Maxwell Leadership Podcast: Using Time or Abusing Time with Lisa Zeeveld

Mark Cole:

Welcome back to the Maxwell Leadership Podcast. This is the podcast that adds value to leaders who multiply value to others. If we’ve not met, my name is Mark Cole. I have to tell you, after hundreds and hundreds of episodes, today is a new day. I get the privilege of co-hosting this podcast week after week, but today is special. It’s special for me. It will be special for you, because today I have a special guest with me. Today, Lisa Zeeveld is here with me. Now, you’re going to know a lot more about Lisa when we’re done, but she goes by LZ. This is an affectionate nickname. She got to pick it. There’s a whole story behind it, but she allowed me to call her LZ, and I can’t wait to introduce you to her.

Now, you may know her as the CFO of BELAY. I’ve had the incredible privilege to share with you about BELAY week after week. I’m going to tell you, today we’re going to deep dive in an incredible leadership journey of how Lisa, LZ, began to lead, and now, as a CFO, shows what a product of the product look like. Now, she’s no stranger to us, because BELAY has become a valued partner and a sponsor of this podcast. BELAY is about recruiting the right people for organizations, which in turn allows leaders to get out of the weeds and focus on the most important aspects of leading people. In a very real sense, BELAY gives leaders back their time. Does anybody just want to breathe that in? They give back time to busy leaders like you and I, so I’m honored to LZ co-host with me today.

We’re going to dive into a lesson from John, which I believe will help you understand the importance of your time. John’s going to share his own thoughts on the nature of time, and the important leadership skill of managing priorities. As always, we have a free bonus resource for you. This week, it’s going to be a fill-in-the-blank PDF, and it’s a worksheet that accompanies John’s lesson. If you’d like to download that worksheet, please visit MaxwellPodcast.com/Time. Click the bonus resource button, and follow along.

Well, that’s it for now. LZ and I will be back. Here is John C. Maxwell.

John Maxwell:

Thoreau said, “You cannot kill time without injuring eternity.” Let me give you some thoughts about time. Number one, time is an equal opportunity employer. That’s a fact. Time is an equal opportunity employer. Sometimes I compare time to the fact that all of us have what I call identical suitcases. All of us have the very same size as far as the suitcases, but some people can pack more in than others. Have you ever noticed an experienced traveler just seems to get more out of the stuff that they put in the suitcase than an inexperienced? An inexperienced traveler, what do they do? They want to pack all their suitcases. Isn’t that right? They want to take more than they ever need, but the experienced traveler understands how to mix and match the clothes and the whole process. Basically, we all have identical suitcases of life, and what we put in them is going to be very different. Pretty much, the time, as far as what we have today, everybody gets 24 hours. It’s the same amount of time.

Second thought about time. The lack of time is not the problem. It’s the lack of direction. In fact, when I say the lack of time is not the problem, it’s the lack of direction, here’s what I want you to know. I think when people talk about time management. I hear people say, “Well, I’m going to a time management seminar,” or, “I’m reading a time management book.” I think time management is an oxymoron. I don’t think there’s such a thing as time management. I’ve never known anybody to be able to manage time. I’ve never known anybody to be able to manage time and get more out of time and say, “I’ve managed time so well. I got 25 hours out of today. It was just huge. Man, I added 17 minutes to my schedule today.”

You know, I’ve found that time just keeps on going. Whether you and I do anything with, or don’t do anything with it, it doesn’t stop to wait. You know, time doesn’t look at me and say, “Hey, John. You’re not real productive. I’ll just hang on until you’re ready.” Time just marches on, so when people say they’re managing time, I don’t think they’re really doing that. I think what we want to talk about is not time management. I think we want to talk about priority management. That’s how to get the best use out of time. You don’t manage time. You manage your priorities. That’s the goal of this lesson. The goal of this lesson is for us to priority manage our life in such a way that we get the greatest return that we possibly can out of time.

Let’s look in your notes for a moment. Clayton Barbeau, in his book, The Joy of Marriage, writes, “Again and again, I meet married situations in which the couple speaks of not finding time. Just can’t find the time. I’ve never yet stumbled across 20 minutes lying on the sidewalk. Though, once I found a $20 bill. Nor have I ever met anyone who just happened across two weeks of time somebody had left in the park. I doubt that anyone else has done so either, for the simple lesson that time is not found. Time is created by us for the things we want to do. It often requires conscious planning to create those chunks of time that we can devote totally to the other.” So lack of time is not the problem. It’s the lack of direction. It’s the lack of prioritizing our time correctly.

