Connect with me on LinkedIn
Follow me on Facebook where I educate, equip and empower family members how to proactively care for their elderly loved ones.
Follow me on Instagram where I educate, equip and empower family members how to proactively care for their elderly loved ones.
Join my email list where I will lift you up, and send tactile advice weekly to support you to grow your experience in your senior living career.
Connect with me on LinkedIn
Follow me on Facebook where I educate, equip and empower family members how to proactively care for their elderly loved ones.
Follow me on Instagram where I educate, equip and empower family members how to proactively care for their elderly loved ones.
Join my email list where I will lift you up, and send tactile advice weekly to support you to grow your experience in your senior living career.
I friends. It's Erin. Thank you for being here today. Where I am going to talk about my experience at think tank 2023. And I just want to say I have absolutely zero affiliation with think tank. I am a follower of James Lee on LinkedIn. Like most people are. I have zero ties to think tank 20 24. But I do think that it's important for you to hear some of the takeaways from the meeting to hopefully inspire you. If you're curious to know about it. And also. What it's like to invest in yourself. And I think as a senior living leader, We're not given a lot of an opportunity or permission to step outside. The company. And invest in ourselves. And I think that's something that we all need to start doing. Because we need more. As leaders and the senior living industry, and then what we're getting in regards to support in training. So I'm going to walk through all of those things with you. Some LinkedIn tactics, some takeaways from the LinkedIn speaker that was there. And some takeaways from each other presenter that was there. Here we go. I want to read to you a quote by Marianne Williamson that James closed the think tank with. We're at least spoke about a lot the last day Close the meeting with this quote, and I want to start this podcast with it because I think it's important. And it's one of the reasons why I'm telling you my story. I'm going to paraphrase this Marianne Williamson quote. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine. As children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us, it's in every one of us. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others. I feel like that whole quote that I just read has been part of my process and. Inspiring and motivating others. Of maybe what's held me back in the past is that I did shrink myself in some opportunities. And in others, I probably over shot. The opportunities. But for the most part, I feel like I shrank a little bit and in ways this quote gives us permission. When I unlock. And live liberated from my own fear. I allow other people to do the same. My fear of rejection, my fear of failure, my fear of judgment. All of those. All of those shackles you down to some version of yourself that. Is not who you're supposed to be. So liberate people by telling your story. Grow confidence in yourself by consistently learning your story. And be okay to be judged. Rejected. Fail a little bit, because that's just iterating. The narrative to become the best that it could possibly be. And that's, what's exciting to me now that used to hold me back before. Again, that's a Marianne Williamson quote. That you probably need to look that up and read it over and over again, because it's true. And we want our light to shine as a leader inside of a community. You want your light to shine? So other people will shine their light to. It's really important. On that note, One of the. Key takeaways. That I had as I. Left the think tank and each day. Was the idea of authenticity and how powerful the energy of authenticity is. So when I say authenticity, the true essence of who we are. Not necessarily. What we. Believed to be true in a demeaning judgmental way. But the true is authenticity of knowing what my purpose is, knowing what success looks like to me. Knowing. Why I'm doing something. Knowing the intentions behind every choice that we make. That is authenticity. There's a difference between two vulnerable oversharing vulnerable. Too in places that may not be appropriate to be vulnerable. But still being authentic to who you are. I know. That I'm here to serve people. I know. That I want to add value to every person's life that I come in contact with. I know. That no one else's judgment of me will affect me the way that it used to affect me. These are all vulnerable and authentic thoughts. That will attract. The right job opportunity, the right people. Into my orbit And I am. Living proof of that, just with my new career with senior virtual health. With being attracted to James Lee through his podcast through his LinkedIn content. And with people coming to me to coach them in their senior living. Career path. I attract people. Through the authentic and vulnerable content that I post. James. Attracted. All the right. people for think tank of 20 23, because of his authentic. Posting about all the good and all the bad that he goes through as a leader inside the senior living industry. That to me, when I looked in the room. And I felt the room. And how every man and every woman. Chose. To allow vulnerability and authenticity in the room. It was amazing. The one rule that we had was to build and maintain trust. And every single one of us. Upheld that. I've viewed authenticity in the past. I think. It was always, what do they want me to say? Whoever they is for you? your corporate office. Your residents. Your families. Whoever they is to you. When we go to create something, we think, what do they want from me? But that just breeds a lot of. Judgment and fear and rejection and failure and all that stuff. And now I look at it as, what do I want to say about this topic? That is grounded in my experience. That's grounded in. Life's lessons. In a very impactful and professional way. That is. Authenticity. That is the goal that I've had all year. That is the. The success that I've had through podcasts through speaking engagements. And connecting with people. It's that authenticity. It's that