Most Leaders Don't Understand What's Coming | AI Reality Check | ✨ Success Redefined Podcast

In this episode of Success Redefined, Ms Bella St John and Liz Weber discuss how the landscape of work is changing, especially with the rise of artificial intelligence. We explore the impact on ai jobs and the future of work, particularly for those in consulting, management consulting, and family-owned businesses. This conversation offers insights into professional growth and the leadership skills needed to adapt and thrive in this evolving environment.

LIZ WEBER: - She's been named one of 2025 Top 30 Global Gurus for Leadership along with Simon Sinek and John Maxwell. So, when Liz Weber talks, her clients listen.  Liz is an advisor to boards, owners, and C-Suite teams. She’s a leadership, strategic and succession planning consultant, author, and speaker.  Liz helps her clients focus on the right things at the right time to get the right impact. As a result, they enhance performance, profits, and their workplace culture.
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~ Bella

MS BELLA ST JOHN
✨ AI Literacy and Mindset Strategist | Professional Artist

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~~~ Success Redefined ~~~
PS:  No animals were harmed in the creation of this video.  Made with recycled data.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

So if if the consultants and coaches aren't doing that projecting part, they are going to be taken over by AI sooner rather than later.

SPEAKER_01 0:09

Imagine if the version of success you've been chasing in general is the exact thing that is about to make you obsolete. It's more than AI. In this episode, I talk with Liz Weber, named one of the top 30 global gurus for leadership, alongside people like Simon Sinek and John Maxwell. And she has a very clear view of who survives what's coming next. When you were starting out, what did you think success looked like?

SPEAKER_00 0:41

Oh, I think my my vision of success was probably very similar to many other people. I thought it would would, you know, be around material things. Um, you know, I'd have a big house, I'd have the fancy car, I'd have the bling, I'd have the the high-paying, high-profile job. Um, you know, I'd I'd have the perfect family, the perfect partner, I'd have everything. Um and you know, I think like most people, once once I got into the professional working world and um, you know, started starting seeing people who were in their 40s, 50s, 60s, and beyond. And when I was in my 20s, and started seeing so many individuals who were, you know, a decade or multiple decades older than me that didn't have a lot of those things. They had some of those things, but they didn't have a lot of those things. Um, and I started to realize that the people I actually wanted to be like were the individuals that focused more on being a good person, being a good leader, being respected, um, staying true to who they were. And as my husband has always said, you know, when you do the good work, the money will follow. And so the individuals that I started um trying to emulate and that I respected were the individuals who did that. They focused on doing good work and then the money followed. The ones that focused on the money tended to treat others poorly and um and tended to be very um short-term focused and very, very superficial.

SPEAKER_01 2:35

I remember going out with a, it was actually a friend of mine set me up with her father. Uh, and we went on a date, and this is a man, you know, with with billions with a b. And we were there, and it was like, okay. I was, you know, yeah. And we're at at a restaurant, and I something or other wasn't to his liking or whatever. And he called the waiter over and he said, You don't realize who I am. I could buy and sell you. And at that point, I'm thinking, Jack. I I don't understand how somebody can equate the dollars in their bank account with being able to treat a human being like that. And so I love the fact that you're talking about success redefined from that perspective. Because you know, I'm all about, yeah, I'm I'm not not ashamed to say I'm a capitalist. I do enjoy making money, but I enjoy doing it in a way that makes everybody happy. Yeah, I've I'm not interested in making money just for the sake of it. Um, and I think that's part of also why I wanted to really pivot my business and even this podcast to that perspective, that particularly after the vid of the po that we supposedly had to have, you know, people's perspectives and people's um attitudes to success have really changed. So, how have you seen that in your business, the with the clients that with whom you're working and the business that you're doing, with what people are looking at, what they value, how they interact with each other?