The third thought on time is this. Time is more valuable than money, because it is irreplaceable. The most precious commodity we have on Earth today is not money. It’s time. You can replace money. You can’t replace time. Once it’s gone that day, we never get it back. “You don’t really pay for things with money,” says author Charles Spezzano in What to Do Between Birth and Death. I love that title, What to Do Between Birth and Death. A lot of people have never figured that out. You know that, don’t you? They just haven’t figured that out. “You pay for them with time.” Then he explains, “In five years, I’ll have put enough away to buy that vacation house that we want. Then I’ll slow down. That means the house will cost you five years, or one twelfth of your adult life. Translate the dollar value of the house, car, or anything else into time, and then see if it’s still worth it.”

Thought number four. This is a Peter Drucker quote that I love, “Nothing else distinguishes effective executives as most as their tender loving care of time.” Peter Drucker, the great management expert basically says that the thing that sets us apart as executives is how we manage time. If a person who is young can begin to understand the value of time, and really use it effectively and not abuse it, think of how effective and productive they could be in their lifetime. It’s kind of like the man who missed the plane, and somebody saw him. He ran up and the plane was just pulling out. Just missed it. He said, “Oh my goodness. If you would’ve run faster, you would’ve made it.” The man said, “No, if I’d have left earlier I would’ve made it.”

I guess what I’m wanting to really help, especially the youth that will hear this lesson, is you have the advantage that the rest of us don’t have. You get to start a little bit earlier. You get to use it starting right now. We’re always in a hurry. I saw a cartoon recently that showed an American couple dashing up the steps of the Louvre in Paris. As they approached the guard at the door, they began shouting, “Quick, we’re here to see the Mona Lisa, but we’re double-parked.” I want to get it in, and I want to get back out into my car. So many times when I think of the use of time and the abuse of time, I think we miss the very best, sometimes, that life has to offer, because we don’t understand the value of time.

I’ve been going through an exercise this year of carefully planning my next five years. They’re real prime for me. I’m saying, “Okay, I’ve got to do it right.” These next five years are vitally important to me. The other day, I received a thank you note from a friend. On the thank you note, it said what I have in your notes. “I still find each day too short for all the thoughts I want to think, for all the walks I want to take, all the books that I want to read, and all the friends I want to see.” I thought, “How true that is.” I want to do the very best I can to understand time and make the very best use of it.

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Mark Cole:

I love what John says, LZ, when he says, “Lack of time is not the problem. It’s the lack of direction.”

Lisa Zeeveld:

So true.

Mark Cole:

Yeah. Let’s think about that. Podcast family, I hope that you’re joined us by YouTube if you have the moment, because you’re going to love. Lisa is in the studio with me. If you’re listening as well, I just want to tell you. All of us struggle as leaders with time, priorities, time management. We all have the same amount, but yet some of us get more out of it than others, because we know how to manage it. I’ve got some questions I’ve got to ask you. It’s been a long time coming. Every since we’ve gotten to partner on helping executives to be more effective together, every since they brought to me that we would have the privilege of partnering with you guys, I’ve always wanted to sit down and talk to an executive on why. Why do you wake up and do this? Then, podcast family, not only today in the studio with me is Lisa, CFO of BELAY, but also you’re a product of the product.

Lisa Zeeveld:

Totally.

Mark Cole:

You started as a virtual assistant.

Lisa Zeeveld:

Yes.

Mark Cole:

And then now are CFO. You’ve got to tell me the story. You’ve got to give me the journey.

Lisa Zeeveld:

Yes. No, I’m excited to share. Thank you so much for inviting me.

Mark Cole:

Yeah, I’m so glad.

Lisa Zeeveld:

This is going to be a blast. Yeah. I happen to be friends with our CEO, Trisha Sciortino. She basically gave me a phone call, and she said, “I’ve got a friend of mine who is starting this business, this crazy idea of wanting to help out busy leaders by providing them an assistant.” I’m like, “Well, that makes sense.” You know?

Mark Cole:

Yeah, for sure.

Lisa Zeeveld:

Everybody needs an executive assistant. Sure. She said, “Yeah, but hold on a second. He wants to do it remotely.” I was like, “Oh, wow.” You know? I mean, that was not a thing. Right? This is 2010.

Mark Cole:

Yeah.

Lisa Zeeveld:

I said, “Yeah, I’d love to do that.” Felt really called to be home with my two kids. I said, “This is an easy fit.” So started working with a leader for five hours a week, and then that five kind of grew. Received another client really quickly, and then actually had the opportunity to serve our founders as an executive assistant. My background was in wealth management, so it was a real easy fit for me to kind of take what I had learned in my working prior, all the things that I knew about being an executive assistant, now a virtual assistant, and really help our founders grow the business. Here I sit today, 12 years later.