curiosity of? Tell me what you thought about that. What did you take away from this presentation? And that's something that James said over and over again. What's your aha moment. So when I look at slides, now, if I'm making a presentation or if I'm creating something, I say to myself, What do you want to say about this topic from your own personal and professional experience that can tie into the professional components of this presentation? Of this podcast episode. Of this coaching session. The power of authenticity is Deniable. It was in full display inside that room and think tank. Every single one of us were authentic to who we were dove into purpose, dove into our story and our motivations. And shared. Hurdles setbacks. Reasons for not achieving the way that we thought we could. And it was beautiful. It was such a beautiful experience. One of my biggest takeaways from the think tank. Was how it deepened relationships. To understand that the real power of authenticity is the energy of attracting your people. And the ability for other people to self-select to not be in your presence. It's important for us to know. That we should be thankful for every person who is in your circle. And for every person who leaves your circle. Because if true success is being surrounded by the right people who can give you the right mix of support and positive and constructive feedback. You don't want anybody else? Who's going to give you negative feedback. Who's going to weigh you down consistently. We're trained to think that we should be for everybody. But really you should be attracting the people. To your community in your life. Different companies to work for that fit. With your energy. And when you have a clear understanding of your motivations, clear understanding of what success is to you, then that. Energy will attract exactly. Who you need. Where you need them when you need them. So don't be so afraid when people drop off. Be thankful for the time that you had with them. And thankful. At that time is over. And be on the lookout for what's next. I. Knowing who you are for and who you are not for and being happier and healthier because of it. Another takeaway is knowing your story. I wanted a perspective. And now I have that in a clear picture of my place, my value and my worth. Knowledge is power, but clarity is priceless. Telling your story gives people the courage, motivation, and confidence to continue to do And when you do tell your story appropriately. Your community story, your professional story. You find. It's easier to move the resident in. I think that if you are a leader inside the community, that when you know the strengths of your community, when you know them and you can speak to them and you have a story about them and you have these transformation stories. Then you will attract the people who want that. When you have tours that come in and you talk about everything. Who are you for? Can you narrow down who you are for? And how you narrow that down is how you know your story and how you communicate that story. That's important and that's what think tank was about. 20% of your message. I should be all about the strengths that you have. That's what you say in an interview. That's what you say. On a tour is you talk about your residents transformations. The strengths of your community and who you serve. That's why your story's so important. One of the other takeaways about authenticity and actually about, representation. I thought it was really exciting that all of the speakers slash facilitators. We're women. Except for James. And there were three speakers. There was Kim Kalp, who was our LinkedIn expert. There was Adrian Thompson. And Anna Hall, Adrian Thompson and Anna Hall are one of us. There are senior living influencers and leaders. And thought leaders in the industry. And he chose to have. Them speak at our conference, which as a woman leader. And as I'm getting more and more comfortable to say thought leader in the industry. I was proud. To see Anna and Adria up there. So proud. And what I took away from watching them speak. Was, they were authentically them. And that empowered me so much. They didn't. Put on fancy clothes. Although, they looked very nice and beautiful. They didn't. Overdo anything. They were exactly who they were. They were living in their purpose and they added value to every single person in the room. They made us feel. They made us feel that creating a video is possible. And we got to see the process that Adrian goes through When she posts all of her Instagram and Tik TOK stories. And reels. We got to see Anna in her element. Of talking about purpose and what's important in how. The meaning and the belonging and the alignment that we need in life is. Is what's either. Fueling our success or holding us back. Their authenticity in their world and bringing it to us. Just empowered me to keep doing what I'm doing. Because. They are successful at what they're doing. It was so powerful for me to see them not shrink and let their light shine. And as Adriana said, to be in a room full of successful professional people. And to finally understand that there is still space for me. Was also a powerful statement. And one that I felt resonated with me very deeply. Anna talked about purpose. And purpose is important, do you know your purpose? I think one of the main takeaways that everybody took away. Was your purpose can not be taken away from you. I always compare football and senior living. And I'm going to tell you why. Because football coaches have huge responsibilities and they turn over a lot. And I. Always resonated with that because as we all know, the turnover in the senior living industry is also a lot. And the pressure is a lot. So I feel like the stakes are high. And the turnover is high as well. But purpose is not a role. It's not an executive director role. It's not a regional director role and it's certainly not a goal. We think our purpose is to get to a hundred percent occupied. Certainly it is a goal, but that's not our purpose. And it doesn't matter if you're no longer with the community. That you loved that you thought you'd be with forever, or you're no longer with a spouse that you thought you'd be with forever, or you stepped