myself if you say that in every interaction, you have with the human it changes the context of the conversation and.
Cheryl Bachelder: It do I do it every day, no I am imperfect.
Cheryl Bachelder: But this is the way to change your mindset because humility, is not something we’re appear trying to appear to be okay soon as you say, I am humble you wear a badge that says, I won the humility award I yeah like.
Cheryl Bachelder: You are not right so we’re trying to live in a genuine passion and the only threshold for that is did you think about how that was working for the other person only threshold and that works at marriage worth of your children works at the office but it’s really hard to do.
David Horsager: This gets to something else we’ve been talking a lot about and it’s.
David Horsager: it’s love it’s this this you talked about in the book loving those you lead and I thought about leaders to do we really love those we lead and, by the way this has been a monumental shift and not trying to bring it back around us, but for our.
David Horsager: For our way we run things so I mean if I go back 20 years ago my wife would be with me but backstage and I was scared to death to go out there and nervous and i’m like David she would say the same thing, every time stop thinking about the research stop thinking about you.
David Horsager: Just love them, they can tell when you love them, and this has been a thing i’ve shared a lot now when I went in the first time I was in a.
David Horsager: country where the you know the President and machine guns all around and you got this you know we’re supposed to deal with this.
David Horsager: issues in their country around trust and and Lisa knew I was she was with me this time so i’m going to meet the President, Vice President, whatever she just talks, you know.
David Horsager: holds my hand tight and he whispers to me across the banquet table just love them, they can tell when you love them and.
David Horsager: boardrooms sometimes some of the toughest boardrooms in the world, some of the biggest names in the world that I know i’m going in there you got to do with this trust issue with this board.
David Horsager: And I would get a text from Lisa just love them and it changed it helped me and like you were saying I so imperfect at this, because you can get to thinking Oh, I can do this, and it would.
David Horsager: Give them get a standing ovation or I can do this, and it would that they really love that but that’s not the best for them that day what’s loving them that day what’s loving them and their way and we.
David Horsager: just had a in a study here from practice I don’t have heard of them, but they asked the question, the Leader They encompass.
David Horsager: kind of compel us to ask the question is it loving toward them is that loving toward the shareholders, is it loving toward your people, the problem with being in least leadership, especially as an owner entrepreneur is.
David Horsager: I kind of have the power right it’s it’s like,
David Horsager: As an owner of a company I don’t have to.
David Horsager: Think and that’s a pretty fair wage, but is it a loving wage is it a, is it really.
David Horsager: best for them is it is, it is it I have so much power, I have to really work, the point is, I have to work to think is that loving toward.
David Horsager: And some of some of the new things we’ve offered from the way we run our yeah just some of our trust work is, is it really we shifted things simplified things probably don’t make as much money as some of the other ways of doing things.
David Horsager: But it.
David Horsager: The reason was it’s loving toward and i’m grateful for that shift we’re totally imperfect at it.
Cheryl Bachelder: So I love what you said about love, because you talk about it as a demonstrated action.
Cheryl Bachelder: I think it’s going man being says love is an action for breasts what you do and about five years after being a pop is one of my franchise leaders very important influential leader in the franchise system, he said, it appears that you actually like us and care about us is that true.
Cheryl Bachelder: And it really caught me by surprise that’s like not a routine question and I thought about it for a minute I said Well, yes, it is true.
Cheryl Bachelder: i’m quite passionate about caring for you, and it should feel like care and love and friendship, I mean right people ask me why i’m so good friends with franchisees at kfc.
Cheryl Bachelder: I pop eyes at any number of the company’s dominoes that i’ve served that well because I actually was in relationship with these people, I actually did really care now do you know what people tell me the number one obstacle is to caring about others at work.
Cheryl Bachelder: Time time and they just immediately tell me that they do not have time enough, so I did this one of my executives challenged me.
Cheryl Bachelder: And I said, well, how do you feel about the time that I spent with you Oh, I feel very good about the time you spend with me.
Cheryl Bachelder: is important to you to have time with me that we can talk things over oh very important I said well.
Cheryl Bachelder: How do you think that people that work for you, you think they value getting some of your time so time is the currency of care.
Cheryl Bachelder: And I started giving my team a guideline and I made it up be honest, but it worked.
Cheryl Bachelder: I said spend 30% of your week and one on one sessions, with the people that work for you as a way to demonstrate that you’re listening that you care that you’re here to help, but that you’re stewarding the resources well make that a priority.