Mark Cole:

As the CFO.

Lisa Zeeveld:

Yeah.

Mark Cole:

You know what’s interesting, Lisa, is COVID made us all feel virtual. Right?

Lisa Zeeveld:

Yes.

Mark Cole:

What we’ve discovered is that the idea of a woman that is super passionate about their family. I mean, you started sharing with me of your kids. One’s in Clemson. One’s in Auburn.

Lisa Zeeveld:

Yeah.

Mark Cole:

I could just see your face light up, and yet this opportunity has given you a chance to keep them a number one. In fact, she wanted us, podcast listeners. She said, “Listen, I’ve got a function on my phone that they get to break through at any time, so if it goes off, forgive me. I’ve got to take my kid’s call.” I love that whole intentionality, and yet you’ve figured out a way to create something for yourself to where you could keep that level of priority, and then help other people like me with their priorities become effective. I just think both your product is invaluable. It’s incredible, but your story of going from assisting to now CFO, and who knows what’s next?

Lisa Zeeveld:

Yeah. Well, I think that’s why I continue to be so passionate about it. Right? Because I know what it was like at that stage in my life and in my career to want something where I could feel like I was needed outside of the home, make a little bit of money. I always like to tell people who are looking to serve as a virtual assistant. It’s great soccer money. It’s great vacation money. Right? It gives you a little something to put in your pocket, a little jingle. That makes you feel good, but you still get to serve your family.

Now, on the other end of it, I’m supper passionate because I have my own virtual assistant. I know what it is like to serve and to be served. I love what we do, because we are really empowering two sets of people to do what they need to do, and what they’re best at doing.

Mark Cole:

Yeah. Lisa, we have people that lead bigger companies than mine and yours that listen to our podcast often. They’re already cutting to the chase, because you understand what I understand, which you just described. I have a virtual assistant. She’s in Pennsylvania. I’m in Georgia. What I discovered is is when she has the ability to do what she loves to do, which is to help me, and matter, and her work matters, but she can also keep her family a priority. It’s a happy assistant that does incredible things. What you have done is you’ve created a system. You’ve created a product to where busy people like me that want to redeem time, and we’re going to talk about that in just a minute, can find people that can also have multiple priorities and do a good job.

Some of you are like me. You’re saying, “Okay, I got it. I got it.” I already bought in. I need a virtual assistant. I’m going to get right to the cut to the chase with you, because I told LZ and Mallory, who’s in the studio with us, “We need to give them a way to figure that out quickly.” You can go to BELAYSolutions.com, and you can find a virtual assistant that’s going to give you back time. That’s what you guys do.

Lisa Zeeveld:

Yes. These are people who love what they do too, so they want to help somebody take things off of their plate, grow their business, spend more time with their family. Like you said, we’re going to talk about that.

Mark Cole:

Yeah, let’s do. Okay. I’ve got some questions.

Lisa Zeeveld:

Okay.

Mark Cole:

I told you I was going to ask some questions.

Lisa Zeeveld:

Yes.

Mark Cole:

But I just could not let our podcast listeners. Many of you, many of you, have that aspiration to do something significant. You’ve got C-level in you, but you just have not been able to find the right mechanism. Your story needs to be told, LZ.

Lisa Zeeveld:

Well, thank you.

Mark Cole:

Your story of keeping your family, keeping your faith, keeping your aspirations, keeping your dream all, and still being able to climb and do something great with your influence. I’m proud of you.

Lisa Zeeveld:

Yeah. Well, thank you.

Mark Cole:

I’m very proud.

Lisa Zeeveld:

Thank you.

Mark Cole:

Okay, questions. Question. I’m going to keep talking about it.

Lisa Zeeveld:

Yeah.

Mark Cole:

All right. Where you spend your time, it really reveals kind of what you think is most important. Right?

Lisa Zeeveld:

Yes.

Mark Cole:

We’ve talked about priorities. What adjustments can we make in that area to be more effective?

Lisa Zeeveld:

Yeah. I mean, I think it first starts out by taking an inventory.

Mark Cole:

Yeah.

Lisa Zeeveld:

You know? You don’t really know where you need to spend additional time and attention unless you look at it all. Right? I mean, I think that’s why a lot of us go to our doctors annually. We think we’re pretty good. Right?

Mark Cole:

Yeah.

Lisa Zeeveld:

Until you get some blood work done, and maybe there’s some things off. When it comes around to time, I think you need to take an inventory of it. You know? How do you feel at the end of the week? We happen to be recording this on a Friday, so thinking a Friday.

Mark Cole:

Yep.

