[{"_1":2,"_3":-5,"_4":-5},"loaderData",{"_5":6,"_7":8},"actionData","errors","root",{"_135":-5,"_136":-5,"_137":138,"_139":140,"_141":142},"routes/clips.$id.$slug",{"_9":10,"_11":12},"clip",{"_13":14,"_15":16,"_17":-5,"_18":19,"_20":-5,"_21":22,"_23":24,"_25":26,"_27":28,"_29":30,"_31":32,"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":-5,"_42":-5,"_43":-5,"_44":45,"_46":-5,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":-5},"canonicalUrl","https://howleaderslead.com/clips/1136/two-keys-to-retaining-top-talent","id",1136,"title","Two keys to retaining top talent","subtitle","transcript","WEBVTT\n\n1\n00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.160\nWell, there are two reasons, Kula, why people leave organizations.\n\n2\n00:00:05.160 --> 00:00:10.990\nOne, they don't get along with their boss, and two, they don't feel appreciated\n\n3\n00:00:10.990 --> 00:00:11.320\n.\n\n4\n00:00:11.320 --> 00:00:15.240\nAnd both of those are very tied to each other.\n\n5\n00:00:15.240 --> 00:00:20.510\nNumber one, I think as a leader, you need to create an organization where you\n\n6\n00:00:20.510 --> 00:00:21.160\ntell your\n\n7\n00:00:21.160 --> 00:00:25.290\npeople and you convince your people and show your people the power of them\n\n8\n00:00:25.290 --> 00:00:26.160\nbeing a coach\n\n9\n00:00:26.160 --> 00:00:28.160\nversus a boss.\n\n10\n00:00:28.160 --> 00:00:30.720\nPeople don't want to work for bosses.\n\n11\n00:00:30.720 --> 00:00:32.480\nTelling isn't selling.\n\n12\n00:00:32.480 --> 00:00:38.480\nPeople want to work for coaches who help you become the best you can be.\n\n13\n00:00:38.480 --> 00:00:43.170\nAnd coaches know that their success is dependent on the people that work for\n\n14\n00:00:43.170 --> 00:00:43.880\nthem, and they\n\n15\n00:00:43.880 --> 00:00:48.920\nhelp them achieve their goals and having them achieve their goals is just as\n\n16\n00:00:48.920 --> 00:00:49.800\nmeaningful\n\n17\n00:00:49.800 --> 00:00:53.360\nto them as fulfilling your own goals.\n\n18\n00:00:53.360 --> 00:00:59.120\nThe second thing is that once you take on a coaching mentality, you're much\n\n19\n00:00:59.120 --> 00:01:00.920\nmore empathetic.\n\n20\n00:01:00.920 --> 00:01:06.960\nAnd then it's much easier for you to recognize the hard work that's being put\n\n21\n00:01:06.960 --> 00:01:08.200\nin place and\n\n22\n00:01:08.200 --> 00:01:13.000\nsaying thank you and showing appreciation for the people who are really getting\n\n23\n00:01:13.000 --> 00:01:13.760\nit done.\n\n24\n00:01:13.760 --> 00:01:19.200\nYou know, people say they value recognition as much as they value money.\n\n25\n00:01:19.200 --> 00:01:24.000\nI don't know that I would go that far, but I would say that if you pay people\n\n26\n00:01:24.000 --> 00:01:25.680\ncompetitively,\n\n27\n00:01:25.680 --> 00:01:29.360\nif you recognize them for the work that they do, it will become a competitive\n\n28\n00:01:29.360 --> 00:01:30.200\nadvantage.\n\n29\n00:01:30.200 --> 00:01:35.700\nSo I think the biggest thing you can do is create a coaching organization where\n\n30\n00:01:35.700 --> 00:01:36.280\npeople\n\n31\n00:01:36.280 --> 00:01:41.390\nrecognize people that are doing the tough stuff that needs to be done to get\n\n32\n00:01:41.390 --> 00:01:42.720\ngreat results.\n\n33\n00:01:42.720 --> 00:01:43.920\nI love that so much, David.