outside of the community and you're working somewhere else. Your purpose in life can never be taking away from you. if you were asked to leave a community, if you were terminated, if you were forced out of a job that you love that you felt was your calling in life. Your purpose is still there. You get to find a new place. To use your purpose. Because purpose is giving and getting. Meaning and joy every day. That's your purpose. To give joy and to get joy. And so what is joy to you? What does that mean to you? And we kind of dived into meaning. we want to live a meaningful life. We want. Too. Do meaningful things. what does meaningful mean? It means to be focused, to be present. To be important. And to be understood. So we're battling turnover in our industry and we're battling our own mindset when it comes to. What our role is, are we significant in that role? Do we want to be significant? How can we lead our team to be better? Inside of our community. Think about the meaning that we place on everything. Meaning that we place on leadership. How do we give meaning to people? To understand that their role as a server, as a caregiver or housekeeper is very important as a nurse. We want to focus on them. We want to be present when we're talking to them. We want them to understand how important they are. And that they are understood. And we want that for ourselves. Because when there's no meaningful activities, when there's no meaningful relationship, we just feel empty, cold and a real lack of clarity. And it's easy to say that we have meaning because we care for people inside senior living. And we can be parents too and not have any meaning. These are meaningful roles. Parents executive directors, caregivers. But if no one is pouring into you, meaningful relationships, meaningful trainings. Meaningful conversations. How important do you feel? How understood do you feel. Not very important and not very understood. But when you know your purpose, when you know no. What gives you joy when you know. How you can give joy. All of a sudden you create meaning and purpose in your life. And that is something that was pretty inspiring until we went through and tried to figure out. What are the things that we need every day. To help us. Be rooted and grounded into our purpose. we tried to figure out. Three guiding lights that were essential to our being. To our purpose, meaningful life. And I will tell you. What my three were. When I think they are, and I'm sure it will change over time. But mine, I need love. I need challenge and I need inner harmony. Inner harmony is something that I've been working on for a long time. So I certainly know that is essential to my life because when it's out of whack, nothing's in harmony. And then challenge. I love a challenge. I love to creative problem solve. I love to make a difference and be significant in people's lives. And I love. I think that we all need love. Love to me has is integrity. It's kindness. It's health. It's responsibility. It's really what fuels me. We also got to look at fear a little bit differently. fear obviously tells us what's dangerous and don't do that less like the real fear that we need to listen to. But what about that fear that creeps up that keeps us from doing what we want to do. And Anna made a good point. That is important in that I listened to now and I have been for a while, but I've been talking to Anna for a while, so I already do this. But. We can look at fear. That's, non-life threatening. That's non-physical threatening, and we can say fear. tells us what matters to us? When we think that our relationship is about to end, we may get fearful. Instead of playing into those negative emotions. Let's look at those negative emotions and say, this is actually important to me. That is an important assessment to make in your life. Instead of fear. Telling us to turn around and go away. We need to listen to it. And say, this is important to me. Let me stay here in this uncomfortableness and try this a little bit more, because this is important to me. And so if you have, or have a chance to listen to Anna, you need to listen to Anna because she is amazing and she will motivate you and inspire you to keep going to identify what brings you joy. To identify what makes you happy to give joy? She is worth her weight in gold. To get that information from because knowledge is power. but clarity is priceless. And when you talk about purpose, I think mindset is right after that. When, you know what your purpose is when you know what fuels you. Then. You have the courage and the strength. Two. Keep persevering to understand All the thoughts that keep playing over in my head don't necessarily. Ring true anymore. And so when we ask ourselves. Does this thought serve me. When we can identify that these thoughts in our minds. Are not serving us. We can ask the question. Does this thought serve me. Is it true? Is the thought true. Can you absolutely know it's true. Can you know, it's true. How do you react? What happens when you believe that thought. Do you feel. Like you're shrinking. Do you feel not enough? Do you feel too scared to try. And then ask yourself, who would I be? Without that thought. Who would I be without that thought? But this thought is keeping me from moving forward in any kind of way. If I removed the thought, would I move forward? And who would I be? Do I want to be that person. That's an important question. So when you know your purpose and when you have a meaningful relationship with yourself or with your team, You have strength. Because you have clarity. And clarity is priceless. We think knowledge is power, but really. Clarity is priceless. Right? And we don't want to forget and not talk about James. James walked us through. His. Leadership principles, which he calls MBAR, which is your motivations, your behaviors, your actions, and your results. So we know what we want our results to be. Do you know what your motivations are? Your true motivations, why you get up? Why we keep going back to work and the chaos that we call assisted living. Senior living right. If you really know what your motivations are and you know what you want your results to be. Then there's two things that you can control. And that's