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632. Leading From the Inside Out with Melissa Dotson · Daily Influence

• 0:10
  [SPEAKER_00]: Welcome to the daily influence where our mission is to deliver a daily dose of positive influence that can uplift you personally or be shared within your sphere of influence.
• 0:20
  [SPEAKER_00]: While not every episode may directly apply to your unique circumstances, we strive to provide insights and inspiration relevant to most people's daily, weekly, and monthly lives.
• 0:30
  [SPEAKER_00]: Whether you are tuning in during the morning, noon or night, the daily influence is here for you.
• 0:35
  [SPEAKER_00]: Listen, share, and embrace the power of influence in your life.
• 0:40
  [SPEAKER_01]: Welcome to Daily Influence.
• 0:42
  [SPEAKER_01]: I'm your host Greg Plano, and today I'm joined by Melissa Dazan, a leader, speaker, and author who exemplifies what it means to live and lead consciously and she's also my friend.
• 0:54
  [SPEAKER_01]: Melissa's passionate about creating workplaces where people thrive from the inside out.
• 1:00
  [SPEAKER_01]: Through her eight-month training program based on the 15 commitments to conscious leadership and her book, she's helping individuals and teams move beyond awareness into true transformation.
• 1:12
  [SPEAKER_01]: Her work bridges personal growth, leadership, and purpose all grounded in compassion and responsibility.
• 1:20
  [SPEAKER_01]: Melissa, welcome to Daily Influence.
• 1:22
  [SPEAKER_01]: Thank you for having me and so excited.
• 1:25
  [SPEAKER_01]: So excited.
• 1:26
  [SPEAKER_01]: Be here.
• 1:26
  [SPEAKER_01]: Can you share a bit about your background and what led you to where you are today with our listeners both in your business and in your journey towards conscious leadership in your book?
• 1:34
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yes, I can.
• 1:36
  [SPEAKER_02]: So I actually, you know, started out as an accountant in college and got my CPA worked for a few accounting firms and then 27 years ago.
• 1:47
  [SPEAKER_02]: I started as the accountant for Riki interiors.
• 1:51
  [SPEAKER_02]: And I just learned the business every year, learn more, learn more, and in 2018 when the owner wanted to retire, I wasn't ready to leave all my people or let them go somewhere else.
• 2:06
  [SPEAKER_02]: So I bought him out and took over ownership.
• 2:09
  [SPEAKER_02]: And then with that, you know, at Riki, we're all about building environments where people thrive.
• 2:18
  [SPEAKER_02]: And I'm a personal end.
• 2:20
  [SPEAKER_02]: I have been studying personal fulfillment and personal development for the last 20 years.
• 2:25
  [SPEAKER_02]: So now that I have a wonderful leadership team and an amazing,
• 2:30
  [SPEAKER_02]: team behind them, I'm able to work on the next level of what I want to work on, which is working on the insights of people and helping people with personal fulfillment.
• 2:42
  [SPEAKER_02]: And really I want to start with employees.
• 2:45
  [SPEAKER_02]: So I started with my employees.
• 2:47
  [SPEAKER_02]: And then I also want to work with other business leaders to work with their employees.
• 2:52
  [SPEAKER_02]: And I believe that that all starts with yourself as being a conscious leader and the more you can live and lead consciously, then you can help inspire other people to do the same.
• 3:05
  [SPEAKER_01]: You know, your story really sets the stage for understanding how you lead and it's clear that self-awareness and growth
• 3:13
  [SPEAKER_01]: You've built a remarkable program for your employees and so many others around the 15 commitments to consciously worship.
• 3:21
  [SPEAKER_01]: What inspired you to bring that framework into your workplace and how have you seen it and packed your team over time?
• 3:28
  [SPEAKER_02]: Um, so I'm a person who is always working on, okay, what's the next thing I can do and how can I improve?
• 3:34
  [SPEAKER_02]: Um, always continual improvement process.
