The Leader Fast Lane - Episode 9 - with TTUS Regent Clay Cash

In this episode, I am joined by Texas Tech University System Regent Clay Cash. We talk about hard work and humility being keys to success, developing grit, overcoming imposter syndrome, and servant leadership.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:09

Hello and welcome to The Leader Fastly, the podcast where I talk with accomplished leaders from higher education, public service, and beyond to share real stories, practical principles, and hard-earned lessons listeners can apply immediately. No buzzwords, no shortcuts, just real leaders sharing real lessons you can apply right away. I'm Lane Mears, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Leader and Culture Development at the Texas Tech University System. Today I am joined by Clay Cash, a regent on the Texas Tech University Systems Board of Regents. Clay was appointed to the Board of Regents for the Texas Tech System on March 13, 2023, by Governor Greg Abbott. He currently serves as chair of the Regent's Rules Review Committee and Vice Chair of the Facilities Committee. Clay is one of the principals of the Cash Family Office, which encompasses ranching operations, real estate holdings, and oil and gas investments. He is also president of the Cash Family Foundation, a board member of the Texas Rangers Association Foundation, and a board member of the Ranching Heritage Association, which supports the National Ranching Heritage Center at Texas Tech University. Clay has previously served on multiple boards of directors, including the Texas Tech Foundation, Midland Chamber of Commerce, and Lubbock Chamber of Commerce. In 1994, Clay began his career at Atmos Energy, where he held several leadership positions and served as vice president until his retirement in 2018. Cash earned his bachelor's degree in business administration management from Texas Tech University's Jerry S. Rawls College of Business, and he comes from a family of Red Raiders, including his parents, Kay and the late Don Cash. His great uncle, C.A. Cash from Amarillo, served on the Texas Tech System Board of Regents from 65 to 69 after being appointed by Governor John Connolly. Clay lives in Lubbock with his wife Ashley and their four children. It's great to have you on the podcast today.

SPEAKER_00 2:10

Fine, thank you very much. Appreciate it.

SPEAKER_01 2:13

Lots to talk about today with your vast experience. I'm going to go ahead and dive right in if that's okay with you. Sure. So you started your career at Atmos Energy and rose to vice president before moving into family business leadership. What leadership lessons from the corporate world have proven most transferable to running a diversified family enterprise?

SPEAKER_00 2:37

Well, um I would tell you that surround yourself with uh people that are smarter uh than you. Um I would say the the vast majority of my success in my life has been by putting, by, by understanding the fact that you're not the smartest guy in the room. And for you to continue to grow, um, make good decisions, make either good decisions for your family or make good decisions for your corporate life. Um, I always surrounded myself with people that were a lot smarter than I was, that I could learn from. And I'd say that's probably the secret sauce to my success.

SPEAKER_01 3:16

That's great. One thing I'm looking forward to asking you is that your your family obviously has deep ties to Texas Tech and to West Texas. As someone who's new to the region, I have my own thoughts, but I'd love to hear uh your thoughts on how growing up in this environment shaped your views on work ethic, responsibility, and leadership.

SPEAKER_00 3:40

Yeah, um, yeah, I'm I'm I'm proud to say that uh my kids were the fourth generation to go to Texas Tech. And you know, at the end of the day, Lane, I'll just tell you that it's it's based in um hard work and humility. Um grandparents on my mom's side were farmers and ranchers. Uh my dad's side were uh true wildcat uh oil and gas guys. Um you know, they my dad started delivering um my dad started delivering uh propane in a truck at 13 years old. And you know, there's a certain grit. There's a certain grit that uh that happens in this part of the world. And I think it really it really manifests itself throughout our communities. And it's based in it's based in hard work. Um and a very in in humility. Um we this is a this is a part of the world that that obviously if somebody is broke down on the side of the road, um, you know, there's multiple people that pull over to try to help. Um and so it is truly a wonderful culture, wonderful area to live in. And you know, funny enough, I just didn't know any different. Uh um that's just the way that I grew up. And and quite frankly, you know, we we spoke earlier about um moving back to to Lubbock and raising kids here. And and man, I get the benefit of of trying to pass along those things to to my kids.

