Dave Mull

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Category: business

  • Mastering Effective Communication Skills for Leaders

    Effective communication lies at the heart of successful leadership. It is the cornerstone of building relationships, fostering collaboration, and driving organizational success. In this blog post, we will explore the essential communication skills that leaders should master to enhance their effectiveness and positively impact their teams.

    1. Active Listening:

    Active listening is a crucial skill for leaders. It involves fully focusing on and understanding the speaker’s message, both verbal and non-verbal. By actively listening, leaders demonstrate respect, empathy, and a genuine interest in their team members’ perspectives. This skill promotes open dialogue, encourages trust, and fosters stronger relationships within the organization.

    2. Clarity and Conciseness:

    Leaders need to communicate with clarity and conciseness to ensure their message is understood by everyone. Avoid jargon, complex language, or unnecessary details that can confuse or overwhelm your audience. Use clear and concise language to articulate your ideas, expectations, and goals, enabling your team to comprehend and act upon them effectively.

    3. Non-Verbal Communication:

    Non-verbal cues such as facial expressions, body language, and tone of voice play a significant role in effective communication. Leaders should be mindful of their non-verbal signals and ensure they align with their intended message. By maintaining eye contact, using appropriate gestures, and projecting a confident yet approachable demeanor, leaders can enhance their communication effectiveness.

    4. Adaptability and Flexibility:

    Leaders must adapt their communication style to different situations and individuals. Recognize that each team member may have unique communication preferences and adjust your approach accordingly. Some may prefer face-to-face meetings, while others may prefer written communication. Being adaptable and flexible in your communication style helps build rapport and ensures that your message resonates with diverse audiences.

    5. Empathy and Emotional Intelligence:

    Empathy is a critical component of effective communication. Leaders who demonstrate empathy understand and acknowledge the emotions of their team members. By putting yourself in their shoes and responding with sensitivity and understanding, you create an environment that encourages open dialogue and builds trust. Emotional intelligence allows you to gauge and respond appropriately to the emotions and needs of others, fostering stronger connections and collaboration.

    6. Constructive Feedback and Recognition:

    Providing constructive feedback and recognizing achievements are essential aspects of leadership communication. When delivering feedback, be specific, objective, and focus on behavior rather than personal traits. Likewise, recognizing and acknowledging the contributions of your team members boosts morale and motivation. By mastering the art of giving feedback and recognition, leaders inspire continuous growth and improvement within their teams.

    7. Transparency and Authenticity:

    Leaders who communicate with transparency and authenticity create an atmosphere of trust and credibility. Share information openly, involve your team in decision-making when appropriate, and be honest about challenges and setbacks. Authenticity in communication means being true to yourself and your values, which builds rapport and encourages open communication within your team.

    In summary, mastering effective communication skills is an essential component of successful leadership. By actively listening, communicating with clarity and conciseness, utilizing non-verbal cues effectively, adapting to different communication styles, demonstrating empathy, providing constructive feedback, and promoting transparency, leaders can establish strong connections, inspire collaboration, and drive organizational success. Invest in honing your communication skills, and watch as your leadership effectiveness soars.

  • Great Leadership: Empowering Others and Fostering Growth

    When we think of great leaders, we often picture the most powerful or charismatic person in the room. But true leadership is not about being the loudest voice or making all the decisions – it’s about empowering others and creating a supportive environment where everyone can thrive.

    At the heart of great leadership is the ability to inspire others to be their best selves. This means fostering a culture of growth and development, where everyone is encouraged to learn and improve. When leaders prioritize growth, they create a sense of purpose and engagement that can help drive their teams to new heights of success.

    One key aspect of great leadership is empathy. Leaders who are able to put themselves in their team members’ shoes and truly understand their perspectives are better equipped to create a supportive and inclusive work environment. By showing empathy, leaders can build trust and foster a sense of belonging that can help team members feel more motivated and engaged.

    Another important trait of great leaders is collaboration. Leaders who prioritize collaboration over competition are able to build strong, cohesive teams that are better equipped to tackle complex challenges. When team members feel valued and respected, they are more likely to work together effectively and generate creative solutions.

