With gale force winds outside, Nic and Tarina are back in the Corn Studio having returned safely from their cruise. Nic has enough material to host a podcast describing what it’s like traveling with Tarina for a week.

Have you ever wanted to be heard and respected better? Do you have trouble being understood? Or, perhaps, your people do the opposite of what you said?

Tarina shares what she recently learned from a Jefferson Fisher podcast on short and concise answers. Will Nic agree or disagree with this titan of communication? Listen to find out.

If you enjoy Nic and Tarina’s podcast and get something from listening to “all this Nic Bittle Crap,” please hit the like button, share it with a friend, or both. Your recommendation goes a long way in helping us reach more people.

Also if you have questions that you want Nic and Tarina to answer, email them at info@nicbittle.com.

---

🛟 Click here to order your copy of Nic’s Life Ready Curriculum

🧰 Check out Nic’s new solution for foremen: The Foreman's Inner Circle

💬 To subscribe to Nic’s Leadership DRIP, please text the word “DRIP” to 866-998-4545 then follow the prompts.

❓ If you have questions or comments for Nic & Tarina, please send an email to info@nicbittle.com.

🎬 Check out Nic's Work Force Pro YouTube channel.

📚 Nic has written 4 books. You can decide which one is best for you here.

Tarina got to see Nic speak—first time in six months. They had a direct flight to Atlanta and Nic dressed up a bit. She asked, “Are you wearing your tacky Dakotas belt?” Afterwards, she promised to work on her Nic Bittle clarification.

They are going on a family vacation soon. Nic claims Tarina will bring 70 pounds of clothes, and he’ll take a tank top and swimsuit.

This conversation returns to Episode 5 and Nic shares the lesson of being confident and owning his decision after a small and funny run in at a Las Vegas Spa.

If you enjoy Nic and Tarina’s podcast and get something from listening to “all this Nic Bittle Crap,” please hit the like button, share it with a friend, or both. Your recommendation goes a long way in helping us reach more people.

Also if you have questions that you want Nic and Tarina to answer, email them at info@nicbittle.com.

---

🛟 Click here to order your copy of Nic’s Life Ready Curriculum

🧰 Check out Nic’s new solution for foremen: The Foreman's Inner Circle

💬 To subscribe to Nic’s Leadership DRIP, please text the word “DRIP” to 866-998-4545 then follow the prompts.

❓ If you have questions or comments for Nic & Tarina, please send an email to info@nicbittle.com.

🎬 Check out Nic's Work Force Pro YouTube channel.

📚 Nic has written 4 books. You can decide which one is best for you here.

It was a hard couple of weeks at the Bittle Ranch. Nic and Tarina had to put down Stella, Elle’s dog. Stella is remembered as being all kindness and a lot of joy.

Today’s episode is about the damage done from unspoken kindness—Part 2 of The Power of a Kind Word. The unspoken kind word or constant criticism can do untold harm.

Tarina tells a story about a top athlete in high school who was under constant criticism at home and felt she could never do good enough. This young woman couldn’t wait to quit sports and does not have fond memories about that time in her life.

Nic realizes that in golf you count every stroke—where the objective is to count every “mistake.” He asks, “What if on every missed shot in basketball they deducted 2 points?”

Silence is a real issue—we often take it as disapproval. If a leader walks into a room and greets everyone but one person, that individual will wonder inside, “What’s wrong with me? What did I do wrong?” The leader’s silence echoing in his mind.

The leader’s job is to bring in the right criticism or correction to develop his/her people. If you’re naturally critical, it’d be best to keep it to yourself. If in doubt, use the filter: is it true, is it kind, is it necessary. Most criticism isn’t necessary.

Consider two things: If your gift is always finding fault, that’s not a gift. Also, silence is a deadly trap we can fall into. Be aware that both of these are problems.

If you enjoy Nic and Tarina’s podcast and get something from listening to “all this Nic Bittle Crap,” please hit the like button, share it with a friend, or both. Your recommendation goes a long way in helping us reach more people.

Also if you have questions that you want Nic and Tarina to answer, email them at info@nicbittle.com.

---

🛟 Click here to order your copy of Nic’s Life Ready Curriculum

🧰 Check out Nic’s new solution for foremen: The Foreman's Inner Circle

💬 To subscribe to Nic’s Leadership DRIP, please text the word “DRIP” to 866-998-4545 then follow the prompts.