Lisa Zeeveld:

Did my kids get the best of me this week? How about my spouse? You know? Do they know how much I love them, and that they’re a priority? Maybe there’s some things in your business that you just didn’t get to. By taking an inventory and saying, “You know, I did this really good, and I probably should’ve worked on this a little bit better,” it gives you a really good perspective on how you need to change and where you can really turn the dials, so that when you get to the Friday, or you get to the end of the month, or the end of the year. A lot of people take inventory at the end of a year. You can say, “You know what? I did really good,” because it comes down to intentionality, like you said.

Mark Cole:

I love what you’re saying. Take inventory of your time. You know, often we just let time happen to us rather than make time happen.

Lisa Zeeveld:

Mm-hmm.

Mark Cole:

John teaches in his book, Developing the Leader Within You 2.0, podcast family, you know this. He teaches on the law of priority to be the best leader. He teaches there are three areas you need to inventory. What gives you a reward? What gives you a return, and what’s required of you? The things that give you a reward is the things that just make you go, “Oh, if I could just do this all day.” The things that give you a great return are the things that, when you do it, there’s a multiplying effect. Then the things that’s required of you, hey, you wish you didn’t have to do some of them, but you have to because it’s one of the things that you do.

I think what you’ve just said right here at the very beginning is you need to take inventory of your time. You need to figure out what are the things that require your time, and what are the things you might can find somebody else that can help you with that will allow you to do the things that only you can do. I love that.

Lisa Zeeveld:

Exactly. Yes.

Mark Cole:

Okay, so what does our most productive days look like? If we begin to build kind of this perfect day, what are the characteristics that we should put into the everyday routine?

Lisa Zeeveld:

Yeah. I mean, we talked about taking inventory. When you take that inventory, you’re going to find some things that maybe you wish you would’ve done better. Again, you’ve got some things you want to celebrate, but it’s not enough to wait until you’re done with that time to go, “Wow, I should’ve done that better.” Right?

Mark Cole:

Mm-hmm.

Lisa Zeeveld:

I loved in the clip with John how he says the suitcase analogy. Right?

Mark Cole:

Yeah, yeah.

Lisa Zeeveld:

That we’ve all got the same suitcase. It’s the same size, but what are we putting in it? Those who plan well are going to pack well.

Mark Cole:

Yep.

Lisa Zeeveld:

So one of the things I love to suggest to our leaders is to do an ideal workweek. An ideal workweek is going to take all those priorities, the things you’ve done an inventory about. Right? You’ve said, “Hey, I really won here. This is a celebratory day, because you know what? I wanted to focus on my business this week. I had maybe some big pitches. There were some new things. I had onboarding. I rocked that this week, but my family kind of fell to the wayside.” Well, now that you’ve done that, you know that you don’t want to feel that way every week, or every day, or every year.

By looking at an ideal workweek, you’re able to actually schedule out, put some time constraints on the things that you know that you need to do all the time, or that are important to you. By building that ideal workweek, you’re understanding where your energy’s high, where your energy’s low. Then you don’t get to the end of the week and go, “Huh.” You still want to take an inventory, but you don’t get to the end of the week, or the month, or the year, and go, “Man, I missed an opportunity there.” Instead, you go, “Wow, I did pretty good.” You continue to do that.

I recommend that you do that quarterly at a minimum, because life happens. Life moves really fast. You don’t know what’s going to come your way. Then you’re being, again, it goes back to intentional. My favorite word, intentional.

Mark Cole:

Yeah, yeah. Me too. Me too. I love that.

Lisa Zeeveld:

Outside of love.

Mark Cole:

Yeah. Yeah.

Lisa Zeeveld:

Intentional comes a real close second. Then you’re intentional about building your schedule. Here’s the other thing. You’re going to find where you don’t have time. Because, remember, we don’t find time. It’s not on the sidewalk. We don’t run across an additional two weeks anywhere, but we can say, “You know what? I don’t have enough time to fit everything in.” You’re going to learn where you might need some help.

Mark Cole:

Wow. Okay, so help me. You and I have a similar story. You at BELAY. You started entry level, just an administrative assistant in a virtual capacity, and then walked yourself up to CFO. I was entry level telesales, as you guys know, and then now have the privilege of leading at the CEO level. The ideal workweek. To an executive, doesn’t that almost feel like, “Yeah, what’s that?” How do you, as an executive, carry the weight of the unknown, and the surprise effect that happens, and fit that into the ideal workweek?