\n","pretty_transcript","start_time",180686,"end_time",282000,"keywords","retention, attraction, talent, top talent","slug","two-keys-to-retaining-top-talent","origin","cms","mux_playback_id","7DJ7DMHegT4vYYyFVVz73U8wxoPHmJEEH00GCi00Yz964","mux_asset_id","NIYho801b02OPlAMJtyh7xZlwWt28InjMJ02q02osIxqSo4","leader_id",154,"episode_id",302,"updated_at","2025-02-26T19:38:58.000000Z","meta_title","meta_description","og_image_media_id","web_url","https://www.howleaderslead.com/clips/1136/two-keys-to-retaining-top-talent","og_image_url","leader",{"_13":36,"_98":99,"_100":101,"_102":103,"_25":104,"_105":106,"_60":107,"_57":108,"_109":110,"_67":111,"_39":112,"_113":-5,"_41":-5,"_42":-5,"_43":-5,"_114":115,"_86":116,"_44":117,"_118":119,"_120":121,"_46":-5,"_122":123,"_124":125,"_90":126,"_51":-5},"episode",{"_13":38,"_15":52,"_27":53,"_17":-5,"_54":-5,"_18":55,"_20":56,"_57":58,"_59":-5,"_60":58,"_61":-5,"_62":63,"_64":65,"_66":-5,"_67":-5,"_68":69,"_70":-5,"_71":-5,"_35":36,"_39":72,"_41":-5,"_42":-5,"_43":-5,"_73":74,"_75":76,"_77":78,"_79":80,"_81":-5,"_82":-5,"_83":84,"_85":-5,"_86":-5,"_46":-5,"_87":88,"_89":-5,"_90":-5,"_51":-5},"og_image_media","3 More Questions (Liz Elting) with David Novak and Koula Callahan","3-more-questions-liz-elting-with-david-novak-and-koula-callahan","summary","WEBVTT\n\n1\n00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.160\n(speaking in foreign language)\n\n2\n00:00:04.160 --> 00:00:21.280\n- Well, what cool is trying to tell you\n\n3\n00:00:21.280 --> 00:00:23.960\nis today we're taking a deeper dive\n\n4\n00:00:23.960 --> 00:00:27.200\ninto my conversation with Liz Elting,\n\n5\n00:00:27.200 --> 00:00:29.840\nformer CEO of TransPerfect,\n\n6\n00:00:29.840 --> 00:00:32.860\na language translation company,\n\n7\n00:00:32.860 --> 00:00:37.500\nsee her sense of humor that grew to over a billion dollars.\n\n8\n00:00:37.500 --> 00:00:39.300\n- Well, David, like Liz,\n\n9\n00:00:39.300 --> 00:00:41.760\nI too spent some time in Spain during college\n\n10\n00:00:41.760 --> 00:00:42.920\nand learned to speak Spanish,\n\n11\n00:00:42.920 --> 00:00:45.820\nand she shares in the episode that she feels like she's\n\n12\n00:00:45.820 --> 00:00:48.400\nin another place when she's speaking Spanish.\n\n13\n00:00:48.400 --> 00:00:50.060\nAnd I kind of do too.\n\n14\n00:00:50.060 --> 00:00:51.960\nEven though I'm sitting here in Nashville, Tennessee,\n\n15\n00:00:51.960 --> 00:00:53.920\nrecording this podcast episode,\n\n16\n00:00:53.920 --> 00:00:56.200\nspeaking a different language really does\n\n17\n00:00:56.200 --> 00:00:58.280\nhelp me feel connected to other cultures.\n\n18\n00:00:58.280 --> 00:01:01.280\nAnd it's really fun to speak it whenever I can.\n\n19\n00:01:01.280 --> 00:01:03.280\n- I thought I was in a different place too\n\n20\n00:01:03.280 --> 00:01:04.720\nwhen you started with them like that.\n\n21\n00:01:04.720 --> 00:01:06.200\n(laughing)\n\n22\n00:01:06.200 --> 00:01:09.040\n- Well, we've got some fun questions for you today, David.\n\n23\n00:01:09.040 --> 00:01:11.600\nLike you said, Liz built TransPerfect\n\n24\n00:01:11.600 --> 00:01:13.680\nto over a billion dollar company.\n\n25\n00:01:13.680 --> 00:01:15.640\nAnd she did it with a lot of grit\n\n26\n00:01:15.640 --> 00:01:17.280\nand a bias towards action.\n\n27\n00:01:17.280 --> 00:01:19.040\nSo today's questions are gonna revolve\n\n28\n00:01:19.040 --> 00:01:20.080\naround those topics.\n\n29\n00:01:20.080 --> 00:01:21.320\nAre you ready for them?