• 3:37
  [SPEAKER_02]: So I'm always hiring different coaches, business coaches, and probably eight years ago, I hired a business coach and she introduced me to the book, the 15 commitments to conscious leadership.
• 3:50
  [SPEAKER_02]: And as I was learning it and practicing it myself, I'm like, oh my gosh, if my employees could do this as well, it could help them in their personal life, as well as the business life and build a better team cohesively, it's basically a bunch of 15 it's 15 commitments that just build upon each other.
• 4:11
  [SPEAKER_02]: that you can implement in your personal life or your business life.
• 4:15
  [SPEAKER_02]: So I was like, okay, let's walk the talk.
• 4:20
  [SPEAKER_02]: And so I buy the book for every employee.
• 4:23
  [SPEAKER_02]: that works for me.
• 4:25
  [SPEAKER_02]: And then I break it up into smaller groups.
• 4:27
  [SPEAKER_02]: So I'm on my third group of like 20 employees where we eight months, we dive into this book in every commitment, we practice, we do homework, we meet once a month, we discuss it.
• 4:41
  [SPEAKER_02]: And one of the things that really just want, I mean, there's been many things that have helped us in our business, but one of the things that stands out is prior to this book, we had a lot of gossip.
• 4:53
  [SPEAKER_02]: Oh, this employee is not doing this, this employee is not doing this, this employee is telling the boss, this employee is not, you know, being accountable and it was like, oh my gosh, and so that leads to gossip and even as leaders, we are involved in that because we listen and then as managers were trained to help people.
• 5:14
  [SPEAKER_02]: So we take it on.
• 5:15
  [SPEAKER_02]: Okay, how to talk to the employee.
• 5:16
  [SPEAKER_02]: Well, that doesn't really help your business.
• 5:20
  [SPEAKER_02]: And it doesn't help your teams build better leadership.
• 5:23
  [SPEAKER_02]: If the leaders are always having to get involved anytime there's an issue.
• 5:28
  [SPEAKER_02]: So one of the areas in the 15 commitments is gossip and eliminating gossip.
• 5:32
  [SPEAKER_02]: And then the next part of that is candor.
• 5:35
  [SPEAKER_02]: So I teach a very
• 5:38
  [SPEAKER_02]: intensive communication training on how do you not go to the boss how do you have an uncomfortable conversation what they think is an uncomfortable conversation with your employee with your teammates and just build a better relationship and better communication and have better ways of
• 5:59
  [SPEAKER_02]: Coming to an agreement and following those agreements and building better relationships and better teamwork and I can say that probably I mean I don't think would always go away, but 80% of it has gone away and it's been great to see that kind of intentional culture doesn't happen by accident and it grows from leaders who model what they teach.
• 6:19
  [SPEAKER_01]: Can you share a moment or experience perhaps like the message that you received from one of your employees where you felt the real power of your positive influence and someone's personal or professional growth?
• 6:30
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yes, so I'm a person who definitely, you know, walks the talk because I can't just be up here on my soapbox preaching.
• 6:39
  [SPEAKER_02]: You know, this is what you need to do and then, you know, not do anything with it.
• 6:43
  [SPEAKER_02]: It's really.
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  [SPEAKER_02]: Really fulfilling for me.
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  [SPEAKER_02]: I mean, I'm out there.
• 6:48
  [SPEAKER_02]: I think I'm doing a good job.
• 6:49
  [SPEAKER_02]: I'm really trying and coming from a place of heart.
• 6:54
  [SPEAKER_02]: But it really helps when somebody tells you back, like, oh, you know, I received an email like you're talking about from one of my employees who does not speak up in the meetings.
• 7:04
  [SPEAKER_02]: I try to get everybody to speak up, but a lot of them are shy.
• 7:07
  [SPEAKER_02]: But she shared with me in an email that it has really helped her interpersonal life and her business life.
• 7:13
  [SPEAKER_02]: And then that just fills me up more.
