Episode 3

Jesse Favre: Do you feel like you're wearing all the hats and you're juggling all of the things all of the time and you have no idea how to keep this up? If so, this episode is for you. Welcome everybody to Inside the Team with Jesse Favre. This is the talk show where we are decoding human behavior at work to unlock some insights for a healthier work life and life life. And if that doesn't make sense just yet, keep watching this show and I promise you it will. So let me guess, your day looks a little bit like this. You are over here and you're sending a work email and beep, beep beep, your cell phone's going off. So you send a text message, you put it back down and ring. Your phone is going off and you're going, how the heck am I supposed to get anything done? Look, if you know, you know. Joining us today is Jamal Stevenson, who is no stranger to wearing all of the hats. Jamal is the head of national Sales at We Hear You, which is a fast growing assistive technology company that is making the world so much more inclusive for seniors and people with disabilities. We Hear You was recently recognized as one of Forbes top 100 most accessible companies. So I'm sure that you're ready to meet Jamal, but before I bring him on, please make sure to like, comment and subscribe and let me know what you want to see next because you never know who I might bring in. Okay, let's get started. So, Jamal, it is a pleasure to have you on Inside the team. One of the things that I think is so exciting about talking to you about your work is you are a startup leader. You are in an environment where I think a lot of people would feel that stress buildup and it's burnout and it's like a no go. And you thrive. And so this is really about being able to pick your brain and figure out how you wear all these different hats. So I have some idea of what your work is, but I want you to paint me a picture. What does a typical day look like as a startup leader? Jamal Stevenson: The main thing as a startup leader is waking up and just taking a deep breath and seeing what's ahead of you. There's a lot of things in the fire that happens all at once and it can get extremely overwhelming if you just don't take a moment to pause on the wake up, and just take a few deep breaths and say, all right, I got this. First and foremost, I don't check my emails. Yes, I don't check my emails. I try to get my blood pumpin'. I do a slight workout, I gotta have coffee, two shots of espresso if you were wondering, some almond milk. Then I'll take a look at my emails and I'll say, all right, I have some stoves, things to focus on, maybe some manufacturing things to focus on, and maybe some clients to kind of triage and just take it day by day, step by step. Jesse Favre: So lots of task switching. How do you define what that term is? Jamal Stevenson: You know, I think task switching is shifting focus between one task to another. Jesse Favre: When we have to shift our focus, it's hard for us to get back into the thing that we started with. It can be a point of frustration, but for you it seems really different. And so this is where I wanna get into like Jamal brain. What do you think about wearing multiple hats? What is the benefit to you or to your team when you think about that? Jamal Stevenson: In my mind, the most important thing is mentally preparing yourself that you don't have to do these things. These things need to be done, right. They'll always need to be done. You don't have to do them. You get to do these things every day. I wake up and I get to be involved in a startup life where I am helping build autonomy for individuals with disabilities. Right. I get to work with individuals that believe in the same vision and mission as I do. I get to be involved in creating technology that really shapes the world in the future. Right. And so kind of your mindset behind these things really is the pedal that keeps the bike going, I believe Jesse Favre: When I hear you talk about your work, you're so mission driven, that when you connect to that mission, then it is an honor that you get to do those things. When you are saying this, I'm reminded of something actually from the very beginning of my healthcare career. I was working in a clinic, I was doing patient education and it was all this task switching because at max I would get seven minutes with a patient and I was really starting to experience burnout. And I kept reflecting on the why. Why am I doing this? And I remembered a conversation that I had with a patient who was very, very sweet about some support I had given her. So I just wrote on a little piece of paper what she said to me and I folded it up and I put it in my lab coat pocket. And I didn't have to read it, I didn't have to pull it out, but I knew it was in there. And it was like, as long as I'm here, this is my why. Like, it doesn't mean that everyday's gonna be easy, but there's a reason for this. And it is an honor to get to serve people Jamal Stevenson: When you are face to face with a customer. When you are looking in the eyes of a little boy that utilizes a mobility aid, a wheelchair, and he just wants to go outside and play. Right. He just wants to be able to open the door for himself. Kind of brings it all together. Jesse Favre: Let's just say for somebody who's outside of the startup world. They're going back and forth between tasks, they're really struggling, they're feeling the stress. Maybe they're even on the verge of burnout. What's the one thing that you would tell this person to help them get through their workday? Jamal Stevenson: This is one of my favorite questions. I say get some rest. I think we often forget about rest. It's hard to take tests when you don't have sleep. You know? And every day is a test and you have to pass it because you're running a business. Jesse Favre: Okay. You