WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.080 Welcome to Milestone Moments, the show where 00:00:03.080 --> 00:00:05.960 we explore the journeys that lead to success. 00:00:06.599 --> 00:00:10.220 I'm Sheila Slick, your host and founder of Five 00:00:10.220 --> 00:00:13.859 Milestones. In every episode, we will bring you 00:00:13.859 --> 00:00:17.100 insights from the minds of entrepreneurs, leaders 00:00:17.100 --> 00:00:20.820 and experts who will share not just their expertise, 00:00:20.879 --> 00:00:24.120 but the milestone moments that have reshaped 00:00:24.120 --> 00:00:27.059 their journeys and led to significant achievements. 00:00:27.960 --> 00:00:30.359 So if you're looking for motivation, you're in 00:00:30.359 --> 00:00:33.560 the right place. Subscribe now and discover the 00:00:33.560 --> 00:00:40.759 milestones that mark the path to success. Welcome 00:00:40.759 --> 00:00:44.200 to another episode of Milestone Moments in Business 00:00:44.200 --> 00:00:47.640 and Leadership. I'm your host, Sheila Slick, 00:00:47.640 --> 00:00:52.219 and today my special guest is Liz Weber. Liz 00:00:52.219 --> 00:00:56.859 has been named one of 2025 Top Global Gurus for 00:00:56.859 --> 00:01:00.359 Leadership, along with Simon Sinek and John Maxwell. 00:01:00.479 --> 00:01:05.260 When Liz Weber talks, her clients listen. Liz 00:01:05.260 --> 00:01:09.780 is also an advisor to boards. to owners and C 00:01:09.780 --> 00:01:13.019 -suite teams. She's a leadership, strategic, 00:01:13.180 --> 00:01:17.060 and succession planning consultant, author, and 00:01:17.060 --> 00:01:21.159 speaker. Liz helps her clients focus on the right 00:01:21.159 --> 00:01:25.239 things at the right time to get the right impact. 00:01:25.459 --> 00:01:28.879 And as a result, they enhance performance, profits, 00:01:28.939 --> 00:01:32.680 and their workplace culture. Welcome to the show, 00:01:32.680 --> 00:01:35.579 Liz. Thank you, Steele. I'm really happy to talk 00:01:35.579 --> 00:01:38.260 with you today. That's a very impressive background. 00:01:38.640 --> 00:01:42.219 I always love to ask, how did you get to doing 00:01:42.219 --> 00:01:44.900 what you did, what you do today? What was that 00:01:44.900 --> 00:01:49.079 pivotal moment that led you to this? Well, Sheila, 00:01:49.180 --> 00:01:50.920 I think you and your listeners would all like 00:01:50.920 --> 00:01:53.400 to have that magic bullet, that straight line. 00:01:53.560 --> 00:01:56.219 But as I think, as we all know, it kind of winds. 00:01:56.299 --> 00:02:00.219 And I first heard about being a consultant in 00:02:00.219 --> 00:02:05.010 my capstone course in my graduate school. I'd 00:02:05.010 --> 00:02:06.849 been getting my degree in international business. 00:02:06.890 --> 00:02:08.490 I thought I wanted to be a commodities broker. 00:02:08.689 --> 00:02:11.710 And my capstone course was taught by a man named 00:02:11.710 --> 00:02:14.129 Jim Farrell. And he was this thing called a consultant. 00:02:14.689 --> 00:02:17.430 And I had never heard of that as a career possibility. 00:02:18.349 --> 00:02:21.449 But he was not a professor. He was not a Ph .D. 00:02:21.449 --> 00:02:24.449 He was a businessman. And when he explained what 00:02:24.449 --> 00:02:29.110 he did. By working with his clients on all aspects 00:02:29.110 --> 00:02:31.250 of business that I had been studying, whether 00:02:31.250 --> 00:02:33.789 it was marketing, accounting, finance, administration, 00:02:34.189 --> 00:02:37.789 logistics, production, personnel, he had to know 00:02:37.789 --> 00:02:40.689 a little bit about all of it to advise his clients. 