Developing Core Values & Leading with Integrity

[00:00:00] Welcome to the Casey Cease Show. Casey is your entrepreneurial guide. Dive into weekly insights that blend inspiration with practical strategies to grow your business with integrity. From boosting sales to building strong relationships, Casey shares the essentials to help both your venture and personal dreams flourish.

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Casey Cease: Hey everybody. Welcome back to another episode of the Casey Cease Show, where we dive in and talk with great leaders, talk about life, talk about faith, and business. And my hope is to bring a bunch of interesting people in for you to meet. And at times, hopefully to share some things I’m learning or I’ve learned to add value.

And today, I’m inviting a good friend of mine, Jerry Roberts, who we attend church together. We serve on nonprofit boards together. We’ve also done some business stuff together. And he’s just a leader I greatly admire and want to share with you all and some cool stuff he’s done in leadership [00:01:00] in a larger corporation.

And so, Jerry, thanks so much for joining me today. If you don’t mind, take a few minutes, tell us a little bit about you, a little bit of your background in business and leadership, and then we’ll dive in talking more about core values, and how you’ve really taken that and implemented that into your team, and are now chartering the way in your organization, uh, and upping the game of leadership development.

Jerry Roberts: Sure. Well, 1st of all, thanks for having me on these great opportunity to kind of talk about what kind of a little bit newer passion for me, but something that I have great interest in and have been want to drive an organization for a while. So thanks. I guess my 1st introduction to leadership, I was born into the military, a Navy brat. And so, I was indoctrinated into you know, being a highly directed individual early in my life. I, myself joined the military after high school. had 8 years of opportunity

Casey Cease: Well, thank you for your service, Jerry. I appreciate that.

Jerry Roberts: I appreciate. it was actually a great honor to do that. But a very young [00:02:00] age, you know, I had responsibility for you know, some very expensive and complicated radar equipment. And, you know, that the pilots relied upon and so there’s a lot of, as a young sailor, a lot of pressure to get things right. Didn’t always do things right, but was working in that direction. From there, I really didn’t know what I wanted to do, and my mom actually asked me, she says, so what do you want to do is you’re getting out and I said, I don’t care what I do, or where I do it, as long as I never work in Downtown Houston.

So, as I progress through the industry, I got closer and closer to eventually right in the middle of Downtown. But I started off in oil and gas as a field technician, communications and instrumentation, hands on guy. One of my supervisors for my last several years was actually a pipeline mechanic. So me being a calm guy, a techie guy, a lot of my work was with small tools and sometimes in air conditioned buildings. And his philosophy was, you weren’t [00:03:00] working unless you were turning big wrenches and you’re out in the field getting dirty. So, while I was on the pipeline, you know, doing my techie stuff, I was also in the field doing grunt work.

And I kind of like to say, I’ve done everything on a pipeline you can do, except sit in pipeline control or HR. But really, what that did for me is give me a understanding and appreciation for ultimately what my customers were going to be our operations folks, what they do their, day to day lives, and what they need to be successful? And I think that’s 1 of the key drivers that I have today, is a firm understanding of what our customer base needs to be successful, and how to do that from the ground up.

And so, I was in oil and gas for about 7 and a half years. I did a year with a microwave equipment manufacturer. Learned a lot about what I don’t want to be as a leader, and then, came back into oil and gas and have [00:04:00] been since 2001. I was with a company for a few years and then we were acquired by the company with now.

So, it’s been over 20. 3 years now that I’ve been in this organization. Growing with the organization, and have been given, you know, blessed with opportunities to grow over time into bigger and bigger leadership roles to where I am today as a director of our group. And I have about 80 reports.

Casey Cease: You, and I started working together about six months to a year leading up to the transition for the leadership role. And one of the things I always appreciated about you is you didn’t take for granted the experiences you had, but you also didn’t presume just direct transferability into a new role.

You approached it and very cautious, and you have a unique ability, I believe. When you’re a hard worker like you are, and you like work, you like to work hard, , [00:05:00] and I’m asking you, Hey, what are you doing to relax this weekend? You’re like, Oh, I got a big list of honeydews to do around the property at home, and you love working, but you’re also extremely thoughtful and considerate about the approach you’re taking to the job at hand.