your behaviors and your actions. Your behaviors or your habits, the things that you repeatedly do. Do you have habits? That will lead you to your results. Because if you have habits that will lead you to results. Then you will have activities. The actions your day to day, that will also lead you to good results. But if you don't have behaviors and actions that are going to lead, you. The right way, then they're leading you the wrong way. And you have to start thinking to yourself. am I allowing my mindset to lead my behaviors or my allowing the outcomes that I want to lead my behaviors. Because your actions. I'm going to be led by your behaviors. Your outcomes. We'll only be as good as your behaviors and your actions. If you know your motivations and you know, your outcomes. You've got to be able to control. Your behaviors and your actions, but you can do. You can control those. You're in full control of those. You just have to master. The mindset. And then reframing how to Y. I know Simon Sinek talks about that a lot. in James referred to him. It's really not about how to get a hundred percent. It's about why do you want to get to a hundred percent? And when you know your, why, which is your purpose. Then getting to a hundred percent is easy. Because, you know, your, why the, how does it matter? The, how will come. The, how will come because you failed to go. To make it one way. So you had to turn around and fix your mistakes and go back. The, how is. Really dialed in to the personality of the community. Personality of your team. You can create a roadmap at one community and it doesn't work at another word. The how is going to be. very dependent on your team and the personality that you create, but your why. Your why is consistent? Do you know your, why? That's important. I want to get to the small group stuff. Because the small group stuff. Was that. Focus. Of the think tank. It was the. The thing that I was questioning the most, like we're going here and we're going to work and we're going to create something. What are we going to do? I don't really know the ladies in my group that, how are we going to mesh? We talked a little bit before the think tank. But when we got to think tank, we were with our small groups more than we were with any other groups of people. And I was blessed beyond measure to be in the presence of those four ladies. We, our topic was trauma informed care. And we literally learned so much about each other about psychological safety inside of a community. About our own experiences of overcoming hard things in our lives and where that trauma has showed up in, in our lives individually, both personally and professionally. And it was one of the most. vulnerable in active listening and active speaking. Three days. Of my life. Sharing things. That. I probably have not shared with many people. And vice versa. And we realized that when we heal. From deep wounds in our lives. That it's important. To shine the light for others. to give permission to them, to heal as well. And if we shine a light. On not everybody is angry. angry is like this emotion that we. This description of the emotion that we give to people who are hopeless, who are sad, who are having displaced aggression. Who don't make the best decisions. When we understand that people's reactions are not about us. And that we don't internalize those things. Those reactions. Then we can actually look at people. And say to them, are you okay? Can I help you in any way? Because irrational. Reactions. Two little things. I should be. A clue that somebody is hurting. Not that they're angry. Because being angry. Is. The easy way to describe. Trauma. And that goes for a resident. As well as. For our associates. And so our think tank, small group. Presentation is going to be a CEU offering. Hopefully at the end of January, that will be virtual and it's going to be about trauma informed care and modernizing. The way that we lead and manage our teams. Because the more we know. The better we are. For our team and for our community. So we're excited to share that with you. Dates to be announced soon. Everybody else is. Small groups were awesome. There is so much good stuff coming your way. I cannot wait for you to see it. There's a leadership field guide. There's a heck questionnaire form for you to. To figure out what tech is working in your community and what tech is not. And what to ask before new tech. Is purchased for your community. Which is fabulous. There. Was a dementia group that hold their social media following. And asking what the top four questions are. And they are dementia experts wrote answers to those questions and then put them on a landing page, which is incredible. There's a video on the new rollout for the CMS guide for, 2024. And there was a marketing guide to families who are looking for senior living. How and why and what the channels are. For new people who are searching. For a community inside senior living. So the depth of the projects. Were amazing. And I cannot wait for you to see them, to use them and to benefit from them. And the last topic that we'll discuss is. My three key takeaways about LinkedIn. I know a little bit about LinkedIn, but I'm certainly not. An expert and I did learn. A lot from Kim kelps. presentation. And so I thought, what are three things that I could tell you? So here you go. If you are tagged in someone's post, make sure that you, at least like the posts that you're tagged in. It's an algorithm booster. For the person who posted it. And they are probably tagging you because they want you to see it. Or they want your audience to see it. Or. You had a part in the post. So make sure that you like comment or share that post of every. Person who tags you. Number two, if you don't post a day. if you literally post every day, like I try to. Make sure. That if you cannot post that day that you add like comment or share. To keep the algorithm, a friend of yours. There's a lot of people that use LinkedIn as a tool marketing tool, a recruiting tool. And so it's important that you want the algorithm to be your friend. And to keep pushing your content out for people to see. So if you don't post a day, Add like comment or share to keep the algorithm, a friend of yours.