Lisa Zeeveld:

Sure. Yeah. Well, you’re going to really start with how many hours you want to work. Right? That’s what I do. My ideal schedule would be 9:00 to 6:00. Reason for that is I got used to getting my kids on the bus, or taking them to school. That was really important to me, so I didn’t want to start my day. Now, of course, I might answer an email or a text message while they were having their breakfast or whatever, but I wasn’t going to take meetings until from 9:00 to 6:00. That’s already laid out for me. Right?

Then I’m going to say, you know what? In the mornings, I find I’m most productive if I can get in my box, and I can read those emails. Perhaps it’s reading The New York Times, or publications that are important to you and your business, and then I’m going to get into some meetings. I’ve been tracking my energy level, and I know that after three meetings I’m no good. You kind of start to lay all these things out in the allotted hours that you have within a day, and then here’s the cool part. The key part is going to be having an accountability partner, which is going to be an assistant that’s going to say when somebody comes into your inbox and says, “Hey, can I have lunch with you, or can I meet with you?” Your assistant’s going to be like, “Nope. I’m sorry. I know what that ideal workweek looks like, and they can’t do it right now.”

You’re always going to think your business is more important. You’re always going to think that you need to go out to lunch with that person, have dinner. I meet leaders all the time who volunteering is what ends up on their calendar and burdening them. Right? Because they want to be active in their local church. They have things that they’re passionate about, but they’re seeing each of those individually instead of looking at it holistically. They’re still one person. So how do we fit it all in? That’s what your ideal workweek is going to do.

Mark Cole:

So, podcast listeners, you heard John. You’re now hearing LZ talk to you that you can prioritize your time. CFO of BELAY, you’re dropping gold for us. Thank you. Next question.

Lisa Zeeveld:

Yeah.

Mark Cole:

What are some hard constraints that you can put into your time each day that will allow you to be successful at both work and home?

Lisa Zeeveld:

Yeah. I think it’s having that start and stop time.

Mark Cole:

Yeah.

Lisa Zeeveld:

You know? It’s not letting it bleed over. It’s realizing that your job is important, but so is your family. It could be because we’ve got people out there at all different seasons and stages of their leadership. Right? They may go, “Hey. You know, right now it’s just me, so I want to stay after work. I want to pour into my job, or pour into my business.” What they don’t know is that’s going to lead to early burnout.

Mark Cole:

Yeah.

Lisa Zeeveld:

So it’s easy for me to sit here and say, “Well, my family,” but it could be find something that you’re still passionate about outside of the office because, again, you’re a whole person. We want you to be healthy. We want you to live a long time, and have a great life. Maybe it’s just friends you need to go see. Again, maybe it’s your church, or you’ve got another community activity, but it’s saying, “I’m only going to work 9:00 to 6:00, 8:00 to 5:00, 7:00 to 4:00, and then I’m done.”

Same thing with meetings. Hard constraints. I’m going to have this meeting for 45 minutes, and when it’s done, it’s done. If we need to continue, let’s schedule another meeting. When you start getting too lackadaisical and just letting time take over, that’s when you start losing it. Right? My mind, I’m so visual. I imagine this. We’re walking down the sidewalk, and it’s just time’s falling out of our pocket. Right?

Mark Cole:

Yeah.

Lisa Zeeveld:

It’s just left and right, because we’re not managing it the way that we need to manage it. We’re not going to manage it to actually find more. We’re not going to have 25 hours, but we’re going to manage it in such a way that those 24 hours are the most impactful, and we’re making a difference in the areas that need us the most. We all have special gifts. We’ve all been called to do something, and if we don’t manage it well we’re missing our calling, and missing the opportunity to make a difference.

Mark Cole:

I love how you visualize. Time falling out of my pocket, I love that. You know, another thing that you teach and talk about is rocks and pebbles. Let’s talk about these big responsibilities. The big responsibility is rocks. Smaller responsibility is pebbles. How can I benefit from delegating those to a support person?

Lisa Zeeveld:

Sure. Yeah. I mean, I’m CFO, so I’m going to talk money here.

Mark Cole:

Yeah, please.

Lisa Zeeveld:

If you’re a leader in some capacity, probably money’s pretty important to you too. Think about what your hourly rate is, and, again, where you’re going to make the most impact. Those are your big rocks. Those are the things that we need to put in there. But let’s be real. You may love planning your travel. You may love getting in your inbox to see what’s happening for the day, but your hourly rate is too much for you to be in there doing those things, and the big rocks need you more than those little things do. It’s really taking and saying what can nobody else do in your business. Right?

For me, right, I have to run financial reports. I’m not running them now, because I have a support team to do that, but I am the one that has to review them. I have put my name on them, so that is the most important thing I’m going to do that day. I don’t need to be the one that’s scheduling that lunch. I don’t need to be the one that’s in the inbox or travel. Here’s the cool thing is I know, because I’ve been there. Remember, you introed me this way. There’s somebody on the other side who cannot wait to do that.