    Great leaders also prioritize kindness and respect in all of their interactions. By treating everyone with dignity and respect, leaders create a positive work environment that fosters trust and loyalty. When team members feel valued and supported, they are more likely to stay engaged and committed to the team’s goals.

    Leadership is about much more than just being the most powerful or charismatic person in the room. It’s about empowering others, fostering growth, and creating a supportive and inclusive work environment where everyone can thrive. By prioritizing empathy, collaboration, and kindness, leaders can build strong, high-performing teams that are equipped to achieve great things.

  • Your Circle

    I’ve heard it said that you are the average of the people you surround yourself with. Similarly it’s said that if find yourself being the smartest person in the room, you should find another room. Both of these sayings in my opinion get at the importance of a growth mindset and getting out of your comfort zone.

    Whether that be working to develop your own personal board of directors. Made up of people that have skill sets, experiences and knowledge you don‘t have. These folks can serve as advisors in many different areas of life. Career, family, money, future, faith and anything else you can imagine. I’ve been lucky to have built relationships with a lot of successful people that often challenge me to think different and many times to think BIGGER. Sometimes you just need that push.

    The smartest person in the room translates to your comfort zone. It’s easy when you are the expert, have all the answers and are in situations you don’t need help or advice. But if you find yourself in that situation, there is a great chance you aren’t learning, growing or really in a position to level up. Putting yourself in the room with folks that are smarter than you, more successful than you and that regularly push for bigger/better/faster WILL push you to up your game and achieve more.

    You owe it to yourself to find ways to do these things. It’s important to remember, the things you do today WILL define who you will be in the future and often how successful you will be in achieving your own goals. Whatever those may be!

  • Today’s CFO role is different…

    I used to have a very different perspective of what it meant to be a CFO while I was in college and even very early in my career. I mostly saw it as an accounting role that closed and books and helped the company see out of the review mirror. Being someone that really like to be involved in strategy, preparing for the future and using financial data to tell a story, I never thought it would be a role for me. Even when I finished my undergrad with a major in finance and started on my MBA, there was an opportunity to double up on the masters program for a more finance focused program geared toward future CFOs and I simply wasn’t interested. I’m very happy I kept on the track though because I sure ended up being very wrong!

    Pretty much my entire career has been spent in some type of financial role. Even my internships were financial and investing focused at Invesco and Aegon Institutional while also working in a local bank through college. I got my first salaried job before I even graduated at a local hedge fund as a trader on the European desk and then moved to the sales side trying my hand in financial planning at AG Edwards and Sons. I later moved on to be an analyst in the treasury and investment department at Humana before being asked to take on a consultant role working to revamp Humana’s cash posting operation. From there I had an opportunity to be a branch manager at National City Bank. I ended up back at Humana after a couple years in the Medicare Finance organization before being asked to help seed a new finance team tasked with standing up a new region within Humana. After getting that region going and growing it to 2 states, I was promoted to the divisional finance team where I worked to develop new reporting and analytics tools to help providers take on value based care. I was then promoted to regional CFO where I got to get really involved in the operations of a region. Everything from BIDs, budgets, value based relationship management, MRA, Stars and everything else that makes a Medicare Advantage plan perform.

    What happened next was really a culmination of all of that experience which was a chance to be CFO and COO for a Medicare start up inside of Humana. The role and opportunity really helped me see what it was like to build something from the ground up. And to see how a stategic thinking CFO that was focused on performance, culture and leadership can really play such a critical role in the success of an organization. After serving in that role for 3.5 years I took a chance at a CFO role at a real start up, Honest Medical Group where I am today.

    I’ve learned so much through my 20+ year career about business, leadership, finance and so much more. But what I’ve really come to appreciate about being a CFO is that it’s so much more than I ever thought that it was. Being strategic, knowing the operations, being a key leader of the executive team and getting to work alongside some amazingly smart people is really something that so very few get the chance to do. Being a CFO is NOT about looking in the rear view mirror, it’s not about just closing the books and handling accounting type work. It’s so much more than that. So if you have interest in becoming a CFO, learn the operations, learn what makes the company tick, learn about strategy and how all of these things impact the financial performance of a business. You will be better for it and have even better opportunities to reach your goals and help your business reach it’s goals.