Microphone Array (Intelr Smart Sound Technology for Digital Microphones):And number three.
Microphone (2- Samson Q2U Microphone):the movie trailer. So in LinkedIn. You have three lines that you can write. When there's a photo of. So if you are going to attach a photo to your post. And you want to write something at the top above that post. Where it says, see more. You have three lines. if you want to write a hook that makes people want to read what you're posting or watch your video, you've got three lines to make it happen, but for the Seymour comes on. If it's just a text, no video, no picture. You have five lines. On pick talk and on Instagram. A lot of it is that hook. Do you want to know? You know that first three second hook. But on LinkedIn, a lot of it is that hook is what you write in those first three or five lines. So if you've ever wondered. How many words or how many lines do I get before that see more button comes on. It's three, if you have a photo or a video, and it's five, if it's text. Only. And that is your movie trailer. How many times has the movie trailer been better than the movie? And that's the example that Kim gave in her presentation. So those are my takeaways. So let's talk about. What it took to invest the money to go. I had two. Hey, the amount. The$2,500 that it cost to go to think tank. I had to have a conversation with my husband. My partner. And say, I really wanted to do this. We had to come up with a plan on how he would be home and taking care of the kids, which by the way, Our oldest son was sick. And so it was a very challenging week for him. But we didn't know that in advance. But I had invested myself in a coaching program about a year and a half ago. it was the catalyst of change for me. And I knew that going into the think tank could be the same effect for me. And. I wanted to go. And it was worth it. Because I allowed myself to be authentic and vulnerable because I knew. The investment that I made. I wasn't just going to go there and not be all in. And it's empowering. To invest that kind of money in yourself. But to invest that kind of money in yourself and not come with an open mind with authenticity as a goal with vulnerability as a goal and with meaningful connection as a goal. It would be a waste of money. But seeing those women speak, being in that room with. 30 amazing people. That I had connected with most of them on LinkedIn. And was just dying to meet him in person. It made it all worth it. But I was open-minded and I was willing. So if you're going to invest in yourself with coaching or. With. Events like think tank. You have to come into it with an open mind. You will not. Gain anything. Unless you do the work. It's not given to you. You have to be willing. Open. Authentic. Vulnerable. And brave. And it was the best experience. And I hope to go again next year. I already know I can't go to this, the one in Chicago, but I hope to be able to make it in Texas. And if you're curious, I hope this episode helped you. Save your money. if you can save$200 a month. There it is. It's worth it. Just the connections alone were worth it. And likes James always says, don't let great be the enemy of good. He did a good job. A really good job. But the people in the room made it great. My small group ladies made it. Great. Meeting the likes of Nicole will and Adrian Thompson and Anna Hall and James Lee and Chris Chana. And. All of the people and meeting a guy named lo Hornbuckle wearing a cowboy hat in Texas. It just don't get any better than that. So if you're on the fence, I say, give it a try. Go open. Open-hearted open-minded. With vulnerability and authenticity. I hope this helps. I hope this gave you hope. Hope it gave you some takeaways too. When you make meaningful connections with your team? You get focused, you get understood. And you get intent. Make that your goal for 2024. I think that your goal every day, Be authentic. Say what? Your heart believes to be true. And do not shrink for anyone because when you let your light shine, You give permission for others and you're the leader. Lead the way. And as always. Aspire for more. For you.