00:02:42.469 --> 00:02:46.069 It was in listening to him, in hearing what he 00:02:46.069 --> 00:02:48.469 was dealing with in the real world versus the 00:02:48.469 --> 00:02:51.990 theory that was in the books, he was taking the 00:02:51.990 --> 00:02:54.509 theory and applying it and sometimes twisting 00:02:54.509 --> 00:02:58.590 the theory to make it work for his clients. And 00:02:58.590 --> 00:03:01.949 in listening to him and in that class, it just 00:03:01.949 --> 00:03:06.270 resonated with me so much that, you know, I think 00:03:06.270 --> 00:03:08.330 it's something that if I can share with the listeners 00:03:08.330 --> 00:03:12.379 is... Pay attention to those moments when something 00:03:12.379 --> 00:03:16.120 just, it just feels right. And you don't know 00:03:16.120 --> 00:03:18.280 what to do with it yet, but it just feels right. 00:03:19.960 --> 00:03:23.599 I never forgot that. And I continued my studies, 00:03:23.659 --> 00:03:27.439 obviously. And then when I was in my first career 00:03:27.439 --> 00:03:30.979 shortly out of college. Again, I was very fortunate 00:03:30.979 --> 00:03:33.379 to work in an office at the U .S. Department 00:03:33.379 --> 00:03:35.120 of State where we had a number of consultants 00:03:35.120 --> 00:03:38.360 that we worked with. So I was able to work with 00:03:38.360 --> 00:03:41.620 consultants to see what they did for a client. 00:03:42.810 --> 00:03:45.710 And I was very fortunate in that a couple of 00:03:45.710 --> 00:03:47.870 the consultants that I work with were actually 00:03:47.870 --> 00:03:49.990 attorneys and work for an attorney practice as 00:03:49.990 --> 00:03:52.610 well. And I asked them, I said, I want to do 00:03:52.610 --> 00:03:55.909 what you do someday. And they basically, very 00:03:55.909 --> 00:03:58.129 nicely, but kind of patted me on the head and 00:03:58.129 --> 00:03:59.990 was like, well, that's great, but you're only 00:03:59.990 --> 00:04:03.889 24. You really don't have enough experience yet. 00:04:04.349 --> 00:04:08.389 Get some experience and get some. Get some kicks 00:04:08.389 --> 00:04:12.009 in the gut so you can understand what your clients 00:04:12.009 --> 00:04:14.090 who are going to be business owners or who are 00:04:14.090 --> 00:04:17.129 managers that have to deal with some of the challenges 00:04:17.129 --> 00:04:19.810 that they have to deal with. So when you speak 00:04:19.810 --> 00:04:22.449 to them, you can speak from a position of empathy 00:04:22.449 --> 00:04:26.410 and not theory. And that really resonated with 00:04:26.410 --> 00:04:30.879 me. I worked in that position for about nine 00:04:30.879 --> 00:04:32.639 years, and then I started my own company, and 00:04:32.639 --> 00:04:35.079 I started a training company. Because, again, 00:04:35.240 --> 00:04:38.420 one of those impact points for my job, I was 00:04:38.420 --> 00:04:42.000 attending one of those Fred Pryor National Seminar 00:04:42.000 --> 00:04:45.220 -type workshops that were out there. And I remember 00:04:45.220 --> 00:04:48.120 sitting in that workshop thinking, I could do 00:04:48.120 --> 00:04:51.199 this. I was an adjunct professor at a college 00:04:51.199 --> 00:04:53.430 at the time, too, and I was like... I could do 00:04:53.430 --> 00:04:56.350 this. I already do this partly for my job. And 00:04:56.350 --> 00:04:58.449 so that's where I got the idea of starting my 00:04:58.449 --> 00:05:01.189 training company. But in the back of my head, 00:05:01.189 --> 00:05:03.550 I still wanted to do this thing called a consultant. 