SPEAKER_01 5:16

Yeah. You mentioned grit, and that's w one of my favorite words in in the development world and academic world, I think resilience is the is the term that most relates to that, but it's almost become so overused that it's lost its meaning. That's why I love the word grit, because it's for me, it's a much more visual thing. And the School of Texas Tech School of Veterinary Medicine identified grit as one of their core values. Um and how I envision that is it's it's you know, we all face headwinds, we all face difficult times, we all face disappointments, but it's the ability to push through, to engage in the hard work, even when uh you may not see the fruits for some time, that really is um it it builds character, it builds discipline, it builds success, really. I tell my kids that grit, stick to it, as my dad would say, or resilience is more of a determination of success than intelligence. Um so I appreciate your sharing that.

SPEAKER_00 6:24

You know, I also I think it's it's something where you can it's tangible in the sense where you can go out and nobody else will will see it, but you know what you've done. Um you know, the other day I I redecked and rewired a trailer um for the only reason is is just to prove that I could do it. And I came in and I my wife was I was hobbling around and she asked, What what's wrong with you? I said, Well, I'm I've been crawling around on the concrete floor for three days uh rewiring a trailer. And you know, today nobody will see that trailer, nobody will know um, you know, what it took to to do that. I also brought my my boys along with me. They were they were helping. Um, but it's funny because you put a lot of time, work, physical effort into it. Nobody is going to see that. They're just gonna see the trailer, but you know that uh that you did it. And it's card, that's it's hard to explain. It's you can't, it's very difficult to articulate the that feeling, but you have a sense of accomplishment, whether it's it's seen publicly or you know that you've done it yourself.

SPEAKER_01 7:40

Yeah, that internal satisfaction. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 7:42

Sounds great.

SPEAKER_01 7:43

You you mentioned humility. My next question is related to humility. Um you work your way through the oil and gas industry while while you're in college. What did that early experience teach you about humility and learning from people who may not have a formal leadership title?

SPEAKER_00 8:02

Yeah, I I uh I started uh my freshman year uh at Atmos. I was a I was an extra laborer. That was that was my title. And believe me, some of the the men and women that I worked with put put me to that put me to that task. Um you know, I would tell you that um the most influential people uh that I have worked with don't have formal titles. And what I mean by that is is later on in life, um some of the same men and women that I worked with uh first starting out, um I I ultimately became their boss. Um and the relationships that that you that you make uh with those people, uh we had a number of uh we had a number of challenging things like all businesses do. Um but those are the people that I would go back to uh to help work through some of these problems. Um and they were extremely influential. They did not have a title per se, um, but their um the influence that they had with their respective organizations uh was was arguably more influential than me with a title. Um and so that's being humble, starting your starting your career with your hat in your hand. Um and then ultimately when you do have a title um or you do have some authority, uh that's not what you you leave, you don't lean on the title, you lean on the the experiences and the relationships that you've built.

SPEAKER_01 9:50

Yeah. That's great. One one I'm gonna backtrack a little bit just as uh as you're talking and and sharing some of your experience, it made me think of a follow-up question related to grit. You know, we we we've talked about grit and the importance of it um and some the some of the things you learned, but for someone who didn't grow up with your experience that didn't grow up with the the you know family business or ranching or or doing hard work, how how do you develop that grit? How can someone who may not feel like they have that develop that trait?

SPEAKER_00 10:29

Well, um mine came obviously through my my parents. Um my parents were um the you know obviously the biggest influence that I had. But you know what it it you just have to jump in. I think it's the way that you're built. Um there were plenty of times where you just you just had to jump in um and go to work. And I was never the smartest uh by any stretch of the imagination. Um, but I did know uh I did know how to approach people, and I do I I did have the work ethic, um, physical work ethic, um, because that's the way that I was raised. And um I think that that my my guidance is you're just gonna have to jump in. And it's difficult today because everything is so much easier for the generation of today, because everything is so accessible. Um, we didn't, you know, if I was stumped on a question, um, if I wanted to understand, for instance, things that you have done, I I would have to go to an encyclopedia. I didn't have, I didn't have the wealth of knowledge at my hand. Um, and so everything that we did back in the day, we just we had to be more forceful to do it. Um, it's difficult today. Uh, if you think about it, you can ask uh your phone or your computer any question that you want. Um matter of fact, I mean, I'm sure if kids know what an Encyclopedia Britannica is. Uh by the way, my all of my kids have a set, uh, whether they have opened them or not, uh they all have a set, but there was a certain amount of of resilience that you had. You basically just had to jump in and go figure it out.

