Welcome, everyone to growth minded conversations, a weekly podcast where we discuss business lives, wealth and mindset. We're here this week with our founder Christina areas, growth minded conversations and growth minded talent. Hey, Kristina, how are you today? I'm doing fantastic. Amy, how are you? I'm great. Thanks so much for joining us. So Kristina, tell us a little bit about growth minded talent and where you got this idea from. So probably back at the beginning of COVID, races, beginning of 2021, as we're moving over to everything digital.
It's nothing that Gary Keller hasn't said before, probably something that I've heard him say a billion times. And yet for some reason, I heard them differently. At the beginning of that, that season that you were in, where he was talking about talent, he was talking about finding the right talent, but he was also talking about finding the right talent for you. And as I started thinking about that, I realized that it's not just like, I can go, hey, wow, Amy's amazing talent.
And you are right, the reason why you're part of her team. And at the same time, I have way my strengths and my weaknesses. My two business partners, Colin, Beverly, they have their strengths and weaknesses. And it's the three of us working together that actually kind of complete that picture, right? To a person that might be amazing talent for power, is probably going to look different than someone who's amazing talent for me, because my limitations are different than Paul's limitations. Sure, this shows that for somebody to counterbalance hers, I should be looking for somebody to counterbalance mine. And I started asking the question, first with my coaching clients, and also with myself and also of other people in my world, like, what is it that causes you to know, not just that somebody has great talent, that would be a great fit for Rome, but that they would be a great fit for a role along with being a great fit for you the culture, your limitations, things like that, and balancing that.
Okay.
Yeah. So, so you heard Jerry talk about talent, it sparked something in you started thinking about how it's more than just finding a talented person, it's finding a talented person that works with you. And your wants, needs growth, path, all of those things. And then you decided to get into actually helping people make those kinds of hires? You did? I do? Yeah. So part of my background, right. Obviously, I used to be the top producing team, you know, back during the great recession and all of that.
I was a top producing agent within Keller Williams, I was a coach within the Keller Williams coaching system. And at a certain point, I kind of called a halt to it and took a break, I needed to get out of that. It was almost like this one track. And it wasn't on purpose. It was kind of something I've fallen into.
And I took a step back, went back to school, and I actually got not just my my
sorry, my bachelor's degree in psychology, but my master's and our master's degree in industrial and organizational psychology, absolute mouthful, we can shorthand it to IO psychology,
psychology that everybody makes me say VR, right? Right. And so imagine taking an entire master's degree on how to build an organization, how to build an HR department, how to build a training department, how to build or restructure culture.
And, and then take that out to organizations and actually help them implement it. Right. And I'm sitting here listening to Gary looking at the process that we do within Keller Williams, and I have coaching clients who are raising their hands saying, I'm on my third bad hire. I'm on my fourth bad hire, I don't know what to do. And I said, you know, what, how about if we partner together on your coach, let's use my insight into your business. And let's use my formal education. And let's see if we can make a marriage over here. And we can move this forward. Yeah, one of the very first clients I did this with we ended up actually finding her two candidates that were amazing candidates, and she looks at me on Zoom one day she goes, How do I
What a great problem to have. What a great problem to have. First
Real problems. Right, right. Yeah, it's a great personal problem to have
between two candidates, rather than settling for the best of the worst, right? That's like a Google and Apple problem right? There.
No, I'm just kidding. The Apple users.
You really
can't go wrong. Yeah. which one fits what you like the best? Right? So we slowed her down. And I was like, so what should we did? We did the entire process, right? We did every single step all the way through what was fascinating to me. We hired both candidates. And somebody else in her office was also looking for the same position. And the other candidate ended up getting hired. Oh, so you're it'll help both candidates, right? That can extra find that job. Yeah, fast forward 90 days, the candidate that we offered the position to that accepted it, like this guy's open the angel saying, and she got this amazing job opportunity that she was not looking for,
to be a regional director of a charitable nonprofit organization. Oh, wow. We're just for it's her passion, all of these things that she had.
Right? No. You go,
you kind of gotta go see. Right. Right. And so reality was top talent, right? They're always going you have to assume that they are going to be approached, when they do have top talent would have been inside of real estate, we would have fought the battle, we would capture it right? Yeah, sure.
It was different. It was different. Interesting was the second candidate
got hired for somebody else? It wasn't the right culture fit for her.