Cheryl Bachelder: And they told me that would be humanly impossible, but we got to that we got that it’s really just an hour and a half, with each person on a team of seven.
Cheryl Bachelder: It takes Tuesday and half a Wednesday or whatever they are right, it is not impossible to do, but it is intentionality to do.
Cheryl Bachelder: And you cannot demonstrate love and care without spending time with people and knowing their names and their kids names and their wives this whole person thing right, so another thing I love to say is, you must know the people you’d leave.
Cheryl Bachelder: And it’s really the same thesis if I don’t know anything about you, if I don’t spend any time with you and there’s not a chance that you would understand the as a caring.
Cheryl Bachelder: leader, who was stewarding you and the resources as well it’s not possible so here’s the thing all of us leaders trying to do a better job.
Cheryl Bachelder: Is We just need to be the leader we’d like to work for Okay, we all know what good looks like we all know what it looks like feel cared for and intended to let’s do that our team is inexcusable to know that and not do it.
David Horsager: I actually have that written in my notes, I read it in your book ask what kind of leader, you would follow and be that.
David Horsager: yeah be maybe that was my cliff note version in my side side notes, but.
David Horsager: So the book is dare to serve how to drive superior results by serving others, and it is fantastic let’s just touch on as we bring things together, you know.
David Horsager: What i’ve noticed, at least in the leaders i’ve had the opportunity to walk next to serve even Council.
David Horsager: Those that are doing it well are leaving themselves well and I often often notice that people are leading others well are actually there they’re better almost.
David Horsager: At home than they are at work they’re there they’re doing you know not just doing work well and I just wonder, do you have some routines that help you lead yourself well.
Cheryl Bachelder: i’m you know i’ve had to learn routines with myself better, so I think it’s a really important thing to talk about I would tell you routines and disciplines do not come naturally to me i’m kind of an idea.
Cheryl Bachelder: person expansive thinking always got something new that I want to do I think about it, so I i’ve had to really work at these disciplines, I will tell you the ones that really come to mind I have.
Cheryl Bachelder: I have had a purpose for my working life for over 25 years.
Cheryl Bachelder: And it is to inspire purpose driven leaders to live with competence and character and all aspects of their life.
Cheryl Bachelder: And you know it’s not a perfect sentence, but it’s worked for 25 years at guiding me towards where I spend my time.
Cheryl Bachelder: And it’s all about encouraging and developing leaders and Oh, by the way, that includes my daughters and includes my friends, you know I mean, I want to be an investor in human beings and helping them.
Cheryl Bachelder: reach their potential so have a purpose plan your time around it, that probably was the biggest breakthrough for me is that you have a limit.
Cheryl Bachelder: limited amount of time right I don’t know why it took me so long to figure that out, but you do so, use it well, I made 100 day plan every quarter for pop eyes and I mapped out both my personal and my professional time by day.
Cheryl Bachelder: At the outset of every quarter, so that I was putting in you know the big intentional work first.
Cheryl Bachelder: Because if those are the big rocks the pebbles will fill in around them right that’s basis and so put the big rocks on your calendar first intentionality because everything else will fill in around it and then maybe the secret sauce for me has been learning to carve out quiet time.
Cheryl Bachelder: I have a daily quiet, time is fairly short but important to give me the day off to the right start getting my head in the right place revisiting what I believe from a faith perspective, what my intent is from a purpose and then my calendar.
Cheryl Bachelder: And reflecting on that a few minutes set I set the stage for the day.
David Horsager: And when you do that when when do you take the time to do that.
Cheryl Bachelder: Always first thing in the morning, if I don’t do it in the morning it doesn’t happen.
David Horsager: How long do you do it for.
Cheryl Bachelder: Today it’s about 45 minutes when I was in the thick of the big CEO job it was probably more like 20 to 25 minutes and I would either do it at home or I would do it, I would shut my door when I got work good work.
Cheryl Bachelder: You know if you have a chaotic young children home in the morning might not be the best place to do that so.
Cheryl Bachelder: But I used to tell people I said listen people leave work to get a haircut I can close my door for 20 minutes of reflection time at work without feeling like a poor steward I mean that’s a good steward to care.
Cheryl Bachelder: For myself for 20 minutes to get ready for the day and then, once a quarter, I did a full day silent retreat with a guide guide person that guided it.