SPEAKER_00 4:12

You know, that's such a it's such a uh seemingly simple question, but it's a very difficult question because um the clients that I'm working with right now, I'm very fortunate in that, you know, part of my current vision of success uh it dovetails to what we were just talking about. It's about you know doing good work and being a good person. And so my current client base, I am very fortunate. Um of my client base has been with me for more than a decade. And so I have a very strong retention and referral base of our relationship and the work that I do with my clients. Do I charge a fair fee? Yes. Am I low? No. Am I probably as high as I could be? No. Because I value them calling me without question versus calling me to say, how much is this gonna cost? Um and so I put that out there because that's the type of relationship that I have with my clients. It's very, very candid, very honest, but also very trusted. I say that because again, the clients that I work with, um, because I have been with so many of them for more than a decade, and and those that are fairly new, um I've got a good handle on. What they're dealing with, I would say for the majority of them, is since COVID, uh, we all know things have been crazy. And and things are are very crazy here in the states right now for political reasons, societal reasons, all kinds of weird reasons. And a lot of my clients are are just tired because you know, change is always changing, but the pace of change and the types of things that we're now dealing with as leaders, we've never had to deal with before in the workplace. And it's it's just adding more frustration and um confusion as to what behaviors are acceptable and not acceptable in the workplace. So all of that is background to say my client base, because of what I do with my clients when I talk about strategy and culture and moving together and focusing on what matters most, is my clients are no longer tolerating this flippant knee-jerk commentary. Um, this attitude that you owe me for me having this job and kind of doing a reset of I don't really care what your societal, political, or other beliefs are, but while you're working with me and for us, here's how we behave together, and here's how we are going to work together and how we will treat one another to produce these widgets or provide these services. Now, if you don't like that, then this isn't going to be where you're gonna work for much longer at all. The choice is yours. If you do want to work with us, then you know the house rules, you know our values. And so uh my clients who are not yet ready to retire because either the financially they can't, or they've um got a couple years left and they're like, you know what, I want to go out on a high note and not on a low note, they're not taking it anymore. And they are they are getting a stronger backbone to say, we are better than this. And while you're working with me and for me, we will be better than this. And and this is how we're gonna operate together.

SPEAKER_01 8:08

Yeah, I love that. I'm even uh I'm even a little bit different when it comes to AI in that I refuse to accept my AI, Chat GPT, Claude, whatever it happens to be, Gemini. I refuse to accept them being disrespectful. And actually, I'll put up on the screen just a snippet of conversation that I had with Claude, where it was like, ah, yeah, I said that to a couple of friends and I love it when AI is respectful. But it's part of what you do and don't tolerate from the people, the technology, from the everything around you.

SPEAKER_00 8:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 8:43

And I think you're you're spot on that that is definitely part of redefining success, redefining of what my world, my life, my day-to-day existence is for me to inhabit this place. Yeah. And so a little bit more information then on what are the types of clients that you're working with, Liz, and what are they seeking?

SPEAKER_00 9:05

So typically the work that I do with my clients, there's there's three main service lines. So um an entry point for a lot of my clients is they are looking for someone to help them with strategic planning. So I will facilitate their strategic planning retreats or strategic planning initiatives that help them create a very clear, very concise roadmap of where they need to take their organization over the next three, five, 10, or more years. So it's strategic planning, consulting, and facilitation. As part of those conversations, we invariably start talking about given where you need to take this company, who's going to do that work? How do you need to reorganize? What skill sets do you need? What talent do you have? What talent do you need? So we get into succession of workforce planning conversations and how to close that gap. And then the third thing that I do with my clients is my company used to be a training company primarily, but we will still do some training, but I spend most of my time in a leadership advisory and um executive coaching capacity, where it's either one-on-one or one-to-the-group. So I am advising the leadership team, the ownership team, the board of directors on um what to focus on and how to move their plans forward, how to how to interact with their executive teams or C-suite, their boards, whatever it might be, to keep things moving forward. And my client base is comprised of um private sector companies, quite often a lot of them are family-owned, typically second generation or transitioning into second generation. Um, I do a lot with financial services firms, which for me is investment companies, banks, credit unions, insurance companies. I do a lot with state government. Um, I do a lot with uh professional trade associations, and I do work with manufacturing companies. So it's it's a it's a broad diversification across industries. But, you know, leaders are leaders regardless of the industry and they're dealing with people, and we know people are wacky. So um, you know, a lot of the conversations are how do how do I communicate to to my team, to my people so they understand what I'm seeing in my head? How do I keep them aligned? How do I keep them working well together to do what we need to do and the timelines we need to hit to move this thing forward? And so um a lot of a lot of those conversations that I have either one-on-one or one to group, I'm hearing their frustrations and where they're getting bogged down and where they're hitting a roadblock. Um, and my role with them is to help them to identify what they should focus on most immediately to clear that next roadblock and to get the maximum leverage from that. So they may not have to clear the next one and the next one after that.