    If you’d like to learn more about my experience or just have questions about your own path, reach out, I’d love to share, coach, consult or help in any way I can.

    Dave

  • Taking Breaks

    I recently took a week away from the office to take my family on a spring break trip. I’m lucky to have a leader and a team that supports this. One thing I’ve learned through my 20+ year career is that there is NEVER a “good” time to take vacations and to truly unplug and I’m one of the most guilty people about not taking PTO. There is always more work to be done then there is time to do it. Those expectations only intensify the higher up you climb. The next fire drill, the next important meeting, the next presentation, the next budget, the nexts just continue. Because of this, it’s more important than ever, as MJ would say to “Just Do it”. These are my top 5 reasons it’s important to take time, especially if you have a family.

    You’ve only got 1 family and 1 lifetime

    Your family needs you a lot more than your job needs you. Marriages take effort, raising kids takes effort and having healthy relationships take effort. This effort can not be the leftovers because all your effort was all spent at work. This is time and investment that will have a greater ROI than anything you do professionally. I’ve seen both sides, I struggle with this in a big way. I often feel guilty about my family getting the leftovers. I’m sharing this as a way to challenge myself but also encourage others.

    Time is the only resource we can’t make more of

    One of my favorite quotes is that it’s not the years in your life that matter, it’s the life in your years that counts. I have to remind myself of this constantly. Saying that I’ll do that tomorrow, or we’ll take that trip next year or in 5 years. Whatever your time box is and the reasons for it, tomorrow is not promised. I do not want to look back at my life with a lot of I wish I would haves. I’d much rather look back on my life with a lot of, wow, I can’t believe I did that’s.

    The work will be there when you get back (most of the time)

    Most important work related activities don’t come and go in a week. Some do, but that is where the value of a team and the benefit of leadership can really be fruitful. Being a good leader means engaging and involving your team. It means helping those on your team develop the tools so that they can step up and fill in if it’s needed. It means having the faith and the trust in your team, your peers and your leaders that most things can be covered while your out.

    Breaks are good for your mental health

    Taking a break to reset and recharge have proven to increase performance. Stepping back for a bit can give you new perspective. It allows you to see how things go while your away. It allows you to see folks true colors. It also lets you clear your mind, find fresh ideas, get excited about jumping back in and importantly a feeling of appreciation.

    Be the leader that encourages and celebrates these breaks

    Todays workforce is extremely competitive. Top talent can find jobs faster and easier than ever before. People want more than anything to feel appreciated and supported. Be a leader, be an organization, be a culture that celebrates peoples value and life outside of the the business. When people feel supported and valued, not only will they stay longer but they will work harder and give more. Be the leader that not only supports but models these traits, your business will benefit from it. I guarantee it.

  • New Adventure

    Today (2/24/22) is officially my last day at Humana. I will be forever grateful for the relationships, friendships, mentorships and more that I’ve experienced during my 17 years. In addition to the people, I’ve had incredible opportunities to learn and grow in a number of roles across the organization. I’ve been blessed with great leaders and teammates all along this journey and I’m hopeful our paths will cross again.

    I have received so many notes of congratulations, encouragement and gratitude. Knowing that I’ve had an impact on peoples lives as a leader and colleague helping them progress in their own careers and life is really what’s its all about. I love business, I love our customers and the mission but above all of that are the people that make it all worth it.

    With that said, I’m extremely excited to share that I am joining the talented leadership team at Honest Medical Group a Rubicon Founders portfolio company as CFO. I’m grateful for the opportunity to be a part of this team that’s focused on building products and services that focus on improving care and member satisfaction while reducing costs for people with Medicare.

    Here’s to new challenges and new beginnings!

  • Multiple Income Sources

    It’s taken me way longer than it should to think and learn about income streams, what that really means, what the options are and what it can do for me and my family. Over the last couple of years I’ve dove in on this topic to learn more and be more plan-full and purposeful about it. I recently saw an interview with Kevin O’Leary from the SharkTank talk about how a salary from a job can be so addictive. He said it’s like a drug that people get hooked to and they rarely look at or consider what that means for them. I’ve personally had a great career, I enjoy what I do, I’m well compensated, I feel connected to mission of the organization. I hope that is true for all of. But I also have a desire to create on my own. Something that earns money while I sleep and that may live on well past my corporate working days or even hopefully after I’m gone.