SPEAKER_01 12:22

Yeah. Yeah, I think back to when I was in law school, mid-90s. To research, you know, as a law student or as a lawyer, you often had to go to the library. You had to follow a key system, track down the cases, or you could pay a lot of money to track it online. Um, but it's a different game now. This is one example that, like you've said, it's things are so much more accessible, which is great in one sense, but it can uh maybe breed some complacency or some um you can you can easily avoid the difficult things. Um and that's why this yellow book over my my shoulder called Deep Work has had a big impact on me that we really do need to find places where or make space where we can engage in intellectually challenging or physically demanding work that takes our full attention so that we can then produce. And the studies show that engaging in that type of work or time is so much more psychologically fulfilling and satisfying than vegging on a weekend. Well, we we all look forward to taking the time off and watching you know the pit or something, but really it's those times where we're fully engaged in challenging things that that feed our soul.

SPEAKER_00 13:43

And and you know, the funny part is is that that's why exactly why I went and re-decked a trailer um is because that I was engaged in that process. Did it make the best sense of my time? Probably not. Um, but I think that when you sit behind a desk, where I am in my life, uh, when you sit behind a desk, the I I have to go feel, I have to be engaged, and I have to go put my hands on things uh for that sense of accomplishment. And and the challenge is to try, and I brought my uh I brought two of my boys along with me, and the sense is it the challenge is to get them to at least try to to understand that too. My sense of accomplishment after that is is it because it's physically tack, um I I have a better sense of accomplishment than by making any kind of a business deal or so forth and so on. And I know that sounds weird, it's it's different, um, but that's just the way that I'm that I'm wired.

SPEAKER_02 14:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 14:52

Um but was it the best was it the best use of my time? Um, probably not, but it gave me the fulfillment.

SPEAKER_01 15:03

So which helps us to carry on and do some of the things that we don't enjoy when we get that.

SPEAKER_00 15:08

I agree. I agree. Yeah. Well, it teaches you the resiliency of anything else.

SPEAKER_01 15:13

Um so I mean shifting here, I'm gonna talk a little bit about your career transitions. Um, you made a major shift from corporate leadership with Atmos to running family ranching, real estate, and investment operations. What leadership principles helped you navigate that transition successfully?

SPEAKER_00 15:35

Um, yeah, uh being humble. Um, you know, I I I I knew quite a bit about it, um, but I wasn't the expert. And anytime that you that you make a shift like that, um going in um working with you know the men and women that I work with at the ranch, um, they will have forgotten more about um cattle and horses than I than I'll probably ever remember or ever know. Um so yeah, be humble. Uh I think humility is probably the biggest um uh attribute um that I have. And it people can feel it. And when you are challenged or you do have tough decisions, whether it's in real estate or whether it's in ranching, um having that ability to go in and work with with those folks um means the most.

SPEAKER_01 16:39

So the irony for me, or an irony for me is that like you're saying to have that humility that you're describing requires a fairly healthy self-confidence. Because someone that's entering into a new career, a new role may feel or often feels the need to project that I know what I'm doing, that I'm competent to do this, but that can be that can close off opportunities to learn. And so having that confidence that I may not know how to do everything here, but I'm confident in myself that I can ask, I can ask questions, I can receive tips, I can receive insight.

SPEAKER_00 17:23

Um yeah, just yeah, I I I I I think it's it is your willingness to learn and and not be the expert. You don't you don't have to be the expert. Um the willingness to to learn and to um to try to understand is is is much more powerful than than I would than than I believe in being the expert.

SPEAKER_01 17:45

Yeah. One of the things that that we've talked about in a lot of our programming with faculty, staff, and administration at the universities within the system comes up a lot is imp is the feeling of imposter syndrome, of feeling like uh they're gonna be found out for maybe not having all the attributes or knowledge that they believe is expected of them. Um so one question for you is when is when you're stepping into an industry or a role where you're not the expert yet, what's the best way for a leader to build credibility quickly to avoid that imposter syndrome feeling?