SPEAKER_01 11:50

It's interesting as well when you said first and second generation family-owned companies. How are you finding the definition of success from one generation into the next? Because as you said that, I was thinking about one of the very first uh leadership jobs that I had. Oh, I must have been like 20 or something, yeah. And and I remember thinking how differently the patriarch, who he was, he was already the second generation, how differently he viewed success than his children, who had been not just groomed to take over, but he was actively pitting them against each other to see who would take over the co. And it was it just was so different. And so that was where my mind just just bridged as you were talking about first and second generations. So, how are you finding that they tend to look differently at success?

SPEAKER_00 12:47

Well, uh from my client base, it's family driven. Um, you know, the example you just shared, um I I should categorize, but that's dysfunction. You know, that's a dysfunction family right there. Yes, definitely. Yes. Um I'm I'm fortunate in that my family business clients are not are not like that. Um every every family has their own quirks, but they're not to that degree. And and one of the things that I do with my family-owned business clients is I make it abundantly clear to them that their business is my client, it's not the founder, it's not mom and dad, it's not Gen 2, my business the business is the client. So, to to your example, to your to your case, um, you know, the one of the conversations I have with my clients is, you know, when mom or dad or mom and dad are ready to step down, just because you may have an oldest son or daughter doesn't mean that person's the right one for the job. We we need to look at what are the attributes of the next CEO? Um, what does this company as it will be five years from now, 10 years from now, 20 years from now, what type of a leader will it be? And then who in our pool of candidates has those skill sets? And sure, we can start grooming, you know, son or daughter to move into that. But if they don't have the skill sets and if they don't have the attributes, I I have been very clear with my clients, this is not a good decision for the company, this is not a good decision for him. And in one case, I'm visualizing in my head, because he's gonna be miserable because he will not be successful. And the rest of the family is gonna be looking at him to to perform, which is gonna add the pressure on him, it's gonna create dysfunction within the family, and you have to have Thanksgiving dinner together. So why do that to him, to the family, to the business, and then create that kind of stress and turmoil for the employees just because you want to pass this on to your child? Why don't we find a better role for him and find someone for the CEO role to actually lead this company to where you want to take it? So it's it's a matter of helping them understand. I'm not suggesting this can't be a family-owned business and cannot be a legacy business that that you know we want to grow and scale so you can get to generation three, four, five, six, and none. It doesn't mean you need to have a family blood member sitting in the CEO role when he or she is not skilled to do it.

SPEAKER_01 15:23

Exactly. And something else that you said that really touched me as well, because I also have very, let's just say, longevity with my clients. And one of the things that I was asked, oh, this was years ago, when we were talking about that. And I said, Oh, yeah, Santa has been with me for like 10 years or whatever it is. And they said, Oh, they're some there must be something wrong with them if they still need advisory and coaching and supporting after 10 years. And I said, No, we're not having the same conversation today that we had 10 years ago. If we did, then I need to look for another job, you know, because I'm not doing my my role effectively. So what are your comments with regard to that? And why do you think what are some of the key tips, particularly for I I mean, coaches and consultants are a lot of my audience. So for the ones who are building their practice or who maybe turn through clients a little bit faster than they'd like to, or what are some of the tips for that you can provide for them with regard to successful longevity with your with your client base? Because for me, I I look at this as their family. As soon as they become a client, you know, they just they just know that they're family. That's just the way that I that I view what I do. So what are some tips that you have?