\n\n30\n00:01:21.320 --> 00:01:22.160\n- See.\n\n31\n00:01:22.160 --> 00:01:24.080\n(laughing)\n\n32\n00:01:24.360 --> 00:01:25.840\n- Question number one.\n\n33\n00:01:25.840 --> 00:01:29.360\nLiz started TransPerfect out of her NYU Business School dorm room\n\n34\n00:01:29.360 --> 00:01:33.280\nwith her co-founder and just about $5,000 in the bank.\n\n35\n00:01:33.280 --> 00:01:36.480\nIn the episode, you ask what she focused on first\n\n36\n00:01:36.480 --> 00:01:38.480\nas she scaled and grew the business.\n\n37\n00:01:38.480 --> 00:01:41.480\nAnd she said that the first thing she really focused on\n\n38\n00:01:41.480 --> 00:01:46.080\nwas having her entire team be laser focused on selling\n\n39\n00:01:46.080 --> 00:01:47.400\nevery day.\n\n40\n00:01:47.400 --> 00:01:49.680\nThey wanted to have the largest sales team\n\n41\n00:01:49.680 --> 00:01:51.160\nand the industry.\n\n42\n00:01:51.160 --> 00:01:54.800\nBy design, so they really put effort behind selling.\n\n43\n00:01:54.800 --> 00:01:57.600\nDavid, for leaders trying to scale their business,\n\n44\n00:01:57.600 --> 00:01:59.600\nwhat else should they be focusing on\n\n45\n00:01:59.600 --> 00:02:01.920\nother than just selling every day?\n\n46\n00:02:01.920 --> 00:02:04.320\n- I think the biggest thing you need to scale\n\n47\n00:02:04.320 --> 00:02:07.480\nare the big ideas that have the broadest application.\n\n48\n00:02:07.480 --> 00:02:10.400\nSo when you find a really good idea\n\n49\n00:02:10.400 --> 00:02:12.560\nthat can be broadly applied,\n\n50\n00:02:12.560 --> 00:02:16.080\nthen you scale that by communicating it\n\n51\n00:02:16.080 --> 00:02:18.840\nand cascading it across your order.\n\n52\n00:02:18.840 --> 00:02:22.600\nAnd when you can get people executing the best practices\n\n53\n00:02:22.600 --> 00:02:24.600\nthat you find in your organization,\n\n54\n00:02:24.600 --> 00:02:27.000\nthen you're always gonna get better results.\n\n55\n00:02:27.000 --> 00:02:28.600\n- Question number two.\n\n56\n00:02:28.600 --> 00:02:31.400\nOne of the challenges Liz faced early on\n\n57\n00:02:31.400 --> 00:02:34.200\nas she was scaling was burnout from her team.\n\n58\n00:02:34.200 --> 00:02:36.760\nShe realized that while they were laser focused\n\n59\n00:02:36.760 --> 00:02:40.200\non their sales team, they were asking entirely too much\n\n60\n00:02:40.200 --> 00:02:41.680\nfrom their employees.\n\n61\n00:02:41.680 --> 00:02:44.400\nSo then they thought that giving their sales team a raise\n\n62\n00:02:44.400 --> 00:02:46.120\nwould solve the problem.\n\n63\n00:02:46.120 --> 00:02:48.480\nAnd I thought that giving their sales team a raise\n\n64\n00:02:48.480 --> 00:02:52.160\nwould solve the frustrations, but of course it didn't.\n\n65\n00:02:52.160 --> 00:02:54.160\nDavid, what are other ways leaders\n\n66\n00:02:54.160 --> 00:02:56.320\ncan reward their hardworking team\n\n67\n00:02:56.320 --> 00:02:58.680\nin a time that demands maybe more\n\n68\n00:02:58.680 --> 00:03:00.920\nthan normal of their employees?\n\n69\n00:03:00.920 --> 00:03:02.760\n- Well, there are two reasons, Kula,\n\n70\n00:03:02.760 --> 00:03:05.360\nwhy people leave organizations.\n\n71\n00:03:05.360 --> 00:03:07.440\nOne, they don't get along with their boss,\n\n72\n00:03:07.440 --> 00:03:10.880\nand two, they don't feel appreciated.\n\n73\n00:03:10.880 --> 00:03:15.000\nAnd both of those are very tied to each other.