• 7:15
  [SPEAKER_02]: It makes me want to do it more because I'm like, all it's working.
• 7:17
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yay, thank God.
• 7:19
  [SPEAKER_01]: that kind of feedback shows how deeply your work resonates.
• 7:23
  [SPEAKER_01]: And it also connects beautifully with your new book.
• 7:25
  [SPEAKER_01]: So let's talk about your new book.
• 7:28
  [SPEAKER_01]: Your book shares powerful lessons on leadership authenticity and self-awareness.
• 7:32
  [SPEAKER_01]: What inspired you to write it?
• 7:34
  [SPEAKER_01]: And what do you hope readers will take away from your message?
• 7:37
  [SPEAKER_02]: So the inspiration is, so the book is really about a whole bunch of lessons that I've learned over time and I really just wanted to get them into one place, so that even for myself, I can have them, oh, they're all organized and I can use them because just because I wrote a book does not mean I have it all together, I have to keep going back and doing the exercises over and over and over again, because you're always going to learn it at a deeper level.
• 8:03
  [SPEAKER_02]: And then I wanted to be able to share with many people because I can only reach a certain amount of people just being myself.
• 8:11
  [SPEAKER_02]: There's only so many hours in the day.
• 8:13
  [SPEAKER_02]: But if I can get these all in one place that I can share with many many many people and then more people can share and more people can share.
• 8:21
  [SPEAKER_02]: More and more people will be living a.
• 8:25
  [SPEAKER_02]: purposeful, meaningful life, that means something to them, not just this hamster wheel of oh, I have to do this for my boss.
• 8:33
  [SPEAKER_02]: I have to do this for my husband.
• 8:34
  [SPEAKER_02]: I have to do this for my kids, you know, really showing up and helping them live a more conscious joyous life that will help them.
• 8:45
  [SPEAKER_02]: And I know sometimes that sounds,
• 8:48
  [SPEAKER_02]: Um, selfish.
• 8:49
  [SPEAKER_02]: Oh, I can't just work on myself.
• 8:51
  [SPEAKER_02]: And you're like, yeah, but if you work on yourself and really fulfilled yourself, how do you think you're going to show up in your world as a mom, as a leader, as a dad, you know, as a friend, you're going to show up, being able to help people out even more by filling yourself up first.
• 9:17
  [SPEAKER_01]: In the IN team series, we emphasize personal responsibility and owning your influence.
• 9:23
  [SPEAKER_01]: How does the accountable to your own growth while continuing to guide and mentor others through theirs?
• 9:29
  [SPEAKER_02]: I practice what I preach.
• 9:30
  [SPEAKER_02]: So, and I tell people, I'm like, I'm not just sharing what I've learned, or different ideas on what they can try.
• 9:39
  [SPEAKER_02]: I'm talking to them as well as talking to myself, each time I'm doing that.
• 9:44
  [SPEAKER_02]: So every time I'm telling, oh, you should work on this.
• 9:47
  [SPEAKER_02]: I'm like, oh, yeah, I need to work on that too, you know?
• 9:50
  [SPEAKER_02]: So I'm really guiding myself, as well as guiding other people at the same time.
• 9:55
  [SPEAKER_01]: Many people struggle to share openly in group settings.
• 9:59
  [SPEAKER_01]: Just as you're employee mentioned, what have you learned about creating psychological safety?
• 10:05
  [SPEAKER_01]: How do people feel comfortable speaking up and being seen?
• 10:08
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yes, that is very difficult for certain people, especially if you have an introvert that really does not want to speak up.
• 10:17
  [SPEAKER_02]: What I do, especially in every 15 commitments,
• 10:23
  [SPEAKER_02]: meeting that we have.
• 10:25
  [SPEAKER_02]: I start with sharing my own vulnerability.