SPEAKER_00 18:36

Well, I mean, case in point. Um, you know, I'm an I I'm a I'm a business guy, I'm an industry person, and I stepped into a wild and different world of academia. And um one of the things, one of the kind of the aha moments for me was uh when I helped work on some search committees for um other uh other roles in academia. And what struck me is um what struck me is just how pro I mean I was profoundly uh changed with um uh how academia works. Um and for me to be able to transition into that, um to come to be on a board, um, but to to really want to understand what makes uh what makes academia work. Um you know, I just had to come in and and sit and ask a lot of questions. Um and I think it is in the way that you ask the questions. You don't ask the questions from from a point of authority. Um I was genuinely curious of how to make the process better to achieve whatever goal that we were that we were wanting to work on, um, and really tried to kind of put myself in the team instead of a point of authority. Um, yes, it's easy for it's easy for somebody that's on the board of regents to come in and and sit in a room and everybody uh kind of look at you as well you you ultimately can make the final uh decision. And that wasn't necessarily the approach. The approach was I I really want to learn why this thing works the way that it works and and and make good decisions uh with having the goal in mind of where the organization, the university, or the system wants to go, but understanding the real challenges that that they have. Um and so to answer your question, it's all in how you approach it. It's it's all it's all in your inquisitiveness to truly understand, because the imposter part of that would be well, you have absolutely no idea how academia works. And you know what? They're right. They are definitely right. Um, but I do have a perspective on what we're trying to achieve. And so it's it's building that bridge between kind of where we want to be as a as a system and how I can play a small part in helping them grow to that.

SPEAKER_01 21:36

That resonates with me. When I in in 2009, my family and I moved from from Austin in a law practice I had to to Kenya to work with a nonprofit there. And there was another lawyer, uh young lawyer, who moved right about the same time to do the similar type of work. Um and my Kenyan colleagues, brilliant people, lawyers, social workers, law enforcement types. The other lawyer and I came in with different perspectives. I like to think I came in, like you've talked about, like, I don't know much about Kenya. I don't know anything about the justice system. I'm going to ask questions. They're the experts. I'm going to listen and learn. My the other lawyer that came in came in. I know what I'm doing. This is what you got to do. And the relationships we had were so starkly different with the local staff because of the humility that one can come in with and honestly admitting, I don't know this, I want to learn from you. I have things I can offer, but I first want to learn the context and how to operate, as opposed to coming in thinking that you know it all, like my other colleague. Um, and so that's maybe a lesson for folks in in higher ed that may be listening. If if you're faculty promote promoted into more of a staff role, you know, it's it's fine to admit that you you you've got some ideas, but you don't know all the context or the role to ask questions, find out you know, a little more context. And once you kind of have that and have those relationships, then your ideas can come in for some new ways of operating.

SPEAKER_00 23:11

Well, I think I think people will uh what'd you call it their um what'd you call it the syndrome, the imposter syndrome? The imposter syndrome. I think people will feel that. Yeah, I really do. I I think it they know that you don't know. Yeah. Um and I think it's all in how you approach it, which which will tie them back to at least giving you some credibility in the sense when you can help the process and not be the expert.

SPEAKER_02 23:44

Great.

SPEAKER_01 23:47

Just for for my edification and for some of the folks that might be listening, but can you give a quick overview of what what the role of a regent at the Texas Tech system entails?

SPEAKER_00 23:58

It's bigger than yourself. Um the role of a of the regent is to for me to is to leave the foundation better for others that will that will follow me um for them to build upon. Um and so when we there's there's nine of us with with a student regent, and the student regent sits sits in all of our meetings. Um but it's it's it's basically 20 years from now, I can look back and say that I played a really small part in in fortifying the um the foundation of of our university. And so it's it's bigger than just it's bigger than yourself. Do you do you have um do you have some notoriety with it? Yes. Um, but I think for me, it's just helping our university, helping our system grow, and then walking out of the door knowing that you that you made it just a little bit better.

SPEAKER_01 25:10

What's an exciting time to be at Texas?