SPEAKER_00 16:46

Well, I I want to emphasize what you what you shared. It the the key to longevity is not having the same conversations you had 10 years ago, unless you need to have that conversation again to remind them of the basics. And I and I say that because I just had a situation with a team member today where this team member said, Well, I've told you that already. And I was like, maybe you did, maybe you didn't, but I obviously need to hear it again. And I said, I need you to understand, there are so many times when I tell my clients the same thing I've told them before, and they're like, Okay, yeah. Because now is when they need to hear it. They didn't need to hear it in in Millie stick, you know, six months ago or two years ago or four years ago, or they need to be reminded this is how you apply it again. And so I think that that that need for um grace and respect that sometimes people need to hear things that you may have already told them six times, but they need to hear it now because of the myriad of issues that they're dealing with. They need you to help clear away the the noise. Um and to that point, that is something that I think I can add value to my clients, and your listeners need to pay attention to how they are adding value to their clients by what their clients tell them. Um, because I just had a a very senior person last week tell me during our monthly um conversation, and she just took this big sigh at the end of our conversation, and and she said, You just are always able to, in a very kind way, take the emotion out of the issue and help me see it objectively for what the scenario is, so that I'm able to then take a big breath and and gather the words to have the next conversation with a team member, with you know, a colleague, with whomever, to to move this issue forward. Um and I say that because that skill that I have honed in obvious, obviously, it's easy for me to not be emotional because I'm not in the conversation. My client is in it with you know a vendor, with a team member, whatever. So it's easy for me to not be emotional. But at the same time, because of the work that I do with my clients, and again, strategic planning, creating a vision of where they want to go and the map to get there, succession and workforce conversations, what kinds of skills, what what development, what organizational structure do you need to have in place, and then one-on-one coaching to identify individual roadblocks that are preventing them from going forward. That's where my head is working with them on a constant basis. So if you think about that, that is a cycle. So with my clients, about every three to five years, they're looking for a full refresh, even though on their strategic plan, we are meeting once a quarter to keep it dynamic. So there is a cyclical nature to that work. Succession and workforce planning, if we are doing our jobs well, me marrying with the leadership team and we are developing people, we are moving them up and throughout a hierarchy. So we are constantly identifying new skill sets, new positions, new responsibilities. So there's growth and there's movement in that. And then with my coaching one-on-one or one in group, I'm able to drill down into individual issues. So I start getting an understanding of where their base level skills are as leaders and where they need to go. All three of those main service lines, if you listened intently, they all have a growth path. They all have a very repetitive growth path that they're on. And so wherever my client, whenever they talk to me in whichever one of those scenarios, and wherever they are on that curve of growth, I know what's coming next and I can advise them on here's what's going to happen next if you do this. And so I'm always pulling them to the next level. And for your listeners, I encourage them to think about what is the trajectory of their services? If they're just providing an answer to an immediate solution, that's helpful. That's why the client hired you in the first place. But given the situation they're in and given that problem they faced in the first place, if they resolve it, what is likely the next problem they're going to have? If they don't resolve it, what is likely the next problem they're going to have? And start doing a map of what is likely to occur next. And if you have the skill sets to support them at that next step, that's how you start getting longevity and repeat clients and trust with clients. So they they tend not to push back on me because I've given them an I've I've shown them time and again if we do X, we're then going to expect Z, because this is what happens. And they've seen it happen enough times because of my client base. I've seen it happen enough in different industries that I can bring it to them.

SPEAKER_01 22:21

Yeah. And I think that's also a really interesting point. I mean, you and I both have had a really broad range of experience across so many different areas that people would go, what, really? It was just I think last week I was having a conversation with a client and we covered like seven completely different topics, you know, from artificial intelligence through to something to do with nutrition or something else. And and yeah, I'm going, yeah, I'll this and uh I'd suggest and and look here. And we reached one point and she just stopped and went quiet and said, You're a freak of nature. And I went, I'll take that as a compliment. But you're the same in that we have this broad range of background and experience that we're able to bring to these sorts of things. And I love that that's as a suggestion for people because so often they'll put blinkers on and just go, okay, yeah, I'll I'll do this and I'll focus in on these. And you know, we're all taught to niche down, niche down, niche down. But there's there's a there are challenges with niching in that you're only giving one perspective back to to your your client base.