• 10:29
  [SPEAKER_02]: I own up to my mistakes, I tell them, oh yeah, I meant to show up in this way, but I wasn't showing up consciously, and I realized that after the fact that I actually showed up in a way that I didn't want to show up,
• 10:44
  [SPEAKER_02]: So I'm always just sharing, you know, just because I'm the leader again doesn't mean I have all the answers in our business, you know, a lot of different people have much better answers than me because they're living the day to day of that.
• 10:58
  [SPEAKER_02]: So if you can be vulnerable and share, I believe that it opens up the space for other people to be able to do that and just be able to have that space where people could come into my office and talk to me personally if they needed to about whatever that is.
• 11:14
  [SPEAKER_02]: and just having that safe space that it doesn't matter what you tell me or anything like that.
• 11:20
  [SPEAKER_02]: Even if it's, I really don't like this part of my job.
• 11:23
  [SPEAKER_02]: Okay, great.
• 11:24
  [SPEAKER_02]: Let's figure out how to make it work for you.
• 11:27
  [SPEAKER_02]: I want people to feel, feel personally, to feel that work.
• 11:31
  [SPEAKER_02]: If it just like, oh, kills my heart when I hear people like,
• 11:35
  [SPEAKER_02]: Oh my God, it's for anything, God, this is the worst week.
• 11:39
  [SPEAKER_02]: Or I can't wait to stop working.
• 11:41
  [SPEAKER_02]: I can't wait to be retired.
• 11:43
  [SPEAKER_02]: I'm like, oh my gosh, that's way too much time that we spend in our waking hours at work to feel like you're not gonna be able to be personally fulfilled until you're retired.
• 11:55
  [SPEAKER_02]: That's so sad.
• 11:57
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yes, it is, and it's so important for people to find their purpose younger and not spend their time in a job that's not sitting them or feeding them.
• 12:09
  [SPEAKER_02]: I agree.
• 12:10
  [SPEAKER_01]: You know, and of course, in today's world technology plays an ever-growing role in how we communicate and lead, are you using AI and your business or personal work and if so, are you using a
• 12:24
  [SPEAKER_02]: So we are trying, if we're just at the baby infancy, I feel like, oh man, it just feels like this really big obstacle or like, you know, the big elephant, how do you eat an elephant, you know, one step at a time, one bite at a time?
• 12:37
  [SPEAKER_02]: So right now, what we're implementing as our small little step, we already had a process improvement team.
• 12:45
  [SPEAKER_02]: which consisted of one person from each department, they meet once a month to go over, how can we get better, what can we do, how can we work better in her department's elite.
• 12:55
  [SPEAKER_02]: So we just added time that we're giving them to work and just practice and play with AI as it relates to their department.
• 13:06
  [SPEAKER_02]: And then they're going to come share what they learned.
• 13:09
  [SPEAKER_02]: You know, oh, I learned that we could do this in my department to help my department get a
• 13:15
  [SPEAKER_02]: because AI know has been freaking people out.
• 13:18
  [SPEAKER_02]: That was my job.
• 13:19
  [SPEAKER_02]: Oh my gosh.
• 13:20
  [SPEAKER_02]: And we are a people competing.
• 13:23
  [SPEAKER_02]: We're all about relationships.
• 13:24
  [SPEAKER_02]: AI is not going to replace our people's jobs.
• 13:29
  [SPEAKER_02]: But we do need to be up with the times and get on the bandwagon of, you know, making that happen.
• 13:36
  [SPEAKER_02]: So we're just implementing this small little step.
• 13:40
  [SPEAKER_02]: Letting them come to their own reality of how AI can help them instead of
• 13:46
  [SPEAKER_02]: Maybe later we'll hire a consultant to come in and you know, take us to the next level.
• 13:50
  [SPEAKER_02]: But I believe if you just hired, they consulted to come in right away.
• 13:53
  [SPEAKER_02]: They're feeling even more pressure.
• 13:55
  [SPEAKER_02]: And so this way, they get to dabble in it.
• 13:58
  [SPEAKER_02]: They have time, work time to dabble in it, and then share, and really be able to make it be their idea.