SPEAKER_00 25:13

Yeah, you know, it's funny. I said this to a uh to a former chairman. I, you know, it it is I can't think of a better time um at Texas Tech than we are today. And and this this former regent was about 10 years ago, and he said, you know, we thought the same thing at that point in time. And how fun, how great is it to be able to continue to layer um all of these successes, whether it's uh you know, whether it's uh with Reese and Nvidia today, or whether it was putting a um um fighting the battles to put a vet center in Amarillo, um, or even before that, the decisions that we've made to to to add different universities um to our uh to our system. And so yeah, and and somebody from you know, 10 years from now, somebody go, this is the most pivotal time at Texas Tech, and they will probably be they will probably be correct. Uh, but it is a great time to be a part of uh the system right now. We have great works in in everywhere from Midwestern to El Paso to San Angelo to Amarillo. I mean, we definitely have some wonderful things going on.

SPEAKER_01 26:24

So the the in the focus of the the podcast is again, like I said at the intro, to provide listeners with practical leadership principles that they can apply right away. Um, but it's all about leader development, which is something that the system is very focused on. From your vantage point uh on the governing board, and then your past experience as well. What distinguishes truly exceptional leaders from average ones?

SPEAKER_00 27:01

I think leaders don't need rules. I think they have to be very principally grounded. And um, I think exceptional leadership comes from um a team of individuals that um indeed have very, very principally grounded um uh a philosophy. Um, whether that is your ethics, um uh trustworthiness. I mean, I can go down the the list. Um but I have seen governing boards that were not principally grounded, and I can tell you that it it doesn't work, it causes turmoil. Um the the they don't accomplish um and achieve um what they possibly could if they just took a step back, put their hat at the door when they walked in and get to work. Um and then once you're in those, and once you're in those environments, understanding that the mission is bigger than yourself. Uh the mission is to uh to to move whatever organization um that you're working with forward. Um and so that would probably be that would be the difference between average ones and exceptional ones.

SPEAKER_01 28:30

I just share an anecdote about the principles or values that you've talked about. We're conducting this spring leader development programs for students at Angelo State and Midwestern State University, Texas this spring. And the first session uh at each of those universities, we talk about the the values of the Texas tech system and the values of those respective universities. And um we were at Midwestern State and put up the values of the university and then asked how the students see those being played out at the university, and the room like lit up that they saw they they knew the values, they saw how they were lived out with the staff, with the faculty, with the other students, and it was remarkable to see how well that's the the vision of of Chancellor Mitchell and then their board of regents um is is being has been operationalized at these universities. And so it's uh you know, uh I know a wise person once said that vision leaks, that this this uh vision for having universities shaped by the values or principles, it's happening, but it's a continual thing that that needs to be emphasized so we don't lose it. Um, but that's it's a remarkable thing what what the Texas Tech system has been doing and is continuing to do on this aspect.

SPEAKER_00 30:05

Well, if you think about it, it's one of the things where uh it's you know, nobody I I don't know what it you know I don't know what it uh feels like to work in your footsteps. Um, you don't know how it feels to be the provost. Um the provost doesn't know how it feels to be the regent. Um, but one thing that we can rally around is a core set of principles and values. And whether you are, you know, whether you're the the couple that is taking care of the grounds outside of the administration building, whether you're the student, whether you're the provost, president, regent, if you all approach, um, if you all approach day in and day out your your organization, which is the system, um, with a core set of values, then everybody can generally understand one another. And you can lean on those. Um, you can lean on those. And so it affords us that opportunity to put everybody on the same equal playing field, um, provided that everybody follows through that.

unknown 31:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 31:20

And I would argue that you know, they are uniquely values and our ethics are uniquely um uh part of who we are. And you know what? In some cases, uh people don't want to follow that, and that's fine, and that's okay. But then the Texas Tech system is probably someplace that that you don't want to be. And and that's okay saying that too. Sure. Um, it it is absolutely saying is it's absolutely okay saying that too.

SPEAKER_01 31:54

So yep, it's clarifying. It's clarifying for team dynamics and behaviors, it's clarifying for professional advancement and opportunities and whether someone's a fit or not. Uh that's it it's clarifying. You've said on occasions that you, and I think even today, you care less about notoriety and more about making sure students get a great education and value. How does a leader stay grounded when they reach position a position of influence?