Mark Cole:

To do that. Love it.

Lisa Zeeveld:

Yes.

Mark Cole:

They were made for it.

Lisa Zeeveld:

They were made for it. My assistant, Kate, she loves that. Right? She just gets excited to get in there and to know that she’s helping take care of me. I always say she’s my extra brain. She helps increase my capacity. She’s going to get in there, and she just gets a thrill out of it. That’s what I want her to do.

Mark Cole:

Well, you’re touching on something that I think is incredibly important for all of us leaders. Leadership is done better in partnership.

Lisa Zeeveld:

Mm-hmm.

Mark Cole:

What we’re touching on here without really saying it is it’s a thinking partner. Sometimes we think we’re better at something than we really are, and we need somebody in our life to tell us, “Hey, you think you’re better at that than you should be, than you are, so why don’t you give that to me where you can do this over here, because you’re really good at it.” That aspect of the partnership is really something that begins to cultivate as well.

Lisa Zeeveld:

Yes, absolutely.

Mark Cole:

Which takes me to the next question. Delegation, or, for some of us, the lack of delegation really can be the linchpin to priority management, yet how do you build that trust? Talk to me about the trust factor, and how you can see that work with a partner like this.

Lisa Zeeveld:

Yeah. I mean, you just have to. Out of the gate, you have to trust. I’m sure you’ve got a lot of listeners right now who are going, “I don’t know about this.”

Mark Cole:

Yeah, out of the gates. Yeah.

Lisa Zeeveld:

You know? But you really do. You have to come into it and say, “I’m already going to trust that you’re going to do the right thing, and you’re going to be the one to help me.” Delegation’s a leadership skill, and it’s something that a lot of us have to work at. It’s like muscles. Right?

Mark Cole:

Yep.

Lisa Zeeveld:

You’ve got to work at it. You’ve got to go back and say. Again, having that thought partner, that accountability partner. Somebody who’s good at it is going to help you do that. Ultimately, start with a small amount of things. “Hey, this is what I want you to do.” Watch them do it. They’re not going to get it right the first time.

Mark Cole:

Right.

Lisa Zeeveld:

That’s the other thing that I hear leaders all the time say, “Well, I tried to have an executive assistant, but, man, after two weeks I just gave up.” I’m like, “Two weeks?”

Mark Cole:

Yeah, two weeks.

Lisa Zeeveld:

Nobody learns anything in two weeks, and we’re complicated people. Right?

Mark Cole:

Yep.

Lisa Zeeveld:

So it’s really hard to match personality, and to understand work styles. You’ve got to give it time, especially in a remote environment. Once you go out of the gate and trust that they have your best interest in mind, that they want to do a good job, then just slowly give them more, and more, and more things to do. You know? Praise them when they do it right.

Mark Cole:

Yeah.

Lisa Zeeveld:

You know, direct them if they need some help in another way. Yeah. I think, like you said, trust is the start of that, and you’re going to get better at it the more that you do it.

Mark Cole:

Yeah. You know, I’ve had so many friends use BELAY. I’ve had a friend that helped start BELAY. You got to be a part of all that.

Lisa Zeeveld:

Yeah.

Mark Cole:

One of the things that I love that they would tell me through the years of your world is you bring the best of the best that were designed and made to come in and support. Then us, as leaders, as executives, as people that are trying to get focused, it is our responsibility to come back and trust.

Lisa Zeeveld:

Mm-hmm.

Mark Cole:

I want to camp right here for just a moment, because I believe the best way to demonstrate trust to someone is, one, patience. Give them time to learn you. They know the craft. They know the trade. BELAY wouldn’t bring them to you. Give them time, as a person, to understand. The best way I know to help somebody understand me is what I call contextual leadership.

Lisa Zeeveld:

Yeah.

Mark Cole:

Not, “Hey, I need you to go book this travel.” “I really need to get here, and I want to get back to this family thing, so can you find me the best option?” When I give that little additional context, there’s all of a sudden a trust that goes, because we’re solving this and getting this together. I love that you put into your system, and into your language, the necessity of trust within those two relationships.

Lisa Zeeveld:

Yes, absolutely, and clear communication. Right?

Mark Cole:

Yeah.

Lisa Zeeveld:

Like you said, that contextual leadership. It’s that clear communication. What we find is that people need help on both sides of that. Right? We need to encourage our leaders to have clear communication. They think they do.

Mark Cole:

Sure they do. Sure they do. Don’t we all? Just ask me. I’m a great communicator. Right?