    There are many types and ways to add income streams. Some are more passive than others. Some are more straight forward than others. Some are more risky and so on. In todays post I’m going to touch on 4 that I spend the most time on. My professional career, dividends from publicly traded stocks, crowdsource real estate platforms and side hustle businesses.

    Professional Career as an Employee

    I’ve been very lucky to have experienced the majority of my working life in a field that I am passionate about and that I have found success in. I use my degree and my many years of experience to continue to climb the corporate ladder and add value for my employer but also as a leader and coach of my team and others around me. I’ve always strived to be the hardest worker in the room. That means I’ve also many times been the first one in the office and the last one to leave. This has also meant that personal life, time and balance has been sacrificed over the years. Whether that was because of late meetings, business travel, project needs or leader expectations. With all of that said, that hard work and dedication has helped get to where I am today. Even if I would have spent all these years as a business owner, that balance would have also been heavy on the work side. I’ve always believed if something is worth doing, do it all out. One other thing I’d like my younger readers to really understand is that hard work alone doesn’t guarantee success (based on how you define that). You communication style, your presence, the relationships you build, your trustworthiness, being a person that others like to work with and know they can count on are ALL just as important if not more so. You are your own personal brand. Make it something people want to buy and invest in.

    Dividend Income

    Another form of income that we hear a lot about is income via dividends payments from stocks we own. Many stocks (like AT&T) pay monthly, quarterly or annual dividend payments. These are typically at some defined $ amount. Say $.50 per share as an example. So for every share you own, you would get this payment. This type of income is often popular with people in retirement living on income being produced from their investments since they are not working generating a paycheck any longer. I believe that even before retirement, dividend stocks should have a place in your portfolio. These stocks usually don’t have the big gains in price but that isn’t what you buy them for if looking for income. They are typically more stable and if you do your homework and choose proven companies can be a reliable source of income. If you are younger and not in need of the income, a great option for owners of these stocks is to set them up with a reinvestment option. So instead of getting the dividend payment sent to you, it’s reinvested to buy more shares that then will produce more income. This is a proven long term approach at adding an income stream to your life. Many investors only believe in buying dividend paying stocks.

    Crowdsource Real Estate Platform

    This is a fairly new one and I’ve only been investing for a little over a year now but the returns have been pretty good. Platforms like Fundrise.com allow you to invest and they, the real estate experts pool your money with other investors to make real estate purchases, fund projects etc. You then receive dividend payments from those deals in addition to value increases of the underlying properties. Fundrise is a private REIT with an underlying stock price, since they are private your investment is not very liquid but its not subject to the daily swings of the stock market. Similar to Fundrise is a platform call Crowdstreet. Crowdstreet on the other hand allows you to directly invest in properties via pooling your money with other investors. They share their targeted IRR, you do your research, understand the terms, the structure and then receive your monthly payments. This is a great way to put your money to work for you. You buy assets that produce more income. You can use that income to support your lifestyle or reinvest it to continue building for the future.

    Starting or Buying Businesses

    I definitely don’t want to make this one seem easier than is really is. This is hard, business is hard, most businesses especially start up don’t make it over the long term. But the hardest thing are often the most rewarding. I recently launched www.connectcoffeecompany.com as a first experience in starting my very own business. There are so many tools offered today to get Ecommerce off the group. Platforms like Shopify make this incredible easy. There are still lots of steps and things to do, but they do a great job with resources to help people with each of those steps. I chose to work with a drop shipper, so I hold no inventory, I don’t do any of the manufacturing, sourcing, packaging or shipping. That is all done by vendors I’ve selected as part of my product offering. I evenly want to get into all those parts and own the E2E, but this is a great first step in the process and with the primary goal to learn, grow and encourage others to get out there and try things. I’m not in a big hurry to take it deeper. I share this as an example of starting your own business, that although it can be small can help produce some additional income sources. You can launch and run many Ecommerce businesses as part of your portfolio. Do something you are passionate about that adds value to the world. There are also ways to buy business or act as an Angel investor where you put up money and help with your experience in a consultative owner perspective. This is risky of course but also rewarding and potentially lucrative from a return perspective.