00:05:04.189 --> 00:05:08.110 But through my training company and working with 00:05:08.110 --> 00:05:10.910 managers, doing supervisory and mid -level management 00:05:10.910 --> 00:05:15.089 training. I was fortunate in that I was in a 00:05:15.089 --> 00:05:18.149 position in the training room where the managers 00:05:18.149 --> 00:05:20.829 would share their experiences on the job. What 00:05:20.829 --> 00:05:22.910 was working? What wasn't working? Senior management 00:05:22.910 --> 00:05:25.209 wasn't hearing this. Frontline employees weren't 00:05:25.209 --> 00:05:31.350 doing that. And I was, of my own volition, I 00:05:31.350 --> 00:05:34.649 guess confident enough that I would put their 00:05:34.649 --> 00:05:38.129 concerns together and I would share them up the 00:05:38.129 --> 00:05:41.279 chain to say, this is what I'm hearing in the 00:05:41.279 --> 00:05:44.519 training room. You might want to consider X. 00:05:44.720 --> 00:05:47.920 And without realizing it, I was giving them advice. 00:05:48.180 --> 00:05:51.699 And so my training clients started becoming my 00:05:51.699 --> 00:05:55.040 consulting clients because I was getting the 00:05:55.040 --> 00:05:57.300 information from their managers. I was putting 00:05:57.300 --> 00:06:00.000 it together in a way that made sense to senior 00:06:00.000 --> 00:06:03.579 management. And I became one of those situations, 00:06:03.980 --> 00:06:06.839 Sheila, where mid -level managers were going, 00:06:06.920 --> 00:06:08.879 well, that's what we've been trying to tell them 00:06:08.879 --> 00:06:11.319 all this time. And then you come in and you tell 00:06:11.319 --> 00:06:13.939 them and they pay attention. Well, ding, ding, 00:06:13.959 --> 00:06:17.360 ding. Yes, that's true. But I was also packaging 00:06:17.360 --> 00:06:21.100 the information in a way that made sense to people 00:06:21.100 --> 00:06:25.079 further up the chain. I love that story. And 00:06:25.079 --> 00:06:28.959 I cut myself almost with the ageism, you know, 00:06:28.959 --> 00:06:31.220 contradicting myself. Well, how can you be a 00:06:31.220 --> 00:06:34.189 consultant right out of college? I didn't know 00:06:34.189 --> 00:06:37.449 about consulting when I studied either. So in 00:06:37.449 --> 00:06:39.990 my mind, a consultant is someone that has enough 00:06:39.990 --> 00:06:42.870 knowledge, but also experience where you're coming 00:06:42.870 --> 00:06:45.389 in to solve a particular problem and share that 00:06:45.389 --> 00:06:49.529 advice. And so I absolutely love that. You made 00:06:49.529 --> 00:06:53.269 me think outside of my own box that you can have 00:06:53.269 --> 00:06:56.649 that thought even at a really, really early stage 00:06:56.649 --> 00:07:01.250 in your career. So today, what is the most pressing 00:07:01.250 --> 00:07:05.800 challenge? that is facing these people that you're 00:07:05.800 --> 00:07:10.220 either consulting or training? You know, it's 00:07:10.220 --> 00:07:13.699 really interesting because even as crazy as things 00:07:13.699 --> 00:07:16.740 are for so many people right now, a fundamental 00:07:16.740 --> 00:07:21.279 problem that has been a through line in my 30 00:07:21.279 --> 00:07:24.480 -something years of doing this is really helping 00:07:24.480 --> 00:07:27.500 people understand what their jobs are. Now, that 00:07:27.500 --> 00:07:31.480 sounds really very basic, but what I mean, Sheila, 00:07:31.579 --> 00:07:37.259 is... if your title is XYZ manager or XYZ manager 00:07:37.259 --> 00:07:39.980 of this department, what are you really supposed 00:07:39.980 --> 00:07:43.160 to be doing as that manager? How much of the 00:07:43.160 --> 00:07:45.300 hands -on work are you supposed to be doing given 00:07:45.300 --> 00:07:47.439 the staffing that you have, given the technical 00:07:47.439 --> 00:07:49.639 changes, given the new product that you're supposed 00:07:49.639 --> 00:07:52.420 to be rolling out? And how much of your time 00:07:52.420 --> 00:07:54.579 are you supposed to be spending developing your 00:07:54.579 --> 00:07:57.139 team members to better do the jobs they're being 00:07:57.139 --> 00:08:02.259 paid to do? And that understanding of what as 00:08:02.259 --> 00:08:04.620 leaders or as managers, our jobs are supposed 00:08:04.620 --> 00:08:07.560 to be and how do we do that? And then how do 00:08:07.560 --> 00:08:10.660 we communicate to those we're responsible for 00:08:10.660 --> 00:08:15.620 what their jobs are and how many of them need 00:08:15.620 --> 00:08:21.019 to more fully do the work that is part of their 00:08:21.019 --> 00:08:24.819 position responsibility that for years as managers. 