SPEAKER_00 32:24

Well, I think it is using, uh I think um the way that I would categorize it is using your influence rather than power. Um staying aligned with big picture goals, but uh but uh trying to influence change instead of running it from a a point of authority. Um granted, we we all have times and points and times that that you have to. Um but using your influence rather than power is probably the best way that I could categorize it.

SPEAKER_01 33:06

Yeah. Not lording it over somebody. That's correct.

SPEAKER_00 33:08

Correct, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 33:10

Um so Jason Weber, who's the vice chancellor, recently started a program here at Texas Tech University and then the Health Sciences Center focused on servant leadership. And the response has been overwhelming. So many people signing up for this initiative, which is fantastic. Um so the concept of servant leadership, from your perspective, what does it look like practically for someone leading organizations or serving on a major board? What does a servant leader mean?

SPEAKER_00 33:49

Committed to people's growth.

SPEAKER_01 33:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 33:52

And that's the the biggest uh for me, that's the biggest piece is um you you you you need to reach down into the organizations and you have to be 100% committed to to their growth just as much as um uh any of the accolades that you'll get at the top. Um, because um working with wherever you are in the organization, working with uh making them better and making uh giving them the right tools to continue to perpetuate and to grow um your organization. So being very, very uh specific on committed to to growing others, growing their skill sets, growing what whatever that entails, uh, but being being committed to personal growth or to to people's growth.

SPEAKER_01 34:52

Otherness is how I've described what you what you're saying, is having that otherness as a leader. Um it's grounding, it's um maintains that humility and allows you to well uh the first episode of this podcast a couple months ago was an old friend of mine who has worked for the State Department for 25 years, and he talked about this and that his bent is to give credit away to people on his team. If if there's success, he gives credit. If there's failure, he owns it. And he says the the the wicked dynamics of that is the more he gives credit away, the better, the more he's promoted. It's like he's he, you know, you would think, yeah, I need to claim this for myself so I can get advancement. But he's found that the more I give it away, the more I'm promoted, the more I'm climbing the ranks um in order to be able to have a greater platform to give credit away and to grow people.

SPEAKER_00 35:54

Well, and then I 100% agree. And um if you're not caught up in your own success, you can relish the success of of the of the entity.

SPEAKER_01 36:09

We're gonna shift into uh section on advice for young leaders, whether they be students or faculty, staff administration. What three leadership habits do you think young leaders should start building now?

SPEAKER_00 36:30

Well, I think uh for for students, um this is a it's a it's a it's a pivotal time. Um you know, I uh I again I have four children and they are leaving the house. They're they are moving into what I will consider the real world. Um and there's there's three things that are um there's three things that are really gonna happen to them um in the next couple of years. Um they're gonna try to they're gonna pick a profession and they're gonna pick something that that kind of lights their fire. And um that's an important piece um because it's gonna be it's gonna be the thing that that that um that gives you happiness, that gives you fulfillment, um, and quite frankly, you're you're you're gonna spend hopefully the rest of your professional career um working on. Um and so you're gonna pick the right profession. Um in number two can kind of jump around a little bit, but I think it's it's probably one of the most important pieces. Um, and that's choosing the right partner. Um I uh today, March 23rd, I have been married for 24 years. Today is my anniversary.

SPEAKER_01 38:03

Congratulations.

SPEAKER_00 38:04

And I can tell you that I would not be sitting here talking with you today if it wasn't for my wife. Uh, I chose the right partner. Uh, that partner is there when times are good, the times are bad, they will uh push you, uh, they will keep you grounded. Um so finding the right person to share your life with is is important because we don't get to the positions that we're in today with without a lot of help from others. Uh and my wife is definitely, I am here today uh for her, uh, because of her. Um and then the last one will be uh choose the right company to go to work for. Um companies will um companies will will teach you, uh, especially when you're young, they'll teach you your business ethics, your values, they'll teach you some core principles. Um you you have uh you have been raised by moms and dads, um, and hopefully they have uh given you the the they've given you the the basics, uh, but you're entering into a business world and choosing the right company that will continue to help you grow in the business sense. Um I got very lucky. Atmos was a wonderful company. I spent a lot of years with them. Um and they were um the leadership within that company uh was was very good. And therefore, I was able to um I was able to make and kind of craft good business decisions, good business values, your ethics, because everybody will be uh you will, as a young professional, be faced with ethical decisions. Um, and to have and to have a good company that's um that that is rooted in those rights and wrongs um is very, very important.