\n\n74\n00:03:15.000 --> 00:03:18.280\nNumber one, I think as a leader,\n\n75\n00:03:18.280 --> 00:03:20.280\nyou need to create an organization\n\n76\n00:03:20.280 --> 00:03:23.120\nwhere you tell your people and you convince your people\n\n77\n00:03:23.120 --> 00:03:26.120\nand show your people the power of them being a coach\n\n78\n00:03:26.120 --> 00:03:27.720\nversus a boss.\n\n79\n00:03:27.720 --> 00:03:30.280\nPeople don't wanna work for bosses.\n\n80\n00:03:30.280 --> 00:03:32.120\nTelling isn't selling.\n\n81\n00:03:32.120 --> 00:03:34.600\nPeople wanna work for coaches\n\n82\n00:03:34.600 --> 00:03:38.080\nwho help you become the best you can be.\n\n83\n00:03:38.080 --> 00:03:41.280\nAnd coaches know that their success is dependent\n\n84\n00:03:41.280 --> 00:03:43.120\non the people that work for them,\n\n85\n00:03:43.120 --> 00:03:46.440\nand they help them achieve their goals,\n\n86\n00:03:46.440 --> 00:03:48.520\nand having them achieve their goals\n\n87\n00:03:48.520 --> 00:03:53.240\nis just as meaningful to them as fulfilling your own goals.\n\n88\n00:03:53.240 --> 00:03:58.240\nThe second thing is that once you take on a coaching mentality,\n\n89\n00:03:58.240 --> 00:04:00.480\nyou're much more empathetic,\n\n90\n00:04:00.480 --> 00:04:04.800\nand then it's much easier for you to recognize\n\n91\n00:04:04.800 --> 00:04:07.800\nthe hard work that's being put in place\n\n92\n00:04:07.800 --> 00:04:10.680\nand saying thank you and showing appreciation\n\n93\n00:04:10.680 --> 00:04:13.520\nfor the people who are really getting it done.\n\n94\n00:04:13.520 --> 00:04:16.640\nYou know, people say they value recognition\n\n95\n00:04:16.640 --> 00:04:19.160\nas much as they value money.\n\n96\n00:04:19.160 --> 00:04:21.080\nI don't know that I would go that far,\n\n97\n00:04:21.080 --> 00:04:25.440\nbut I would say that if you pay people competitively,\n\n98\n00:04:25.440 --> 00:04:27.920\nif you recognize them for the work that they do,\n\n99\n00:04:27.920 --> 00:04:29.920\nit will become a competitive advantage.\n\n100\n00:04:29.920 --> 00:04:32.600\nSo I think the biggest thing you can do\n\n101\n00:04:32.600 --> 00:04:35.320\nis create a coaching organization\n\n102\n00:04:35.320 --> 00:04:37.960\nwhere people recognize people\n\n103\n00:04:37.960 --> 00:04:40.720\nthat are doing the tough stuff that needs to be done\n\n104\n00:04:40.720 --> 00:04:42.680\nto get great results.\n\n105\n00:04:42.680 --> 00:04:44.000\n- I love that so much, David.\n\n106\n00:04:44.000 --> 00:04:47.960\nSo many folks think that money will solve their people problems,\n\n107\n00:04:47.960 --> 00:04:49.440\nand it's just not true.\n\n108\n00:04:49.440 --> 00:04:51.880\nAnd you've been preaching this recognition culture\n\n109\n00:04:51.880 --> 00:04:53.200\nfor years and years,\n\n110\n00:04:53.200 --> 00:04:57.360\nand a lot of folks just think that it's soft and fluffy and cute\n\n111\n00:04:57.360 --> 00:04:58.440\nto recognize folks,\n\n112\n00:04:58.440 --> 00:05:00.000\nbut when you really measure it\n\n113\n00:05:00.000 --> 00:05:02.880\nas a competitive advantage for your workplace,\n\n114\n00:05:02.880 --> 00:05:05.760\nit can make a big difference in retention.\n\n115\n00:05:05.760 --> 00:05:08.280\n- Well, it is a soft stuff, Kula,\n\n116\n00:05:08.280 --> 00:05:11.640\nbut I always say it's a soft stuff that drives hard results.