Lisa Zeeveld:

Right. Right. Yeah.

Mark Cole:

It goes back to John saying, “Nothing else distinguishes effective executives as much as their tender loving care of time.” Oftentimes, we go, “You’re saving me time, so you’ll never get any time with me.” That’s not saving time.

Lisa Zeeveld:

No.

Mark Cole:

You’re actually creating more of a challenge if you don’t spend time building that trust, and making that connection.

Lisa Zeeveld:

Yeah. I meet with my executive assistant for an hour every week.

Mark Cole:

See?

Lisa Zeeveld:

How can I fit in an hour? Because, again, I know someone’s going, “I already don’t have time.”

Mark Cole:

That’s right.

Lisa Zeeveld:

“Now you want me to go get an executive assistant who needs another hour of my time?” That one hour is going to save me 10, 15, 20 hours in the week, because I’m able to delegate things to her. Now, here’s the great thing. We’ve now been working together four years.

Mark Cole:

Excellent.

Lisa Zeeveld:

Right? That’s-

Mark Cole:

That’s excellent.

Lisa Zeeveld:

Very exciting. She’s already reading my mind. Now, it didn’t happen at first, but, to your point, I spent time with her. She understands me. She understands how I think. That hour, now we’re advancing our relationship to more complicated issues, because I’m investing in her.

Mark Cole:

I love it. BELAYSolutions.com is where you want to go to go ahead and figure out how to get a partner on your team like we’ve been talking about. Can I ask you another question, LZ?

Lisa Zeeveld:

Yes, please do.

Mark Cole:

All right. Either now, or in the past, what are some reasons that you see that keeps leaders from delegating?

Lisa Zeeveld:

Yeah. I mean, I think you hit on it earlier. Trust.

Mark Cole:

Yeah.

Lisa Zeeveld:

I think trust is really big. I think sense of urgency would be another one. “I can do it faster. It’s going to take me longer to train somebody.” Hear that all the time. “Oh, I don’t have time to train anybody. It’s just easier if I do it.” Then the one that comes really close to that is ego.

Mark Cole:

Wow. So break that down.

Lisa Zeeveld:

Yeah. Because we say, “Well, I’ll do it better. I don’t need anybody. Why would I need somebody to come in here and help me book my travel? I got this. I can do it all on my own.”

Mark Cole:

Yep.

Lisa Zeeveld:

You know? They feel weak by having somebody come and assist them. Now, this is what really blows my mind, though, is that rarely does a business leader feel that way about many other positions in their organization.

Mark Cole:

Is that right?

Lisa Zeeveld:

Right? So they’ll go out and hire somebody-

Mark Cole:

Sure.

Lisa Zeeveld:

In sales, because they’ll think, “You know, I’m pretty good at sales, but I know I can find somebody better,” or they’ll say, “There’s no way I can do my own books.” You know? Or, “I’ve been doing this Google Spreadsheet,” because most people start out that way.

Mark Cole:

Yeah. Yeah, exactly.

Lisa Zeeveld:

“But you know what? Now is the time. I’m going to go ahead and bring in somebody to build an accounting team, or I’m going to hire my CPA to do that.” But for some reason, it is really hard for busy leaders to understand that the commitment, that the resources that you spend to hire an executive assistant, are as important, if not more important, than those other roles within your organization, because you’re able to grow your capacity. You’re able to focus on the things that only you can focus on. Yeah. Put your ego to the side. Realize that they’re going to do it so much better than you.

Mark Cole:

Yeah. Yeah. As you were talking right there, LZ, I was reminded that John said, “If you have a dream that is bigger than you.” If you don’t have a dream that’s bigger than you, number one, I apologize. I’m sorry that the world is all about you. It’s such a small world. You ought to get out and see a bigger world. When you have a dream that is bigger than you, you cannot do it without a team around you.

Lisa Zeeveld:

Right.

Mark Cole:

So we say this, “I don’t have time to train somebody else.” You don’t have the time to not train somebody else, because every day you delay is the day you are delaying your dream coming to pass. Every day you delay getting somebody to help you is another day you’re not getting home and having that balance that you want, so it’s up to us as leaders. When you don’t have time, you are actually creating a revolving door that you’ll never have time. I love that you do that.

Okay. So, our good friends at BELAY. LZ, you came bearing gifts. Now, you put pressure on me next week in our podcast. Guys, I know. I know. I’m really excited about what you’re providing for our team, for our podcast family, today. Tell us a little bit about this eBook.

Lisa Zeeveld:

Yeah. Yeah. I’ve got an eBook for everybody.