just blew my mind, every day is a test. Yeah, you're right. And what if we did treat it that way? My gosh. Jamal Stevenson: We might all be geniuses. Jesse Favre: What I am just loving about this conversation is so often when I work with leaders, f I bring up self-care. It's almost as if it's separate. And it's like, oh, well that's the people's side, but then there's the leader's side and not, that's not what I'm hearing from you. It's an imperative to show up as a leader. Because you have to take care of yourself first. Jamal Stevenson: Doesn't matter what that self-care is. Whatever makes you happy, do it. Do it twice, do it three times. If that allows you to fully be present and focus on what you're building and why you're building it. Jesse Favre: It does send a message, it sends a signal. And that's something that a lot of times I think of as like a ripple behavior because other people will start to treat themselves that way as well if they see that, right? Jamal Stevenson: As a leader who manages, you know, other leaders within our business, they get burnt out, if I'm not at my best, I burn them out. I can burn them out easily if I'm not showing up and showing out, if I'm, you know, bringing over stress from yesterday or the day before or last week. And I'm not fully in it. I'm not fully embracing the situation. It affects them negatively and it doesn't allow them to have the space to create, to problem solve, to triage, to focus on the work that they do, which then, like you said, trickles down and then trickles down. And we often don't think about how much we affect other people. But we do, we affect other people. And so when we walk into a room and just as somebody can light up the room, the room can also be dimmed. Right. And it's important to understand the impact you have on other people. Jesse Favre: I remember being new to a job and I was probably the first week on the job and I got an email from my boss at the time, and it came in at three o'clock in the morning and I was like, I guess that's what they expect of me. And at that point in my career, I actually did have the courage to, to bring that up with my supervisor. And I said, look, I just noticed this came in at three o'clock in the morning, I just want to understand this. Is it an expectation? She said, oh gosh, no, I just woke up in the middle of the night. It was on my mind. And so I thought I'd send the email. And she hadn't really thought about what that signal was. And I do think when we think about task switching and always being on, we have to be really careful about what we are signaling as being the norm in a team, because that will absolutely burn somebody out. So when I think about priorities, it's so important for managing your own work, but of course you have a whole team that you work with sometimes. So how do you make sure that other people know what your priorities are? Jamal Stevenson: Yeah, great question. I think the number one thing is communication, right? Communicating to your team that, hey, this is on my plate, right? I have steak, eggs, potatoes, mashed potatoes. Jesse Favre: That's a nice plate. Jamal Stevenson: Yeah. That's a nice plate. And sometimes I get full very fast, right? And so if my team doesn't know that, then they don't know where to help. I think the best thing to do as anybody, but really as a leader, is to just be extremely open with your communication. I'll tell my sales reps, you know, we need to close this deal. This deal needs to be closed at the end of the week. To them, that means I need to start working on it now. I need to go, go, go, go, go. I say, no, this really means take the time to do what you need to do. That way you can, once you're focused on this, you can, you know, fully be present, fully focused on this. And that's what's going to drive the sale. Rushing through things will not get you the best result. We think everything is so urgent in a startup world. Everything is urgent, right? It doesn't matter what it is, it's extremely urgent to us. But in reality, it's not. Jesse Favre: So as the leader, what I'm hearing is your role, your capacity is to see the bigger picture and to lay out the sequence of things. And what you're challenging your team to do is focused on the next smallest step, right? Jamal Stevenson: That is exactly it. Jesse Favre: Like, be fully present in that, because I would imagine from a sales perspective, if you're not fully present in that, these other things may never happen. Maybe for folks who are in the capacity of doing all of these things at once, rather than thinking about everything, it's like you put that down, you have a list. You know, you can look back to that, but you have one task right now and it is the thing that's most important at that moment. So in an environment where things feel really urgent, is there a framework that helps you think about how to approach next steps? Jamal Stevenson: Yeah. The three P's. Parse, right? Parse out what's ahead of you. Parse out what needs to be done. Prioritize those things, right? Itemize that list and say, Hey, this is first, this is last. And then pace yourself. Pace yourself, right? It's easy to get things done, but it's not easy to get things done the right way the first time. Jesse Favre: Jamal, I'm sure there are a lot of people who are curious in different situations. How do you actually figure out, would you delegate this thing? Would you drop it or would you just do it yourself? So I have a game. If you're game? Jamal Stevenson: Let's do it. I'm game Jesse Favre: Perfect. This is called What Would You Do? So the way this is going to work is I'm going to read some different scenarios out, and you've got some paddles in your hands, so you're gonna hold up exactly what it is and then let us know what it is that you picked and why. Jamal Stevenson: Sounds