Okay, she lacked
opportunity. And like, Am I hearing an opportunity? Absolutely do. We actually reached out to her and invited her back into finish all the process with us with a purse candidate helping us with the process? Right, right. Because at that point, she knew Yeah. And you stopped to the process. You didn't wait for a client? Did it feel the pressure to make a snap judgment or make a snap hire even though they
Wow, resumes right, just to make sure. Young, so you honor the process. And what was fascinating is the first candidate that we hired those first 90 days, she was the person her skill set was building systems and processes, which is what we needed. Yeah. Well, we offered the job. And it was accepted for the second candidate, 90 days later, her skill set is maintaining and improving already established systems and processes.
So yeah, you believe in coincidence? I usually don't we have the right talent for the right season both times. Right. Yeah. That does a national season of the buildings could be a very narrow season for that team, because they have the right person in focused just on doing the right things. Yeah. Wow. Based on that. I had other coaching clients, right, same problem. Yeah. And then we worked over here. Let's see if we can do it over there. So can I do in
Tulsa, Oklahoma?
What we did in the suburbs of Boston, what we did in the heart of Philly, what we did in Boca Raton, Florida,
in Tampa, Florida, like can we do this? Or was it just the luck of the draw with this one particular client with these two particular candidates? Wow, I spent nine months with my clients who are looking to hire slowing them down during the process with them. Okay.
I think we might have some Yeah.
So if you're trial and error, you got to perfect the process and turn that into the business that it is today. The basic structure that we have still today and so what happened to to bring you to the point where you knew you yourself needed to be the person hiring somebody
you know, okay, so I gotta be honest because you know, when you master something like that, right, definitely don't follow the process yourself. Right.
Which is why I have business partners, right? Because I'm like,
this like I can kind of just do a wink on it and I'll know the deal and when I see it will be good. That might be good. This partnership
it
if we're selling the lead, we should probably drink our own Kool Aid. Right? Like, like if we believe we should probably process, right. Mr. McDonald doesn't eat at Burger King, okay.
And as business partners, so the three of us, right, we all have our own unique background and hiring background and team building background and all of these things. And we each own a different part of the process, which works great. Yeah, what we were missing was somebody that would oversee and hold out the systems are what happens in between each one of us owning the different steps. And it's very, very quickly that it wasn't any one of the three of us. And I don't want to go my heart is around Bruce find a talent is not to help the onesie. twosie we accidentally came across somebody, they came across us and we decided to see if we can, you know, find them talent. We want to be able to take this out and be able to say, Hey, listen, you're one thing let's you specifically the real estate industry, although we're not just limited to that. But if you're one thing in real estate is to go out and meet with clients and close deals. But let us do our thing, which is finding and identifying talent and pre screening them free for you. Right? Yeah. Jack of all trades, master of none.
Go master real estate. Yeah, we'll, we'll do the mastering metallics. Yeah. And in order to scale that into build that we I don't know how many times you've heard me say it at the duct tape and glue is not sustainable. It's not scalable. And it's certainly not duplicatable. Right. Yes.
While I trust the process, hands down.
When things start falling through the cracks, because there's no system, there's there's broken communication between the parts. Yeah.
Right. Yeah, to be able to scale and help more and more people. You need the support the backend support to be able to do that. All right. So take me through the hiring process. You went through all the steps? We did actually.
Alright.
And it wasn't like a lot of Paula and they're really slowing me down. I just, you know,
what, I usually tell you that I shouldn't say this out loud. I'm going to
there's not a mess out there that is so big that I can't believe it. Right. Especially if I make it myself. When I put my entrepreneur hat on, not my coach hat on. Yeah, not my, my leadership hat on that my entrepreneur out. Yeah, I'm just as likely as any single person that I coach to, to cut corners to break the rules to do all of that that temptation is there. Right?
In so it was the three of us working together saying no, we are going to follow our process. Yeah, I'm in. So what we did was the first place we went, which is what we tell our clients to do is start with your database.
Right. And so we reached out to a fellow coaches to our operations people to and said, Who do you know, now, it would be a great fit. And we started and we did we we did the process we offered positions.
We had a yes, the first time around, and then that turned into a no because of some life circumstances that happen to our first candidate. Yep. Our second candidate actually started with us. And it was it's interesting with COVID, the second candidate that started with us.
She was used to working boots on the ground connected to a team.
Who weeks in she went I can't do this. Yeah, we changed our questions, by the way after that. Right. Like we changed part of the process. If it was going to be a row remote position versus an in house position. Yeah. Because as a remote position is she was part of the real estate team, I think for 10 years. Okay. Yeah.