• 14:04
  [SPEAKER_02]: And when it's their idea, they'll want to implement it.
• 14:08
  [SPEAKER_01]: Oh, that's.
• 14:09
  [SPEAKER_01]: great.
• 14:09
  [SPEAKER_01]: I love that idea to be able to have the teams each focus on learning different areas that are influenced, shoulder their departments and then sharing it.
• 14:20
  [SPEAKER_01]: Melissa, as we wrap up, I'd love for you to share one more piece of wisdom for our listeners.
• 14:25
  [SPEAKER_01]: What message or words of encouragement would you like to share with those who aspire to lead consciously and make a positive difference in their works
• 14:35
  [SPEAKER_02]: I would say the time is now.
• 14:39
  [SPEAKER_02]: We're always waiting for like, oh, well, if I get it a little bit better before I go out and talk about this or if I, you know, make this plan be perfect and then go out and do it, it's never gonna be perfect.
• 14:52
  [SPEAKER_02]: It's never the perfect time.
• 14:53
  [SPEAKER_02]: So giving up perfection and just going out and taking those baby steps every single day that are just moving you towards your vision.
• 15:04
  [SPEAKER_02]: definitely starting with a vision where do you want to go and what do you want to do having that vision you want to go to California okay and let's figure out how to go to California and let's figure out the best way you know to do that but
• 15:17
  [SPEAKER_02]: Just doing those baby steps.
• 15:19
  [SPEAKER_02]: I know everybody's like, oh, I just want that one big push.
• 15:21
  [SPEAKER_02]: I want that magic diet, but I want, you know, unfortunately, it doesn't work like that and lasting change and very big success comes from just those small little steps that you can do every day and just do it and be okay with failure every single thing you do is not going to succeed.
• 15:43
  [SPEAKER_02]: And if it is, you're not playing big enough.
• 15:47
  [SPEAKER_01]: That's great advice, Melissa.
• 15:49
  [SPEAKER_01]: Thank you so much for joining us today.
• 15:51
  [SPEAKER_01]: Your work is a reminder that leadership isn't about control or hierarchy.
• 15:56
  [SPEAKER_01]: It's about conscious compassion and courage by modeling growth and creating space for our others to do this thing.
• 16:05
  [SPEAKER_01]: You're showing what responsible influence truly looks like.
• 16:09
  [SPEAKER_01]: If our listeners want to get in touch with you, what's the best way to do so?
• 16:13
  [SPEAKER_02]: They could reach out to my email address, which is md at reeky, which is r i e k e dot com, and I would love to be able to talk to anybody about any part of elevating themselves or their business.
• 16:28
  [SPEAKER_02]: It's my passion and I enjoy it.
• 16:30
  [SPEAKER_01]: Thank you, Melissa.
• 16:31
  [SPEAKER_01]: We'll put this information in the show notes.
• 16:34
  [SPEAKER_01]: Thank you so much for joining us.
• 16:35
  [SPEAKER_02]: Thank you, Greg.
• 16:36
  [SPEAKER_02]: I appreciate it.
• 16:38
  [SPEAKER_01]: And to our listeners, thank you for tuning in to daily influence.
• 16:41
  [SPEAKER_01]: I hope today's conversation brought you insight and inspiration.
• 16:45
  [SPEAKER_01]: If it's spoke to you, share it with someone who could use a little positivity today.
• 16:49
  [SPEAKER_01]: Remember, a reactive awareness and is an act of influence.
• 16:54
  [SPEAKER_01]: Keep showing up with intention.
• 16:56
  [SPEAKER_01]: and keep leading from the eye within your team.
• 16:59
  [SPEAKER_01]: Small actions create big impact, keep showing up, leading, and growing one day to time.
• 17:05
  [SPEAKER_01]: Until next time, stay inspired and keep having a positive, responsible influence.
• 17:09
  [SPEAKER_01]: Bye-bye.