great. Jesse Favre: Okay. So first scenario, let's just say that you're in the middle of prepping for a big presentation, and your fellow leaders, Pierre and Bethany, ask for some urgent input on a project, which is outside of your expertise. Do you jump in, drop or delegate? Jamal Stevenson: I'm going to jump in. Jesse Favre: Ooh, okay. Why jump in? Jamal Stevenson: I'm going to jump in because more than likely, if they are asking me about a presentation, then it's probably an investor. And from an investment standpoint, the main thing investors wanna see is traction. So I think as a sales executive, I think I'm going to jump right in and make sure that they have the right numbers on the screen. That way we get the investment. Jesse Favre: Okay. I'm sure that Pierre and Bethany agree with your decision. Jamal Stevenson: Yes, I hope so. Jesse Favre: Let's say that a client sends an unexpected request that conflicts with a deadline. What would you do? Jamal Stevenson: Okay. I think first, I'm going to jump in. I'm going to jump in and understand the context of the situation. And then based on what's on my plate, I'm going to delegate that to one of my supervisors because first of all, it's a learning curve for relationship management. And two, I just got a lot going on. And so the unexpectedness can be a little overwhelming at times, but that's why you have a team. Jesse Favre: Pro move, Pro move. Jamal Stevenson: And I'm pro. Jesse Favre: Let's just say that your inbox is overflowing and an investor emails a question about funding. Jamal Stevenson: I'm delegating. Jesse Favre: Oh, okay. Why? Jamal Stevenson: I'm delegating, because Bethany is the funding gal. I don't know all the business etiquette behind the dollars. I just know how to get the dollars. And so I think delegating this to the person who has more experience, who has more knowledge and is looking for the answer or is looking for the right thing to send to the investor, what the investor's looking for. I think that is going to be Bethany, so I'm going to delegate that. Jesse Favre: Ooh. You can stay focused on your zone of genius. Bethany can stay focused in her zone of genius. You're welcome Bethany. Let's say that you have a sales rep who asks for feedback on a report, but you have three other high priority tasks. Jamal Stevenson: I'm going to jump in. I'm going to jump in. Your sales representatives are a direct representation of leadership. It might be something super simple that it only takes me five minutes to explain, because I understand it, whereas it'll take them five hours to understand. And I think just kind of having that communication of, Hey, let's take a step back. Let's actually dive in. Let's take 10 minutes to dive into what you're seeing, and then let's move forward. And just let me know if you have any other questions. Jesse Favre: Yeah. I mean, you definitely don't want to be the bottleneck ,and it's very cool that you're saying like, I could do it in 10 minutes. The reason I say that is because a lot of times people will tell me, I just don't have time to give feedback to my team. Because they're thinking, oh, it has to be this big, like the whole one-on-one. This is fast feedback. Jamal Stevenson: I never want to be the hangup for somebody else's success. Jesse Favre: So number five, you notice a reoccurring issue. It's not technically your role to fix it, but it could impact the company. What would you do? Jamal Stevenson: I'm jumping in right away. I'm jumping in right away because of temptations, it brings me back to the temptations. There's no one bigger than the group. Right. And I think especially if you're seeing something that is potentially impacting the business, I want to take a moment to actually understand what's happening because it's longevity, right? It's something that can really affect the business in the long run if you're not paying close attention to it. Any problem is not too small, I don't think, especially in the startup world. Jesse Favre: There is always this tension, I feel like, because on the one hand, you want people working to their max capacity. But on the other hand, you're exactly right. If there's something small that could actually have a huge impact on your company, that becomes a priority. I remember years ago working in this hospital that would get crickets in the hall, everywhere. When I first started, I'm walking down the hall and I saw the president of the hospital with a cup and he's, he's bending down, he's picking up crickets. And it really stuck with me because I thought, you know, if those crickets stayed in the hall and a patient or family comes in and they see that, they're going to think, oh, this place isn't clean, it's not safe. If it's not safe, we gotta get our family members out of here. I'm not coming back to this place. So it was actually in the president's best interest to slow down and pick up crickets. It was everybody's best interest to do that. And so sometimes these things that might seem small are actually a huge deal, and yeah, why not jump in? Jamal, thank you so much for explaining what your mindset is in these moments. That for a lot of people would feel incredibly high pressure. I truly believe that you're going to have people who are like, how do I follow Jamal? How do I learn his ways? So how can people best connect with you? Jamal Stevenson: Yeah. Thank you for having me first and foremost. The best way to contact me is through LinkedIn, Jamal Stevenson, on LinkedIn. Jesse Favre: So remember, it is so important if you are in a job where you're doing a lot of tasks, switching to slow down and taking care of yourself. Focus on what's right in front of you, and make sure that you are communicating in a way that's really transparent about your priorities. So do those things and we will catch you next time Inside the Team.