His family, they're in the office together. If they're not in the office, they're going to happier or whatever, some ways. Yeah. very social, very active crew. Yes. Versus I'm an Arizona housing Colorado. That really is in Texas and the way we connect text, email and zoom. Yeah, we don't go to happy hour, once a month, once a once a week, whatever, right? Where one of us is in the hospital. We're not popping by the hot
For like checking on each other project, so the dynamic of a vote is very, very different. Yeah, we hadn't run into that yet. And I'm grateful that we did within our own team, because it's helped us support our clients that are. Yeah. Versus boots on the ground. Yeah. Yeah.
Of course, the third time around, and I did I ended up i job, I went outside of our database.
And then lo and behold, I'm this way burning diesel cam,
you know?
On the coaching side of things, and she's like, Hey, I'm moving to Arizona. Yeah.
What are you going to do? Arizona and like, well, you know, I don't know yet. But probably get a job somewhere, because I probably can't keep the position. I'm in and work remote. needs the team? Yeah.
I was good. By the way. Like, I want everybody to hear that. podcast. Yeah. Did not go hey, I like you kind of like me. Do you want to get into business together?
Yeah. So my business partners, and I said, Hey, I want you guys to take me through the provisioning process. Because I'm too close.
Yeah, I'm too close because of the work we've done together. Because of the friendship or relationship right, that developed. Now. I need you guys to do this. And I need to get myself on. Right? Yeah, I reached out to us this week, because I knew you were in Arizona. And I knew I was going to be looking to buy real estate in Arizona. So I wanted your real estate connection.
Studio because I knew of your business in the in the state and the House and the GTR before you even moved out here, right.
Yeah, I have an amazing talent team member that's moving out there. Do you know anybody that's looking for someone? Yeah. I mean, there were all these things. And I'm like,
ooh.
That sounds a little boy's
voice, right? Yeah. My boys when they were in school, they my older two, they have this joke that they will be like, Oh, hey, you and I have a lot in common because our shoes match. We should be friends.
Like that, right? Yeah. Like yeah, me, Amy. We send out a lot in common. We booked on property management before. We both are crazy, like the heat in Arizona. We should be friends. Do you want to?
Let's get into business together. No.
Sadly, there's a lot of people do an eye on it in the past. Right. Right. And that's not
sometimes we get lucky. Sometimes it works. And yet. It's not sustainable. It's not scalable. And it's not duplicatable. Yeah. Yeah. So I did I, I told you and Beverly Impala. This is for you guys to do. Yeah, no doubt, which, actually, for me, it.
It proves.
It sounds really weird. And I don't think they're necessarily connected this thought until now.
It proves how valuable it is to have a third party. That's not as emotionally attached and connected to a candidate. Yeah. The process? Yes, because I would have done the process. But I still probably would have kind of got some worse. Like, all 30 Thought Process questions. Right.
Would you call my references?
Right.
Right. Yeah. So now offer a friend now for somebody that you feel you would have been their reference, right? If the
spray in a different situation. So
can you hand it off? Right? Yes. All in Beverly didn't know that this AMI girl was and I was talking about that. It was amazing to be able to bring potential talent to them. That wouldn't have been the right talent for me. Yeah. Other than the right talent for the three of us. Yeah. Right. Right. Yeah. More than one decision maker more than one stakeholder was involved. So you needed to know that. Yeah. Anybody who worked for us needed to know to see the dynamic. Yes. Three stakeholders that are
opinionated
and yes,
right, right. And if each of you have a background from
very, very different takes on running a team and hiring people. And so while that is great from the consultation and service standpoint of when a candidate comes through and has to meet with all three of you throughout the process, your clients get the benefit. All three different tapes. For someone who's going to be working with all three different types of leadership styles, we need to know that we can all work together. Yes, absolutely. So what were your highs in the hiring in this hiring process? This might sound weird.
But actually being able to step out of the process. Yeah, and watch and kind of be in this observer mode with Paula and Beverly, as
well, one of them's higher on skepticism than either of the other two. And the other one's higher on optimism than either of the other two.
So one of them walked into the process with the wolf. Christina likes the mature, right with this verification validation mindset. Yes, the other ones walking in with this black hat. Well, just because Kristina likes them doesn't mean that they're the right fit for us. Right? Yes. Right. And to watch it unfold,
and I'm hearing from all three of you, right, because you're sharing your side of the process, they're sharing yours.
And to be able to watch, there's a thing that we have in my personal growth world to just trust the process.
To understand it, you don't need to buy into it.