❓ If you have questions or comments for Nic & Tarina, please send an email to info@nicbittle.com.

🎬 Check out Nic's Work Force Pro YouTube channel.

📚 Nic has written 4 books. You can decide which one is best for you here.

Tarina is working on delegating, especially the deep house cleaning. Nic and Tarina report having a hard conversation about Nic’s travel schedule and his to-do list. And Nic, for the first time ever, went ice fishing with Jason and Derrick and actually drove on the ice.

Both Nic and Tarina share stories about receiving a kind word and how it made them feel. Examples range from recognition and appreciation and a compliment. Often this can serve as affirmation for keep doing good and being kind.

And it’s important to say the kind word aloud and not just keep it inside. People are hungry to matter and as Nic points out, kindness is leadership in action. Things flow better when leaders shine a light on what’s going right and not just what needs to improve.

Kindness can also be shown as well as said. It takes courage to pray for a waitress at a restaurant, overcoming our hesitation of sounding weird.

Nic ends with a story worth hearing.

If you enjoy Nic and Tarina’s podcast and get something from listening to “all this Nic Bittle Crap,” please hit the like button, share it with a friend, or both. Your recommendation goes a long way in helping us reach more people.

Also if you have questions that you want Nic and Tarina to answer, email them at info@nicbittle.com.

---

🛟 Click here to order your copy of Nic’s Life Ready Curriculum

🧰 Check out Nic’s new solution for foremen: The Foreman's Inner Circle

💬 To subscribe to Nic’s Leadership DRIP, please text the word “DRIP” to 866-998-4545 then follow the prompts.

❓ If you have questions or comments for Nic & Tarina, please send an email to info@nicbittle.com.

🎬 Check out Nic's Work Force Pro YouTube channel.

📚 Nic has written 4 books. You can decide which one is best for you here.

Nic judged a grade school speech competition and had to tell a couple of kids, “No snacks for you.” He enjoyed it because he got to exercise one of his spiritual gifts: judging people. Tarina also points out that Nic is hard to make toast for.

The idea of this episode is to build the profile of your ideal week. If you don’t have a profile and life just happens. It’s better to be intentional.

What Nic and Tarina found out that life fills up spaces not blocked off. Your schedule reflects what you care about, says Tarina. Whether it’s vacation, work, relaxation, or a workout—it’s important to have it scheduled.

Nic says it’s important to ask the question, “What do I want?” Then says we have to ask, “What am I willing to do to get it?” This helps identify our priorities and our non-negotiables.

If you don’t put what’s most important to you on your calendar, someone will be happy to fill your calendar for you.

If you enjoy Nic and Tarina’s podcast and get something from listening to “all this Nic Bittle Crap,” please hit the like button, share it with a friend, or both. Your recommendation goes a long way in helping us reach more people.

Also if you have questions that you want Nic and Tarina to answer, email them at info@nicbittle.com.

---

🛟 Click here to order your copy of Nic’s Life Ready Curriculum

🧰 Check out Nic’s new solution for foremen: The Foreman's Inner Circle

💬 To subscribe to Nic’s Leadership DRIP, please text the word “DRIP” to 866-998-4545 then follow the prompts.

❓ If you have questions or comments for Nic & Tarina, please send an email to info@nicbittle.com.

🎬 Check out Nic's Work Force Pro YouTube channel.

📚 Nic has written 4 books. You can decide which one is best for you here.

Nic received two packages—and on a Saturday of all days. Tarina says she never gets packages on Saturdays. One of them is a new “sock cap” for Nic’s bald head because it’s still cold in Oklahoma.

The most important proof of leadership is Ownership. This is the fifth and final proof. When you make a mistake do you “own it” or do you make excuses?

We all struggle with admitting when we mess up, especially when holding a leadership position. For some, there’s an explanation for everything. When things go wrong, these folks don’t take responsibility and avoid accountability.

The work of “owning it” takes development (see Proof #4). This applies whether it is in the rearing of kids or raising up future leaders at your organization. Ownership is fundamental to building trust as a leader and in modeling (see Proof #3) for potential leaders how to build trust.