\n\n117\n00:05:11.640 --> 00:05:15.560\nAnd I can prove that in many, many different ways\n\n118\n00:05:15.560 --> 00:05:18.480\njust by looking at the organizations\n\n119\n00:05:18.480 --> 00:05:21.680\nthat have a culture where people know that they matter\n\n120\n00:05:21.680 --> 00:05:23.000\nand know that they count.\n\n121\n00:05:23.000 --> 00:05:25.640\nThose are always the best companies,\n\n122\n00:05:25.640 --> 00:05:28.400\nthe best teams that get the best results.\n\n123\n00:05:28.400 --> 00:05:30.120\n- Question number three.\n\n124\n00:05:30.120 --> 00:05:32.800\nAn insight Liz shared that I loved was this.\n\n125\n00:05:32.800 --> 00:05:34.720\nShe said, \"To grow your team,\n\n126\n00:05:34.720 --> 00:05:36.640\nyou have to bring in the best talent\n\n127\n00:05:36.640 --> 00:05:38.560\nand then get out of their way.\"\n\n128\n00:05:38.560 --> 00:05:41.160\nNow, she was referring specifically to her sales team,\n\n129\n00:05:41.160 --> 00:05:44.400\nbut I think leaders of all kinds can learn from this.\n\n130\n00:05:44.400 --> 00:05:46.200\nDavid, talk to me about what it looks like\n\n131\n00:05:46.200 --> 00:05:48.360\nto get out of your people's way.\n\n132\n00:05:48.360 --> 00:05:50.440\nWhat kind of balance do leaders need to have\n\n133\n00:05:50.440 --> 00:05:53.120\nbetween instructing people on what to do\n\n134\n00:05:53.120 --> 00:05:55.720\nand then setting them loose to go and do it?\n\n135\n00:05:55.720 --> 00:05:58.080\n- Well, I think it's a two part equation.\n\n136\n00:05:58.080 --> 00:06:00.720\nNumber one, you have to recognize\n\n137\n00:06:00.720 --> 00:06:03.680\nthat autonomy is earned right.\n\n138\n00:06:03.680 --> 00:06:06.200\nAs a person that works for somebody else,\n\n139\n00:06:06.200 --> 00:06:08.240\nyou have to do the job.\n\n140\n00:06:08.240 --> 00:06:11.600\nYou have to show people that you're capable of doing the job.\n\n141\n00:06:11.600 --> 00:06:14.000\nYou have the capabilities to do the job\n\n142\n00:06:14.000 --> 00:06:16.280\nand that it'll get done right.\n\n143\n00:06:16.280 --> 00:06:18.720\nAnd once you have demonstrated that,\n\n144\n00:06:18.720 --> 00:06:21.840\nthen I think it's the leader's job to get out of the way\n\n145\n00:06:21.840 --> 00:06:26.160\nand let that person do the job without meddling.\n\n146\n00:06:26.160 --> 00:06:30.080\nSo many times people think they have to justify their job\n\n147\n00:06:30.080 --> 00:06:32.440\nby showing the person that's doing the job\n\n148\n00:06:32.440 --> 00:06:33.960\nif they know how to do the job,\n\n149\n00:06:33.960 --> 00:06:35.800\nat least as well or better than them.\n\n150\n00:06:35.800 --> 00:06:37.760\nAnd that's just wasted energy.\n\n151\n00:06:37.760 --> 00:06:40.120\nGet out of their way, let them do the job\n\n152\n00:06:40.120 --> 00:06:43.440\nand you focus on your job and think about what you need to do\n\n153\n00:06:43.440 --> 00:06:46.600\nto help your team grow, help the organization grow\n\n154\n00:06:46.600 --> 00:06:48.560\nand take it to the next level.\n\n155\n00:06:48.560 --> 00:06:52.040\nYou know, another good analogy on this is like\n\n156\n00:06:52.040 --> 00:06:55.360\nwhen you're teaching your kid how to ride a bike.\n\n157\n00:06:55.360 --> 00:06:59.400\nFirst of all, they get on a bicycle with training wheels.