And so, over the years, you went from hands on being led, doing a lot of the work in the field. And then, transitioning more and more to higher to your leadership, where you still remember, you and I working together in a coaching relationship. Talking about how you also needed to work on empowering other people and coaching and training them and not just doing all the work yourself.

Talk to me a little bit about the tension of that transition from the one doing the work, and maybe managing a few people into leadership. I mean, both the good and the struggles along the way, as, you began to progress up in your career.

Yeah, I’d say through the merger, I was given a manager’s position. Realized very quickly that I didn’t know how to be a manager in the organization. There were a lot of [00:06:00] technical things I just didn’t know about how to do things in the organization. But also, quickly learned that I had a a lot of growth in leading people. I’ve been in leadership positions before in the church, we were previously a part of in that family. But I knew I needed growth in that area. So, I was reaching out to my director and others within the organization. you know, Just really hungry for opportunity to learn.

Jerry Roberts: And I went outside of our organization, found you know, through and many other groups. Reading books and doing things to try to develop myself because I knew where I was lacking him in skill. And I knew I had the potential and the drive to do it. I just didn’t have the tools and the understanding of how to apply them. And so, that’s always been my drive to be the best I could be at whatever position I’m in. you know, I learned early on if you’re going to dig a ditch, dig the straightest, deepest ditch you can, [00:07:00] and put all you have into it. And I try to approach all that I do in that way.

Casey Cease: Where did you, Where did that come from, Jerry?

Jerry Roberts: a young kid in the military, I got it from the military. It was modeled for me by a few others that I admired in my life. It was modeled for me by my father, whom I love and respect and admire greatly. I think, one of the best compliments I ever got was when someone said, “You’re just like your dad.”

I was like, Hey, I’ll take that.

But through my life, it’s just a focus. I’ve had todo whatever I can, the best I can not to strive for perfection, but you know, looking for excellence in whatever it is I do. And what I’ve found over the years,not everybody’s doing that. And if you’re willing to do the work and to learn, and to try new things, try to you know, not be scared to fail at something, you can really grow and develop. And, you know, it gets [00:08:00]noticed over time. Not that I was doing it for that purpose, but that’s just a blessing that comes out of that constant attitude and focus towards growth, learning and development.

But as I grew in the organization, you know, when we came in, I inherited five reports in my area. Before my promotion, I grew it to 21 in that region. Plus, I was part of sitting in interviews for our other team members in the other areas and engineering. And over the years with the amount of hires, I think we went from 35 in our organization to what we’re 80, 81 now.

And what I think, One of our key differentiators is when we hire someone takes us a while to do it. But generally, once they’re on for that 1st year, and they know they fit that culture, they stay for a very long time. Because we’re a challenging organization, but it allows folks to really engage, and know that what they do [00:09:00] matters. And has an effect on the long term success of the whole organization.

They’re not just a little cog in a big machine. you know, Everyone has an effect on the positive outcome, and they know it, and we reinforce it quite frequently to let them know You know, what they’re doing, you know, how it affects the bottom line on the company. And it’s not just blowing smoke, it’s true. And we can show the direct efforts in that.

But as I grew in the organization, and my boss and I were talking about growing into that next stage of leadership, and you know, from a manager to a director, I knew, pretty quickly, I did not have the right mindset for that. You know, I was a manager and a kind of a project engineer project manager.

So I was filling 2 roles. And so, I was always busy. I was always in the weeds. I was always in the details. And, you know, spinning a lot of plates, and dealing with, know, on the technical side quite extensively, but [00:10:00] also on the people side. but I knew that I had to extricate myself out of that. I had to be able to develop the mindset to be more strategic instead of that day to day tactical.

and. I like to think I’m self aware enough to know Where I fall short and where I need help, where I need coaching, where I need development. And that was one of the key things that drove me to talk to you and reach out to you is, “Hey, you know, I know what I don’t know and I need help in that. And I need that development.

I need that refocusing and to meet that challenge.” And I can say that it was tough. tough for me. I’m a get into it. Get into the details. you know, several years ago, I was working with one of our technicians in the field, putting up some equipment in Northern Arkansas. And it just frozen.