Mistakes are not the problem—perfection isn’t the goal. Performance issues often are fixable. When someone justifies their actions or makes excuses, this is an integrity issue. When we bend the truth we risk breaking trust.

If you enjoy Nic and Tarina’s podcast and get something from listening to “all this Nic Bittle Crap,” please hit the like button, share it with a friend, or both. Your recommendation goes a long way in helping us reach more people.

Also if you have questions that you want Nic and Tarina to answer, email them at info@nicbittle.com.

---

🛟 Click here to order your copy of Nic’s Life Ready Curriculum

🧰 Check out Nic’s new solution for foremen: The Foreman's Inner Circle

💬 To subscribe to Nic’s Leadership DRIP, please text the word “DRIP” to 866-998-4545 then follow the prompts.

❓ If you have questions or comments for Nic & Tarina, please send an email to info@nicbittle.com.

🎬 Check out Nic's Work Force Pro YouTube channel.

📚 Nic has written 4 books. You can decide which one is best for you here.

Nic and Tarina mention “snow-megadon” in Oklahoma. While they were looking for warm clothes to fight the chill, Tarina wanted her robber mask. Nic, bumfuzzled, confirms they have plenty of robber/ski masks.

In this episode, Nic says that when leadership happens we’re developing others. This is the fourth proof of leadership.

It’s important to note that teaching and development are not the same thing. Teaching a skill is one thing. Developing the person is different. Leaders focus on technical skills, on the how-to, whereas developing focuses on a person’s capacity.

Teaching is showing. Developing someone’s capacity is drawing out and raising up—and it takes patience. Capacity to handle more responsibility, make better judgments, or handle more stress—this takes patience and a focus on the long-term.

As a leader, you show proof of your leadership by asking more questions, engaging your team in thinking for themselves. You also show proof of leadership where you let your people struggle and figure it out.

If you enjoy Nic and Tarina’s podcast and get something from listening to “all this Nic Bittle Crap,” please hit the like button, share it with a friend, or both. Your recommendation goes a long way in helping us reach more people.

Also if you have questions that you want Nic and Tarina to answer, email them at info@nicbittle.com.

---

🛟 Click here to order your copy of Nic’s Life Ready Curriculum

🧰 Check out Nic’s new solution for foremen: The Foreman's Inner Circle

💬 To subscribe to Nic’s Leadership DRIP, please text the word “DRIP” to 866-998-4545 then follow the prompts.

❓ If you have questions or comments for Nic & Tarina, please send an email to info@nicbittle.com.

🎬 Check out Nic's Work Force Pro YouTube channel.

📚 Nic has written 4 books. You can decide which one is best for you here.

Tarina launches with a question for Nic: “Can you help me improve?” Nic immediately knows it’s a trap—and he questions whether to take the bait, which he does.

In this episode, Nic and Tarina talk about the third Proof of Leadership: Model. They take the idea of leading by example further—giving substance to the practice of modeling the behavior you want to see in others.

The question they ask themselves: If we aren’t leading by example, then what happens to our influence? Modeling is a discipline not just a skill. You have to develop the capacity to do the hard things, whether it’s strapping on the tool belt or doing the paperwork.

The easy thing is to just send an email or schedule a Zoom call. The hard thing is to go to the job site, pull on your steel-toe boots, the hardhat, and look at the crusty sheet metal workers in the eye. Behavior is communication and doing the hard thing builds trust over time.

Nic shares a story about how to model the communication you want to see. He concludes, “Just because information is bad doesn’t give you permission not to communicate it.”

If you enjoy Nic and Tarina’s podcast and get something from listening to “all this Nic Bittle Crap,” please hit the like button, share it with a friend, or both. Your recommendation goes a long way in helping us reach more people.

Also if you have questions that you want Nic and Tarina to answer, email them at info@nicbittle.com.

---

🛟 Click here to order your copy of Nic’s Life Ready Curriculum

🧰 Check out Nic’s new solution for foremen: The Foreman's Inner Circle

💬 To subscribe to Nic’s Leadership DRIP, please text the word “DRIP” to 866-998-4545 then follow the prompts.

❓ If you have questions or comments for Nic & Tarina, please send an email to info@nicbittle.com.

🎬 Check out Nic's Work Force Pro YouTube channel.

📚 Nic has written 4 books. You can decide which one is best for you here