\n\n158\n00:06:59.400 --> 00:07:01.720\nNow, you don't let your kid go off\n\n159\n00:07:01.720 --> 00:07:06.520\nand ride that bike and crash until you know\n\n160\n00:07:06.520 --> 00:07:10.360\nthat they've ridden that bike with the training wheels enough\n\n161\n00:07:10.360 --> 00:07:12.280\nto end that you're going right alongside them\n\n162\n00:07:12.280 --> 00:07:15.240\nand you let them go when you see them going about 10 yards,\n\n163\n00:07:15.240 --> 00:07:19.240\n15 yards and then you let them fly like a bird, okay?\n\n164\n00:07:19.240 --> 00:07:22.120\nBecause they have demonstrated the capability,\n\n165\n00:07:22.120 --> 00:07:25.840\nthey're prepared to fly, they're prepared to ride that bike.\n\n166\n00:07:25.840 --> 00:07:28.560\nBut you sure as hell don't let somebody go crash,\n\n167\n00:07:28.560 --> 00:07:31.000\nparticularly if it's a kid that you love.\n\n168\n00:07:31.000 --> 00:07:32.680\nHopefully you do love your children.\n\n169\n00:07:32.680 --> 00:07:34.160\nOh, I hope so too, cool.\n\n170\n00:07:34.160 --> 00:07:38.160\nThere are a few things more frustrated\n\n171\n00:07:38.160 --> 00:07:40.280\nthan being micromanaged in your job.\n\n172\n00:07:40.280 --> 00:07:44.520\nAnd so I love what you said that autonomy isn't earned right.\n\n173\n00:07:44.520 --> 00:07:47.840\nI think leaders everywhere can take that insight to heart\n\n174\n00:07:47.840 --> 00:07:50.160\nand understand the people on their team\n\n175\n00:07:50.160 --> 00:07:52.200\nwho have earned the right to be autonomous\n\n176\n00:07:52.200 --> 00:07:54.920\nand then get out of their way so they can go out\n\n177\n00:07:54.920 --> 00:07:56.120\nand do the job.\n\n178\n00:07:56.120 --> 00:08:00.560\nYou don't want to think, \"Hey, cool, is this word empowerment?\"\n\n179\n00:08:00.560 --> 00:08:03.800\nI just hate it when people say, \"I want to be empowered.\"\n\n180\n00:08:03.800 --> 00:08:06.760\nI just think that's BS, okay?\n\n181\n00:08:06.760 --> 00:08:09.160\nAutonomy is earned right.\n\n182\n00:08:09.160 --> 00:08:12.600\nI will empower you once I know you're capable\n\n183\n00:08:12.600 --> 00:08:14.040\nof doing the job.\n\n184\n00:08:14.040 --> 00:08:16.600\nBut don't ask me to empower you\n\n185\n00:08:16.600 --> 00:08:18.640\nbefore you've demonstrated that.\n\n186\n00:08:18.640 --> 00:08:25.640\n- Well, that does it for today.\n\n187\n00:08:25.640 --> 00:08:27.560\nThank you to our listeners for tuning in\n\n188\n00:08:27.560 --> 00:08:30.160\nto another episode of How Leaders Lead.\n\n189\n00:08:30.160 --> 00:08:32.240\nWe're on a mission to make the world a better place\n\n190\n00:08:32.240 --> 00:08:33.760\nby developing better leaders.\n\n191\n00:08:33.760 --> 00:08:36.000\nAnd if you carve out a little time with us each\n\n192\n00:08:36.000 --> 00:08:38.040\nand every week, we'll help you build the confidence\n\n193\n00:08:38.040 --> 00:08:39.800\nyou need to lead well.\n\n194\n00:08:39.800 --> 00:08:41.440\n- And speaking of great leaders,\n\n195\n00:08:41.440 --> 00:08:45.080\ntune in this Thursday for my conversation with Mike White,\n\n196\n00:08:45.080 --> 00:08:48.840\nthe former chairman and CEO of DirectTV.\n\n197\n00:08:48.840 --> 00:08:52.240\nI worked with Mike when he was the CFO of PepsiCo,\n\n198\n00:08:52.240 --> 00:08:54.560\nthe president of PepsiCo International,\n\n199\n00:08:54.560 --> 00:08:57.040\nand he is a great executive.\n\n200\n00:08:57.040 --> 00:08:59.640\n(upbeat music)\n\n201\n00:08:59.640 --> 00:09:02.220\n(upbeat music)\n\n202\n00:09:02.220 --> 00:09:12.220\n[BLANK_AUDIO]\n","