00:08:25.610 --> 00:08:27.910 It's just been easier to give it to Sheila because 00:08:27.910 --> 00:08:30.329 she'll just do it and not complain. And meanwhile, 00:08:30.490 --> 00:08:33.950 we have Rhoda over here, who's a great person, 00:08:33.990 --> 00:08:36.570 a lovely person, but let's be honest, is really 00:08:36.570 --> 00:08:40.090 doing about 75 % of the work. And we've got Sheila 00:08:40.090 --> 00:08:43.629 doing 125 % of the work. So it's a matter of 00:08:43.629 --> 00:08:47.730 really being fair to people and developing people 00:08:47.730 --> 00:08:50.549 to their full potential and not just making it 00:08:50.549 --> 00:08:53.549 easy on ourselves and overloading some of our 00:08:53.549 --> 00:08:57.379 really hard performers. So what would be one 00:08:57.379 --> 00:09:01.960 insight or a takeaway that someone listening 00:09:01.960 --> 00:09:07.059 to you today could do if they can recognize that 00:09:07.059 --> 00:09:09.779 they're that person that's doing more of that 00:09:09.779 --> 00:09:14.100 work, that 75 % that you mentioned? Well, it's 00:09:14.100 --> 00:09:17.059 one of the things of... look at the position 00:09:17.059 --> 00:09:19.960 you're hired to do and you're being paid to do. 00:09:20.179 --> 00:09:23.399 And when you look at the position responsibilities, 00:09:23.559 --> 00:09:29.000 ask yourself or ask your team, on a scale of, 00:09:29.019 --> 00:09:33.779 you know, one to ten, how competent are you to 00:09:33.779 --> 00:09:37.860 independently and competently do that work by 00:09:37.860 --> 00:09:42.549 yourself? And you can kind of assess that. The 00:09:42.549 --> 00:09:44.789 other way to look at it is just simply look at 00:09:44.789 --> 00:09:46.370 your to -do list or what you've been working 00:09:46.370 --> 00:09:50.250 on. And how much of the work that you've spent 00:09:50.250 --> 00:09:53.870 your time on just today or just so far this week 00:09:53.870 --> 00:09:58.470 is actually work that is at your level versus 00:09:58.470 --> 00:10:00.970 how much of the work that you've been doing is 00:10:00.970 --> 00:10:03.710 actually work that your team members should be 00:10:03.710 --> 00:10:06.210 handling. But you're just trying to help them 00:10:06.210 --> 00:10:08.350 out and get it done. And let's be honest, between 00:10:08.350 --> 00:10:10.690 you and me and your listeners, it's easier if 00:10:10.690 --> 00:10:14.350 we just do it anyway. So that type of mentality, 00:10:14.590 --> 00:10:18.340 by default, we're... not allowing them to grow 00:10:18.340 --> 00:10:21.139 into those responsibilities because we think 00:10:21.139 --> 00:10:23.639 we're being nice, but we're actually inhibiting 00:10:23.639 --> 00:10:25.820 their growth and we're keeping more work on ourselves. 