Cheryl Bachelder: it’s a tradition from my paper that I hold up hold is really valuable keeping me.
Cheryl Bachelder: focused on the right things and doing the right things in my life, and so I would say.
Cheryl Bachelder: One of my favorite books last year with the ruthless elimination of hurry by Mark comber because he just kicked in the teeth about eliminating hurry and chaos, so that you might actually have a clear mind and a clear had to.
Cheryl Bachelder: live out what you believe this is important to do with your life.
David Horsager: I love it.
David Horsager: You know I know you, you gave us a book there you’ve you’re an avid reader I love books and love reading, you have another one that comes to mind right off from the last year to that.
David Horsager: That you’ve been made an impact.
Cheryl Bachelder: Well, you know i’m going to be unconventional under and the response because I just read it and store up a model, called the Book of last names, it was a World War Two story, and I make a point every summer.
Cheryl Bachelder: of going to this little House by the light that we have in Michigan and reading a historical novel.
Cheryl Bachelder: Today, no one reads Noah study history, no one reads history, and they are even in a novel format there’s so much to garner.
Cheryl Bachelder: from history about difficult times, you know more times are actually quite relevant but you’re going through coven times it I just think we don’t seek perspective from history and from novels and other sources of literature, so that would be my suggestion.
David Horsager: I would love to talk to you all day I love this there’s so much to gather and learn here any other piece of advice for leaders that are trying to be trusted leaders.
Cheryl Bachelder: Well, I guess, my.
Cheryl Bachelder: i’ll give you two one is that there’s a real risk of trying to live your life to please other people.
Cheryl Bachelder: And that is physically impossible to do, and so I think the sooner you figure out who you’re living your life for and that might be a God might be God it might be a principle of your faith or your belief system but hang on to that is your anchor not what people think.
Cheryl Bachelder: We are just throwing around like standing waves when we do that, there is no anchor and living your life for all other people’s intent so know why you’re living for.
Cheryl Bachelder: And then the second thing is to live an integrated life I the reason my purpose that says.
Cheryl Bachelder: competence and character in all aspects of your life, we have one poll I you know I want my daughters to know me as a person of stewardship and integrity and generosity, just as much as I want you to know that.
Cheryl Bachelder: it’s just as important, probably more important that they know that, and so I once was told by a boss, not a very good boss, that I should just pay keep my whole personal life at home.
Cheryl Bachelder: And I said oh none or that will not be the case for me, I will be the same person here, as I will be at home, and you will know me my whole person, and they will know, the whole person because it’s, the only way.
Cheryl Bachelder: That it’s healthy it’s only healthy way to live your life, and so I think if you really put a filter on that and say i’m going to strive again it’s a daily ambition not something we do easily, but I am daily going to strive to be the same human being everywhere, I go so powerful guide.
David Horsager: Thank you for that. Where can people find out more about you?
Cheryl Bachelder: So I have a website cherylbachelder.com, my name is hard to spell so it also Google it it’s serving performs is the name of the site.
Cheryl Bachelder: Where I have blogged for years and I have a lot of resources that you can reach out to me, you can contact me I actually read the email that I get off my website.
Cheryl Bachelder: linkedin is another great tool that we have today that I respond to every linkedin request that I get that as a specific inquiry.
David Horsager: Great well we’ll put that in the show notes,
David Horsager: cherylbachelder.com and this book dare to serve, and I want to I always end with this question cheryl and I know you have many examples, but we talked about trusted leadership what’s it like to be really a leader worthy of trust, who is a leader you especially trust and why.
Cheryl Bachelder: One of the leaders I looked up to his his name is Scott mcclellan he runs a division of compass.
Cheryl Bachelder: His division services hospitals in retirement communities food service for us those and retirement communities, and I suppose you want to know why.
Cheryl Bachelder: I really he’s very transparent and vulnerable to share his beliefs and values in the workplace, so he allows you to know him.
Cheryl Bachelder: He talks straight up to his people he travels the country to know and we his people and so i’ve taken great inspiration from him and he has taken time with me to share.
Cheryl Bachelder: Some of the things that helped him be effective and leadership and so it’s those people that you get to see up close and that will take the time to share that really make the most impression on you.
Absolutely.
David Horsager: Well, this has been a special treat and you’re one of the leaders, that is the same on stage and off and we’re grateful for that, so thank you cheryl so much for being here and spending a time and until next time stay trusted.