Koula Callahan 0:04

Bienvenidos a how leaders lead us to ikoula Callaghan estoy that I ended up Ultra episodio that three word questions con David Novak, David Dunn and Aguilar de que estar contigo.

David Novak 0:17

Well, what cool is trying to tell you is today we're taking a deeper dive into my conversation with Liz Lt. Former CEO of transperfect, a language translation company, see her sense of humor that grew to over a billion dollars.

Koula Callahan 0:37

While David like Liz, I too, spent some time in Spain during college and learn to speak Spanish, and she shares in the episode that she feels like she's in another place when she's speaking Spanish. And I kind of do too. Even though I'm sitting here in Nashville, Tennessee, recording this podcast episode, speaking a different language really does help me feel connected to other cultures. And it's really fun to speak it whenever I can. I thought

David Novak 1:01

I was in a different place to when you started.

Koula Callahan 1:06

Well, we've got some fun questions for you today. David, like you said, Liz built transperfect to over a billion dollar company. And she did it with a lot of grit and a bias towards action. So today's questions are going to revolve around those topics. Are you ready for him? See.

Question number one, Liz started transperfect out of her NYU Business School dorm room with her co founder and just about $5,000 in the bank. And the episode you ask what she focused on first, as she scaled and grew the business. And she said that the first thing she really focused on was having her entire team be laser focused on selling every day. They wanted to have the largest sales team and the industry by design. So they really put effort behind selling. David for leaders trying to scale their business, what else should they be focusing on other than just selling every day?

David Novak 2:05

I think the biggest thing you need to scale are the big ideas that have the broadest application. So when you find a really good idea that can be broadly applied, then you scale that by communicating it and cascading it across your organization. And you know, when you can get people executing the best practices that you find in your organization, then you're always gonna get better results.

Koula Callahan 2:30

Question number two, what are the challenges Liz faced early on as she was scaling was burnout from her team, she realized that while they were laser focused on their sales team, they were asking entirely too much from their employees. So then they thought that giving their sales team a raise would solve the frustrations. But of course it didn't. David, what are other ways leaders can reward their hard working team and a time that demands maybe more than normal of their employees? Well, there

David Novak 3:00

are two reasons cooler why people leave organizations, one, they don't get along with their boss, and two, they don't feel appreciated. And both of those are very tied to each other. Number one, I think as a leader, you need to create an organization where you tell your people and you convince your people and show your people the power of them being a coach versus a boss. People don't want to work for bosses, telling is selling people want to work for coaches who help you become the best you can be. And coaches know that their success is dependent on the people that work for them. And they help them achieve their goals and how having them achieve their goals is just as meaningful to them as fulfilling your own goals. The second thing is that once you take on a coaching mentality, you're much more empathetic. And then it's much easier for you to recognize the hard work that's being put in place and saying thank you and showing appreciation for the people who are really getting it done. You know, people say they value recognition as much as they value money. I don't know that I would go that far. But I would say that if you pay people competitively, if you recognize them for the work that they do, it will become a competitive advantage. So I think the the biggest thing you can do is create a coaching organization where people recognize people that are doing the tough stuff that needs to be done to get great results.

Koula Callahan 4:42

I love that so much, David, so many folks think that money will solve their people problems, and it's just not true. And you've been preaching this recognition culture for years and years and a lot of folks just think that it's soft and fluffy and cute to recognize folks but when you really measure it As a competitive advantage for your workplace, it can make a big difference in retention.

David Novak 5:05

Well, it is the soft stuff cool. But I always say it's the soft stuff that drives hard results. And I can prove that in many, many different ways. Just by looking at the organizations that have a culture where people know that they matter and know that they count. Those are always the best best companies, the best teams that get the best results.

Koula Callahan 5:28

Question number three, an insight Liz shared that I loved was this, she said to grow your team, you have to bring in the best talent and then get out of their way. Now, she was referring specifically to her sales team. But I think leaders of all kinds can learn from this. David talks to me about what it looks like to get out of your people's way, what kind of balance to leaders need to have between instructing people on what to do and then setting them loose to go and do it? Well, I think it's

David Novak 5:56

a two part equation. Number one, you have to recognize that autonomy is earned, right? As a person that works for somebody else, you have to do the job, you have to show people that you're capable of doing the job, you have the capabilities to do the job. And then it'll get done right. And once you have demonstrated that, then I think it's the leaders job to get out of the way and let that person do the job without meddling. So many times people think they have to justify their job by showing the person that's doing the job, they know how to do the job, at least as well or better than them. And that's just wasted energy. Get out of their way. Let them do the job. And you focus on your job and think about what you need to do to help your team grow, help the organization grow and take it to the next level. You know, another good analogy on this is like when you're teaching your kid how to ride a bike, first of all, they get on a bicycle with training wheels. Now you don't let your kid go off and ride that bike and crash until you know that they've ridden that bike with the training wheels enough to end that you're going right alongside them and you let them go when you see them go in about 10 yards, 15 yards, and then you let them fly like a bird. Okay? Because they have demonstrated the capability. They're prepared to fly. They're prepared to ride that bike. But you sure as hell don't let somebody go crash, particularly if it's a kid that you love.

Koula Callahan 7:30

Hopefully you do love your children.

David Novak 7:32

Oh, I also do cool.

Koula Callahan 7:36

There are a few things more frustrated than me micromanaged in your job. And so I love what you said that autonomy isn't earned, right? I think leaders everywhere can take that insight to heart and understand the people on their team who have earned the right to be autonomous and then get out of their way so they can go out and do the job.