00:10:27.039 --> 00:10:29.639 Now, you've also authored a few books. Can you 00:10:29.639 --> 00:10:33.629 tell me a little bit about that? Yeah, I've written 00:10:33.629 --> 00:10:36.649 10 books. And, you know, I think the one that 00:10:36.649 --> 00:10:39.190 probably speaks the most to what you and I have 00:10:39.190 --> 00:10:41.529 just had a conversation about is one of the books 00:10:41.529 --> 00:10:43.389 I wrote. It's called Something Needs to Change 00:10:43.389 --> 00:10:46.169 Around Here, The Five Stages to Leveraging Your 00:10:46.169 --> 00:10:49.629 Leadership. And it's really written for leaders 00:10:49.629 --> 00:10:52.289 of all levels. I've had great success with it 00:10:52.289 --> 00:10:54.490 for first -time leaders to actually executives 00:10:54.490 --> 00:10:57.230 in the C -suite in the boardroom. To clarify 00:10:57.230 --> 00:11:00.759 what we've been talking about is How do I intentionally 00:11:00.759 --> 00:11:04.179 as a leader change the way I'm thinking and the 00:11:04.179 --> 00:11:07.919 way I'm behaving so I am more effective in leading 00:11:07.919 --> 00:11:10.639 my team and I can help them be more effective 00:11:10.639 --> 00:11:14.299 given the jobs that they're doing? So that's 00:11:14.299 --> 00:11:16.080 one book that I'm really proud of. And there 00:11:16.080 --> 00:11:18.179 is a free assessment that goes along with it. 00:11:18.779 --> 00:11:20.919 So if any of your listeners are interested in 00:11:20.919 --> 00:11:22.139 that, that's something that can be available 00:11:22.139 --> 00:11:26.080 to them as well. And the primary. market that 00:11:26.080 --> 00:11:28.860 you serve would be corporations, institutions, 00:11:29.419 --> 00:11:35.320 individuals, small businesses? I'm a B2C, basically, 00:11:35.500 --> 00:11:38.159 excuse me, B2B, business to business, and my 00:11:38.159 --> 00:11:42.340 industries are typically... Private sector companies, 00:11:42.600 --> 00:11:45.379 family businesses. I do a lot with state government. 00:11:45.539 --> 00:11:49.820 I do a lot with trade associations. And those 00:11:49.820 --> 00:11:52.840 are typically my industries that I work with. 00:11:52.940 --> 00:11:55.740 And again, I'm working with typically mid -level 00:11:55.740 --> 00:11:58.139 managers, minimum and above, quite often the 00:11:58.139 --> 00:12:01.120 executive suite, the C -suite, the owners, or 00:12:01.120 --> 00:12:04.799 the boards of directors. And where can we find 00:12:04.799 --> 00:12:08.750 you or learn more? So I think the two best ways 00:12:08.750 --> 00:12:10.929 to find me, I'm on LinkedIn. I'm most active 00:12:10.929 --> 00:12:14.250 on LinkedIn. And my handle on LinkedIn is at 00:12:14.250 --> 00:12:19.690 LizWeberCMC. And Weber has just one B. And my 00:12:19.690 --> 00:12:23.289 company website is the acronym for my company 00:12:23.289 --> 00:12:26.490 name. It's W as in William, B as in boy, S as 00:12:26.490 --> 00:12:30.110 in Sam, L as in Lima, L as in Lima, C as in Charlie 00:12:30.110 --> 00:12:35.009 .com. And before we wrap this up, what is your 00:12:35.009 --> 00:12:38.429 next milestone? You know, the next milestone 00:12:38.429 --> 00:12:41.549 I had this year is just really continuing to 00:12:41.549 --> 00:12:44.450 go deep with my clients and help them take it 00:12:44.450 --> 00:12:46.549 to the next level. Because as I alluded to before, 00:12:46.730 --> 00:12:48.909 things are just very challenging for a lot of 00:12:48.909 --> 00:12:52.690 my clients right now. So my focus this year is 00:12:52.690 --> 00:12:56.129 to be a stabilizing force for them and help them. 00:12:56.600 --> 00:13:00.399 continue or refocus on what they can do next 00:13:00.399 --> 00:13:03.460 to stabilize them, stabilize their workforce, 00:13:03.679 --> 00:13:06.059 stabilize their business, and keep moving forward. 00:13:06.480 --> 00:13:08.919 Well, thank you so much for joining me today, 00:13:09.080 --> 00:13:11.980 Liz. Thank you for having me. I appreciate it. 00:13:12.299 --> 00:13:15.600 And thank you all for tuning in to another episode 00:13:15.600 --> 00:13:18.379 of Milestone Moments in Business and Leadership. 00:13:18.799 --> 00:13:20.139 Until next time.