unknown 40:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 40:18

Absolutely. Um Steve Soslin, former vice chancellor of Leader in Culture Development, always talked about this with you know core companies' values. When you when you're looking for work, try to understand the values of the companies that you're talking with and see if they match your values, because that's like you've said, that's gonna facilitate that longer-term investment um in your career if you're pursuing the companies' opportunities that align with your values. So I appreciate that. Getting close to the uh our end of our time here. What's one piece of advice you wish someone had given you at 25?

SPEAKER_00 41:00

You know, I'd say invest in yourself early. Um, and what I mean by that is um your health, um, your finances, um, your relationships. Um you know, don't chase, don't chase a perfect, don't chase a perfect job. Um aim for growth. And it's hard in today's society um to do that, but it's like everything else. If you can build on a strong foundation, if you can if you can take the time, if you can take the time and not get caught with what others have or what you know fast success, um, but build build on your own growth. Um, and so using some of those things, you know, I'm I'm I'm getting older now, just got done with a couple days of skiing. So yeah, work on your health. Um and as I become older, um, relationships mean a lot. Relationships, and I didn't probably at a younger age, I probably did not understand the true value of those of relationships. Um, but relationships do matter. And so get off your devices, um, go have a conversation and build uh build a genuine relationship.

SPEAKER_01 42:29

That makes me think of one of the one of the um traits in the system's compass, the leader compass is transcendence, which isn't a word that's very common right now, but it's essentially seeing down the road and making decisions and taking actions aimed at longer-term good as opposed to short-term good. And so some of the things you're talking about helping.

SPEAKER_00 42:56

And have and have the understanding that it's okay for it not to happen tomorrow. Yeah, that these things, these these quality attributes take time. And it's okay. It's okay to take time doing it.

SPEAKER_01 43:11

Yeah, short-term sacrifice for long-term gain is uh a lifelong lesson. All right, uh our our speed round, last few questions here. What's a leadership trait that you admire most in others?

SPEAKER_00 43:29

Humbleness.

SPEAKER_01 43:30

What's one habit that keeps you effective as a leader?

SPEAKER_00 43:35

Organization.

SPEAKER_01 43:36

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 43:37

Being being there, you know, I I have a lot going on, um, and I have to be organized to be able to be effective um at any of it.

SPEAKER_01 43:49

Is that something that comes natural to you, or is that something you had to learn?

SPEAKER_00 43:52

Oh, I think you I think you learn it. Um I think yeah. I I you learn it. Um and I think the the the more your world spins up, the more you understand the importance uh of being organized so you don't drop something.

SPEAKER_01 44:10

Right. Good. And what's the best leadership advice that you've ever received?

SPEAKER_00 44:17

Um don't compare yourself. Um don't compare yourself to others. You know, focus on um focus on your own path.

SPEAKER_01 44:28

Yeah, that's great advice. That's a killer. Comparison can be a real real killer. Uh good. Well, Clay, thank you so much for for joining me today on the podcast. It's been great to hear about your leadership journey and get practical takeaways we can all uh incorporate leading our teams. Any any parting words for our listeners?

SPEAKER_00 44:51

No, I appreciate it. Um as I said, our uh our organization, our system, students and staff and faculty, um, we have a very special uh place at Texas Tech. And it's a it's a place that will continue. Uh we we need to continue to work on it. Um we haven't we haven't by any means met the the the finish line. Um but the work that we do, um, somebody else will get to enjoy in the future. Um and so stay focused on it. The cultural aspect of what we do is is very important.

unknown 45:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 45:36

Well, I'm thankful to have you in that role. To those listening, thank you for joining me on the Leader Fast Lane. If today's conversation sparked a moment of reflection or a lane change in how you think about leadership, take a minute to share this episode with someone you lead or learn from. Join me next time when I will be joined by Ken Parker, who's the vice president of learning innovation at Public Strategies. You can find more episodes wherever you get your podcasts. Until next time, keep leading with purpose, integrity, and clarity, even when it's hard.