David Novak 7:56

You know, one of the things I hate cool is this word empowerment. I just hate it when people say I want to be empowered. I just think that's BS, okay. Autonomy is earned. Right? I will empower you. Once I know you're capable of doing the job. But don't ask me to empower you before you demonstrate.

Koula Callahan 8:24

Well, that does it for today. Thank you to our listeners for tuning in to another episode of how leaders lead. We're on a mission to make the world a better place by developing better leaders. And if you carve out a little time with us each and every week, we'll help you build the confidence you need to lead well.

David Novak 8:39

And speaking of great leaders tune in this Thursday for my conversation with Mike White, the former chairman and CEO of Direct TV. I worked with Mike when he was the CFO of PepsiCo, the president of PepsiCo International and he is a great executive.

","is_pinned",false,"pinned_at","is_featured","featured_at","mix_url","https://chtbl.com/track/DCB44F/traffic.megaphone.fm/DVL6838874009.mp3?updated=1697833804","dx_media_id",631,"video_media_id","thumbnail_image_media_id","published_date","2023-10-23","itunes_episode_id","youtube_id","2025-10-02T09:52:28.000000Z","dx_url","https://dnl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/uploads/vkymQCpVQkkenmCcFefhHYLjwbi5B2TN78KiqjUj.mp3","dx_filename","vkymQCpVQkkenmCcFefhHYLjwbi5B2TN78KiqjUj.mp3","dx_mux_playback_id","UvWYv6kT02e6OHfI0061mr4c1alJs9SpwILmnt00jv9Z7c","dx_waveform_url","https://dnl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/uploads/waveforms/631.json","video_url","video_mux_playback_id","duration",547107,"thumbnail_url","thumbnail_image_url","dx_media",{"_13":65,"_91":76,"_92":74,"_93":-5,"_31":78,"_33":94,"_95":-5,"_96":80,"_83":84,"_97":-5},"video_media","thumbnail_image_media","filename","url","status","878Yohq6SnLtD1s1x800qs4UwTy7mivCYROFFjg4u1hI","mux_upload_id","waveform_url","preview_media_id","first_name","David","last_name","Novak","job_title","Yum! Brands, Cofounder and former CEO","Cofounder, CEO, Yum! Brands, Taco Bell, KFC, Pizza Hut, Louisville, golf, How Leaders Lead, podcast, host, Chairman, Yum, PepsiCo, marketing, recognition","external_links","https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-novak-ogo/,https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_C._Novak,https://www.instagram.com/davidnovak/,https://x.com/DavidNovakOGO,https://www.tiktok.com/@howleaderslead,https://davidnovakleadership.com",1,0,"image_media_id",741,742,"2026-07-21T21:27:50.000000Z","send_push_notification_at","image_url","https://dnl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/uploads/JtTqvCukdhDxfNthbX3XHLEGVqcFMrraao26q8Uq.jpg","https://dnl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/uploads/OPFcRoPOruLkuaV8GWiXsjUekCoK4Gt8Cx0wIcuz.jpg","https://www.howleaderslead.com/leaders/154/david-novak","industry_id",8,"industry",{"_13":119,"_130":131,"_132":134},"industries",[129],"image_media",{"_13":110,"_91":128,"_92":115,"_93":-5,"_31":-5,"_33":-5,"_95":-5,"_96":-5,"_83":-5,"_97":-5},{"_13":111,"_91":127,"_92":116,"_93":-5,"_31":-5,"_33":-5,"_95":-5,"_96":-5,"_83":-5,"_97":-5},"OPFcRoPOruLkuaV8GWiXsjUekCoK4Gt8Cx0wIcuz.jpg","JtTqvCukdhDxfNthbX3XHLEGVqcFMrraao26q8Uq.jpg",{"_13":119,"_130":131,"_132":133},"name","Food and Bev","pivot",{"_35":36,"_118":119},{"_35":36,"_118":119},"user","token","favorites",[],"collections",[],"env",{"_143":144,"_145":146,"_147":148,"_149":150,"_151":152},"GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID","644017954836-qpllhu38r0tsrtfq85ukntcvsb0akbht.apps.googleusercontent.com","APPLE_CLIENT_ID","com.howleaderslead.webapp","APPLE_REDIRECT_URI","https://www.howleaderslead.com/auth/apple-callback","APP_URL","https://howleaderslead.com","GTM_ID",""]