What's the ‘this’ in your business?

Neil Waller is the Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Whalar Group. They're a global creator company. Whalar have done as much as anyone, and more than most, to catalyze the creator economy. And as you'll hear, it was inspired by a conversation with and an unforgettable provocation from Sir John Hegarty. But behind their success lies a characteristic that I find is often underappreciated and therefore in short supply, among most creative leaders. Commitment.

I've mentioned before on this podcast that we've developed a diagnostic tool that can tell, is your company deliberately unlocking creativity or just hoping that it shows up? One of the gaps that shows up over and over again is a leader's commitment to the company's goals.

Companies and leaders say one thing and then often do another. But when you find leaders that are truly committed to building a business that delivers world class creative thinking and answers, then how fast they can do that suddenly becomes an incredibly valuable conversation

To create is to learn. And the faster we can do both, the better your business and the world becomes.

So what's the ‘this’ in your business? And how committed are you to making it happen?

Jill Cress is the Chief Marketing and Experience Officer for H&R Block.

She also serves on the board of the AdCouncil, and she's been recognized on Forbes’ list of the World's 50 Most Influential CMOs.

Before H&R Block, Jill spent 20 years at MasterCard. Now, a leader who spends most of their professional life working in financial institutions could easily build their success around the study of data, but the foundations of Jill's leadership are based on the most valuable investments of all.

Delivering results has always been table stakes when you're stepping into a leadership position, and money will and should sit squarely on that table as one essential definition of success.

But enduring financial success is a consequence of your willingness to take your eyes off the financial prize and fix them squarely on your most valuable assets:

The people that work for you. And what matters to them are two things.

First, that they matter. And second, that what they're doing makes a difference.

During our conversation, I talked to Jill about the creativity diagnostic tool that we've developed. It measures when leaders are creating the conditions that maximize the creativity of their people.

One of the critical insights that shows up time and time again is that the very best leaders are fully invested in creating a culture that ensures that everyone feels seen and heard and respected. Now, this investment carries personal risk, because it can make you as the leader feel vulnerable, and it is time consuming. But the ROI is through the roof.

So what are you investing in?

When do you stop and take a breath?

If you've listened to Luther Vandross or Tina Turner, or Sting, or Chaka Khan, or Teddy Pendergrass, or Roberta Flack, then you've heard Lisa Fischer sing. If you went to a Rolling Stones concert between 1989 and 2015, you saw Lisa as the band's lead female singer join Mick Jagger on stage.

If you've seen her in person, as I've been fortunate to have done so twice, or if you've seen her on YouTube, take over the stage from Tina Turner during It’s Only Rock and Roll, or the clips of her on stage with Mick Jagger, you already understand the extraordinary talent that she is linked to. Both of those are in the show notes.

And if you've watched 20 Feet from Stardom, then you already know that Lisa is one of the greatest background singers that the world has ever heard. For most of us, those 20 feet might as well be the length of a trip to Mars. For Lisa, who won a Grammy in 1991 and then decided not to take center stage, those 20 feet were a choice. A choice that brings her joy.

Lisa is a rare spirit who's had enormous influence and impact. If you see her perform, you're left with a belief that she has a direct connection with your soul. In those moments, she is alive in ways that stretch our understanding of what the word means.

Leadership at its heart is the ability to unlock the potential of others, to make them feel more connected. The very best leaders do that by helping us to understand ourselves better, by helping us feel what we had never felt before.

Lisa is proof that you don't have to stand center stage to do that. You just have to be honest with yourself about where you get your energy from, and then let that energy flow.