SPEAKER_00 23:31

So if I could add something very, very quickly to that, because I see this, I see this with some colleagues that are of mine that are new to the consulting arena, and they're doing exactly what you alluded to. They they started a consulting business to provide a service, but what they're doing is they are providing a transactional service. So I ask you for X, you do X. Ding, check mark, done. You come back and you say, What do we want me to do next? So then I tell you something else. You're you're really nothing more than an employee, basically, waiting for direction. That's not consulting and that's not coaching. That that is a contract employee that's waiting for for instance information. What a consultant does differently is okay, you asked me for X. Um, help me explain why. How did you get to X or why is X an issue? Okay, I will solve X. And then what I would recommend is after X, we do one, two, and three because that will help us leverage X so that you now receive these kinds of returns. That's that's what a consultant does. It's it's not only solving the problem, but looking at so what's going to happen next, and providing that insight of a service that I hadn't even thought about yet, but opening my eyes to here is the next scenario that I need to be to be um preparing myself for versus a simple transaction. Because a simple transaction, um AI can take that and wipe that away. AI can also do some projections. So if if the consultants and coaches aren't doing that projecting part, they are going to be taken over by AI sooner rather than later.

SPEAKER_01 25:21

And speaking of AI, I just realized as well when I said I'd put the the being respectful AI up on the screen. I will also put a transcript of that tiny little part of the conversation into the show notes for those people who are listening on audio. All right, so Liz to wrap us up, for somebody watching or listening to this, who's saying, All right, I know I'm at a pivot point in my life. I know that I need to do something different or to look at my life differently. You know, you just know you're at that point, but they don't know what to do next to define what success will look like for them in whatever is this next part of their journey. What's your best suggestion?

SPEAKER_00 26:08

Um it's gonna sound trite, but it's it's what I did and and what I've seen others do. And it's identify those aspects of your professional life right now that when you engage in them, you have more energy at the end than when you started. And if you had the opportunity or the requirement to talk about this particular aspect of whatever skill set you have or whatever topic you love, if you had to talk about it for eight hours straight, you could talk about it for eight hours straight. And within your professional circle, it may not be part of your title, but people know you're the person to go to to get that particular thing done or something like it. Um and I the the reason I say that, particularly the thing about whatever you do, if you have more energy at the end than you have when you started, um that's what I would hone in on because that is a natural talent, and that is a natural gift that you have that you can hone, that you can leverage, that actually feeds you and and you will feed it because you will be interested in. And and that's not something that you can fake easily. Your clients can tell if you give, if you, if you give a darn about what you're doing with them, if you care, um, versus if you are just doing it because you need to make some money.

SPEAKER_01 27:42

Yeah. And it's interesting on that, I know with my clients, I meet with my clients uh actually on the phone. We don't do video. We do, we do, yeah, I and I've done that for years, and there's a whole heap of reasons, reasons why. But but when uh we when they're away at a conference or something, and so we miss a week, one of the first things I say to them when we get on the call is I missed you. Like I do, I actively miss our conversations if somebody's away at a conference or yeah, at a meeting, or if there's a scheduling conflict or whatever it happens to be. And I think if uh to to follow up on and to add to Liz's comment, if you do that and find the thing that if you weren't doing it, you missed it. You actively miss doing whatever that thing is if you're not doing it. So, Liz, to wrap there, thank you so much for being with me today. I've really enjoyed our discussion.

SPEAKER_00 28:35

Well, thank you. It's been my pleasure. This has been a lot of fun.

SPEAKER_01 28:38

Cool. And uh all of the all of Liz's information is in the description. And feel free to reach out to her for more information. So this is Success Redefined. I'm Bella St. John, and we'll see you next time. Bye.