Mark Cole:

Come on. I love it.

Lisa Zeeveld:

Yes. Yeah.

Mark Cole:

I love it.

Lisa Zeeveld:

Just when you thought that Christmas might be over.

Mark Cole:

That’s right, it’s not.

Lisa Zeeveld:

It’s not.

Mark Cole:

Merry Christmas. Happy birthday.

Lisa Zeeveld:

Merry Christmas. That’s right. Happy new year.

Mark Cole:

That’s right.

Lisa Zeeveld:

I come bearing gifts. Yes. Lead Anyone From Anywhere.

Mark Cole:

Oh, hold up. Hold up.

Lisa Zeeveld:

Yeah?

Mark Cole:

Lead Anyone From Anywhere?

Lisa Zeeveld:

Yes.

Mark Cole:

Which is such a virtual great statement in the world that we live in right now.

Lisa Zeeveld:

Totally, yes. Yes.

Mark Cole:

Okay, tell me more.

Lisa Zeeveld:

Everybody’s on the go.

Mark Cole:

Yep.

Lisa Zeeveld:

And they want to be. They need to be. This is the book for you. Here’s the thing. If you want to learn how to lead somebody, and they’re right next to you, this works too, because it’s anywhere. Anyone from anywhere.

Mark Cole:

So even the person sitting right in the next cube beside me?

Lisa Zeeveld:

Totally.

Mark Cole:

I’ve got a name that comes to mind right here. Okay.

Lisa Zeeveld:

Yes. Yes. That means everybody needs to go and to get this book. It’s very, very simple. All you need to do is text Maxwell to 55123 to download it. Again, that’s Maxwell to 55123.

Mark Cole:

All right. Our YouTube listeners and viewers, proof I have it right there. It’s on my phone, and I want to know why you haven’t already done it. You’re slower than me, and when it comes to technology, don’t take pride in being slower than me. Lead Anyone From Anywhere. It’s a short read. Look at this. Chapter Two, Doing More With Less: The Benefits of Fractional Hybrid Workforces.

Lisa Zeeveld:

Yeah.

Mark Cole:

I’m ready. I’m ready. I’m so excited. Hey, LZ, what a quick wonderful way to add value to people. I would just love you, one more time. What’s the heart behind BELAY, and what are you guys doing for people like me, and people like our podcast listeners, that we can’t do for ourself? This is why I wanted to partner with you, what you’re getting ready to say, and we did not even script this.

Lisa Zeeveld:

No.

Mark Cole:

But I know what you’re getting ready to say, because I’m a benefactor of it. I have so many friends that are a benefactor of it. Why BELAY, and why are you so passionate about helping our podcast listeners?

Lisa Zeeveld:

Yeah, because we want to give busy leaders time back. Right?

Mark Cole:

Come on. Yes.

Lisa Zeeveld:

Time back. We want to help make their lives better. I believe that in my core. Before we started recording, I told you.

Mark Cole:

Yeah, you did.

Lisa Zeeveld:

You know? That I have been a virtual assistant. I know what it is like on that side. Now leading the organization, we get tickled over all the success stories that we hear about people who are able to make their kids’ ballgames, who are able to give back to their communities more, who are able to grow their business. We love this. We love it. We love it. We love it, and so we want to help busy leaders get more time, time to do the things that they’re passionate about, and-

Mark Cole:

Oh, man. You have added so much value today, LZ.

Lisa Zeeveld:

Thank you.

Mark Cole:

Don’t forget. Text 55123. You get a free eBook, Lead Anyone From Anywhere. Those of you that just want to go straight to the bottom line, “I need help,” you’re waving the white flag, go to BELAYSolutions.com. Hey, thanks for partnering with us.

Lisa Zeeveld:

No, thank you.

Mark Cole:

The reason I say that is because we are about adding value to people. If I can say anything about BELAY, you guys add value to people so that they can multiply value to others. When you take something off, you give me more time. I can go home and be a better dad, a better grandparent, because of what you guys do, so thank you very much.

Hey, I want to close today as I always like to do. I want to talk about Thymus. Thymus is impacted by the podcast transferring the vision from the heart to the head. We’ll put that in the show notes, as well as with all the links about BELAY for you. Here’s what Thymus said. He said, “Every minute I spend listening to your podcast,” think about this, what we’re talking about, “Every minute I spend listening to your podcast is an investment, and I take every word seriously. My life has never been the same since I started following.” Thymus, that’s why BELAY and Maxwell Leadership do what we do. We want every minute to multiply back to you, so you can do what only you can do. Here’s what I know you can do. You can bring about powerful, positive change to the world around you, because everyone deserves to be led well.