Trust the process. Yeah. Yeah. And to be sitting in that seat of trusting the process and actually watch it unfold within our own organization.
Yeah.
Was
it validated, every reason that I launched the company that I had the idea for the company that I got business partners for the company, right?
Yes, I'm the one that heard Gary. Yes, I'm the one that kept getting these downloads, right? And like, do these students do this?
And yeah, I know that I wouldn't have done it alone. Right. I needed perspectives. And then to watch it all play out in product. Right? Yeah. This is why we launched the company. So the other, like, all those clients out there, had bad experiences hiring because it's not their one thing. That this is why this is so amazing.
So what were some things that you learned? Well, where were some gaps that you found? The things that I learned about my business partners?
Are the process right, like so one of the final things that we do? Is that expectation conversation? Yeah, and I've been with you, how do I lose with you? And and then, right, like, so I'm asking you, How do I win with you had our lives with you, but then I'm also going, here's how you win with me. Here's how you lose with me. Yeah, right. And from a business partner perspective, we'd had that conversation.
But not the conversation space, specifically with a candidate that was in please don't hear this about the other candidates? Because it's not that it was this.
You drew out of me and my business partners, this safe place for us to say things to you, that probably we hadn't said to each other?
Or to the other candidates, because of how authentic and vulnerable you were going through the process.
Yeah, time it's, I joke around with my clients like that stupid saying about how a fish doesn't know what lives in water in till you remove it from water. Oh, so we never would have said that. Our other candidates, whether we offered them a position or not. I never would have said they weren't authentic. I never would have said that they were
vulnerable.
And yet, if I scaled it, like zero to 10 after watching you go through the process, I'd be like, for them, they played Fallout. And then you'd like raise this bar would fall out.
And I was like, You're gonna make me blush. Thank goodness. Okay.
I'm gonna get the audio and then we're not even gonna see
these like, it's like, oh,
wow, that's like a whole different level. Yeah, look back at like talent versus non talent. That non talent side, Gary writes that non talent,
maybe doesn't raise the bar, maybe even lower it. But then the rest of that is or they may not even know what bar you're talking about. And I joke with coaching clients, if your client or if your candidate thinks that the bar you're talking about is the one that you're going to go to for happy hour on Fridays, that's probably not the right level of talent for you for level
versus talent doesn't just meet the bar talent raises the bar. Yeah. And and there was this this gap that was that you created in a positive way of allowing us to say, Wow, this, we don't ever want to go backwards again, like it's AMI or better from here on out? On, on being able to push us to see bigger? Yeah, right. I
can do what we want with the information. Because here's what happened during your motivational interview during that five year, instead, something in the area of business that caused me to question if my vision was big enough to keep you as part of our organization. Shameless plug, you'll have to tune in for my interview podcasts to find out what I said.
Yeah.
And, and that's where I had this moment of like, wow, go? Yes. Like, now, obviously, my business partners had to get on board. They already were right. But like, we had to have that meeting. But I was like, anybody that can sit in the interview process? And cause me to question if I think big enough for their vision. Number one, my answer is yes. Right. I'll always grow, I'll always stretch. And I want that person.
Yeah, I want that person, I want that person that's going to push me.
Yeah. Right. And, and isn't that the whole point of this process, you could get a temp agency to send you over an admin, you could use your TC service that is in your market center or in your local market area. And they will do what is necessary to keep the contracts moving forward. Right? They will, they will keep things moving. And they might even bring in some processes and systems that you don't have in place and go like, Ooh, that's a good idea. Yeah, let's go ahead and do that. Right. And they'll never challenge you and come in and say, we need to, we need to fundamentally think different think big thing.
I want to be a partner, right? I want to be a partner with you. So I need to, I need to be able to come in and create space for that. So yeah, and that's what that's what hiring someone
that also is looking for a place to actually build a career as opposed to having a job will do. Ya. Yeah, that's awesome. So for all of our listeners out there, who may realize now that they are in a similar situation, on their team, or in their business, where they are looking to bring in someone who is going to create their own space, and bring ideas and push and grow with them.
What advice do you have for those people?
I'm such a great question.
And darn it, I don't know if I have an answer. IMTS. And I always have an answer. We know that.
Number one.
And this is this, this might take a little bit I'm gonna process through this one. It's that piece of going Have you have you ever done this before? Right. And the best analogy I have, because I know that right now the majority of the people that we're talking to and around for growth minded talent, that this growth mindset conversations, but I think it can apply across the board, right? No matter what industry we're in, what business we're in,
is and I'm going to use it. The real estate analogy is when you first got your license, and it was time to go out and show that first house
or it was time to set the first open house? Or was time to write the first contract?