    Just do it

    It really doesn’t matter how you choose to build multiple income streams. Get out there and try some things, have some confidence in yourself, your drive, your experience and embrace a growth mindset. You might just surprise yourself and change your life in the process!!!

  • Top 5 Leadership Insights

    I’ve been very lucky in my career to experience some really great leadership as well as some truly terrible leadership. I believe both help you grow if you see them as learning opportunities and embrace a growth mindset. There is always something to learn whether it be things you would like to model or things you definitely do not want to model. I also know that as important as leadership is to me, I’ve not always shown up as the best leader in all situations. I’ve also read things from people like Gary V about the importance of hiring slow and firing fast. While that may be great advice, wow is it hard!!! After 20+ years of experience either being led or as a leader, here is my top 5.

    #5 – Honesty

    Sometimes being honest is really hard. I have at times struggled with the hard truths, sharing things that people may not want to hear and that may cause uncomfortable situations. As a young leader I wanted to avoid this and felt like “kindness” was how I would avoid these conversations. What I’ve come to appreciate and learn is that kindness is found in the honesty, even if it’s a hard and uncomfortable truth. And although my truth may not be the person you are leadings truth. It is most valuable for all parties to share it and be open and honest about performance and other challenging conversations. The only time better than yesterday to have these conversations is today. Being honest is being kind if you do it right!

    #4 – Be mindful of what you tolerate

    There is a saying, that the fastest way to cause a great employee to disengage is to allow a bad employee to get by with bad behavior. I’ve experienced this first hand as a leader and as an employee. The longer we make excuses for bad behavior or experience excuses made for bad behavior, the harder it is to build and nurture a great culture. I’ve found it’s extremely important to confront bad behavior early and often. Set a standard that this is not welcomed or tolerated. It will be difficult at times but will pay off in the long run!

    #3 – Every team member is different

    One thing I really love about sports, both playing them growing up but also coaching them as my kids grew up is that every person is different. This makes leadership hard but always extremely rewarding. What drives, encourages, engages or motivates one person may be very different from the next. Lazy leadership misses this fact and doesn’t care to take into account that each person has their own needs, desires and goals. As leaders we must know our teams, our associates as people. What makes them tick, what drives them and really work to understand these things so that we can show up in way that is best for them.

    #2 – Intimidation is OUT

    For a long time leaders would often lead out of fear or intimidation tactics. It was the hammer vs. nail approach. The leader was the hammer and the employee was the nail. Those days are long gone and leaders and organizations that fail to pivot will find themselves in a very tough spot soon if not already. Todays job market is extremely tight, top talent has so many options for employment. With remote work becoming more of the norm, even location restrictions are a thing of the past. Leaders that can embrace leading in an engaging and supportive way. By facing situations with curiosity and supporting team members as people helping them to grow and reach their own goals will find a much more trusting and engaged workforce. This leads to lower turnover, higher productivity and overall more business success.

    #1 – Integrity

    Integrity is defined as “the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness.” This shows up in many different ways in the workplace. One way that I’ve experienced this many times is showing up the same way in meetings no matter who is in attendance. If it’s the board, the CEO, your boss, your peers or your employees you are the same person with the same message. I’ve experienced leaders playing the political game that is always felt by the organization as a whole. Also, personal conduct matters. Who you are in the office, outside the office and everywhere in between should be an accurate and consistent version of who you are. Similarly, holding people to different standards than you hold yourself to or that senior leaders are held to is a road to failure. No person should is every so important that they get by with low integrity behavior.

    I share all of these because leadership is something I am very passionate about and find great joy in while constantly learning and growing. Helping others and an organizations mission to succeed, grow and prosper is something I find as a calling. All of the above can be areas of failure, all of the above will go through seasons but if we learned anything from “Good to Great” and the history lessons of business, it’s that leadership and embracing the value of it along with a growth mindset is required for long term success. It takes real leadership to focus on these things at ALL levels of an organization to truly make a difference. People are often afraid to speak up, afraid to share their truth and their experiences. Create a culture where that is expected and rewarded where people feel safe. It’s been well documented that culture eats strategy for breakfast. And culture starts with and ends with LEADERSHIP.