Yeah. Or take your first listing?
Yes. You went to class? Yes. You got trained by your broker? Yes, you did this. Yes, you did that. And then you're sitting there and you're looking at something you're like, I don't actually know what I'm doing.
Yes, raise my hand, ask for help. Right. So when you think about that, then you fast forward to oh, I've been doing this for three years, five years, 20 years, whatever it is. And I can now like set up an open house in my sleep. I don't even think twice about how to access my app to get an open up a lockbox. Right. I got taking a listing honestly, like I could overcome, overcome every objection in my sleep. You know, I really wish somebody would give me a new one. Right? Like when that's how, how easy and effortless that skill set comes to you today? Day one. Yeah. If you've never hired somebody before.
Maybe you've gone through classes on how to hire how to trade. Maybe you've read books, maybe you've listened to podcasts, maybe you've done whatever. Yet, here you are.
Just like that first time, right? Writing a contract or whatever it may be.
Maybe asking yourself, do you know enough?
Do you have not just head up knowledge? Right. But actual
hands on experience of doing this? The answer's no. My advice is go out and find somebody whose answer is yes.
Yeah, whether it's growth minded talent, whether it's somebody in your market center or office, whether it's somebody else in your industry, if you're not in real estate, who is it that you can turn to,
to guide mentor and help you through this? Because as my coach would say, it's kind of this either I do it, we do it or you do it? Yeah. Well, if you have no experience at it, do you really want to do it alone?
Yeah, if you want the experience, then find somebody, just like I did with my coaching clients, right? Yeah, we watched through it together. They'd all done I do it. And they failed at it miserably.
And then I came alongside them as their coach, and we did it together. Right? And it worked out. And it worked out. And then I have other people that are like, Oh, that sounds like nails on the chalkboard, please don't make me do it and do it with you
could buy me some people and bring them to me, and I'll just finalize the process. And that's where growth minded talent comes in. So a really long way to to answer the question with figure out, that would be my advice, right? Figure out if this is something that you want to do on your own?
If this is something that you would want to have somebody with experience partner with you on and go find that person? Yeah. Or is this something that is so outside of your skill set?
That it just makes sense to have somebody else who already does it? Is there one thing, do it for you? Yeah, you can go somewhere houses or do whatever, and continue to master your one thing.
Great. Great, great advice.
So here you are. You're building businesses, right? A few at this point.
Aren't growth minded conversations? I just keep having them. Yeah, you do. You do? Ever all day every day think. So what would you call this chapter in your journey?
I thought I was going to know the answer to this question.
What comes to mind is
identify whether it's I do it, we do it or you do it. And process. All right. Trust the process. Trust the process. Yeah.
Besides the how, yes. The process? Yeah. Yeah. All right. Well, thank you so much, Kristina, I appreciate you taking time with us today. I learned a lot and I think our audience has to this was really, really valuable information. So
if someone wanted to get in touch and learn more about the services of growth minded talent solutions, where should they go? Great question. Our website is the best place obviously it's a
and growth minded talent.com.
That's there's all the information about the organization, if you want to schedule an exploratory call, because you're interested in learning more, right, diving deeper than what's just there on the surface of the of the website, there's a schedule a call button. We've got some great introductory videos and things like that on there as well that go a little bit deeper, maybe than I did today. Yeah. And me and my team would absolutely love to hear from anybody. And I'm going to throw this in there, whether you're looking for talent, or your talent who's looking for the right fit for you.
Yeah, we can handle both sides of that. So if you're out there, and you're like, I know, I'm amazing talent. I just haven't found the right organization or people team, right. Actually, that are the right fit for me. Yeah, schedule a call with us. We'd be happy to help find the right team for you. It's our tagline, right growth minded talent solutions, helping you build your talent bench, right. Yes. And so we're looking for both the people that are talent that are looking to find the right team for them, as well as the organizations and teams that are looking for the talent. I love to play matchmaker. Yes, you do. You're very good at it. Yeah, it is.
Awesome. All right. Well, thank you so much, Kristina, I appreciate you being here today. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Amy.
Join growth minded conversations next week. As Beverly Kosovar speaks with Paula Grimes, co founder of growth minded talent solutions, about her journey in launching a new company. See you soon. Let's make it happen. Visit our website growth minded talent.com and schedule a call with us today. We look forward to hearing from you soon.