It was cold and hard work. And he’s like, yeah, I need to take a break. It’s all right. So I put on my harness. I climbed up the tower and I started working. And my guy sat there and look at me. He says, “You know, I can do that right?” I [00:11:00] said, “Well, yeah.” but And so, I’ve always had that mindset of get in, get my hands dirty, work with the team. And I know that, I can no longer do that. I need to be a little hands off and allow people to grow into those roles. And that’s the other focus I’ve had is you know, realizing I need to develop people so that as I grow up in the organization, it creates opportunities that they can fill those opportunities.

And you know, we have a commitment that we’re never going to hire a manager or a supervisor.

We are going to develop with them. And we even recently, I’ve gotten that feedback from one of our executive vice presidents, which was you know, very encouraging to hear them have that same attitude. But we can only do that when we empower them, allow them to take on those challenges, be a resource, but not be the one you know, giving them direction every single day and just empowering [00:12:00] them to grow and do that in their organization.

very much. So, I’ve been in this role for a year now over the whole group. I’ve, I like to think that I’ve done a pretty good job of stepping back you know, that 1 tier to allow people to manage their teams. I still like to get in the weeds sometimes, but I find myself, I have to cut myself short sometimes when I, you know, if someone asks a technical question that I know the answer to, to not just answer the question, but challenge them to take it to that next level.

Casey Cease: That’s a tough part in leadership in general. And a lot of the executives and business owners, I coach, that’s the biggest struggle. They start out doing the work and they care a lot about it. And they’re in the position they’re in now because they cared a lot about it. And it’s not that the new people don’t care,

it’s just, those people don’t have the same pain in history, the blood, sweat, and tears of getting the organization where they have. And I know for you, being a struggle because [00:13:00] you are excellent at not only the technical side of doing the work, but your technical knowledge about the work and then having to move from managing people to leading people.

And now that you’re a year in, what are some of the big learns you’ve taken away so far, just from transitioning from mid tier management into higher executive leadership roles?

Jerry Roberts: I’m probably, still one of my struggles, or one of the things I’m learning and growing in is learning to keep my mouth shut sometimes, and allow people to answer questions. Allow people to take on those tasks, challenge people to do things that I know I can do very easily that I’m very proficient at.

Cause I’ve done it 10,000 times. It’s not that I’m not any smarter than anybody else, I’ve just done a lot. So I kind of how

Casey Cease: You’re very competent. You know how to do it well. And quite, I tell people all the time, as you grow in leadership or your business grows, that we’re going to gravitate towards competency, right? The [00:14:00] 12 an hour task, the 20 to 5 an hour task when we’re being paid much more than that, and want more than that.

But it’s easy to go back to the technical tasks because we’re so proficient. And even if we don’t love the work per se, it’s still something easy to do. And so, as you’ve caught yourself, you say, we all struggle. And I tell business owners and executives that, “Hey, there’s times you still need to get in there and get your hands dirty just because it’s life giving to you.”

But what I’m hearing you say is that you’re also, you want to develop your leaders and Jerry, I’ve had the similar things with my company’s growing that I’ve forced myself the last few months to ask a question. If I were unavailable and you had to make a decision, what would you do?

What would be your answer? And what I found is over 80 percent of the time, the people that were closest to me had at least the answer I was looking for, or a better answer than what I would have come up with. But quite honestly, I know for me, and I don’t know about the rest of you, Jerry, or people listening who’ve been through this [00:15:00] transition or need to transition.

If I don’t have a clear sense of competency, or expertise, or knowledge, because I’ve never been in that higher role yet, that I don’t want to become irrelevant in my leadership, right? That kind of the big unspoken secret is that, cause you hear about people all the time, especially in large organizations, promoting beyond their competency level because they’re really good at sales, but then they’re really not good sales manager.

And so, having worked with you and it’s funny because you and I, we’ve known each other in social settings, and nonprofit settings. And when you asked me to coach you and everything, I was like, this guy works at some smaller, and you explained to me the size of the business.

And so I thought, maybe you had two sets of cubicles groups that you’re mixing with. And I remember, you had invited me to come speak at one of your events last year as one of the keynotes. And I remember going into this thing thinking, man, it’s going to be like a small group and a little hotel thing.

And you gave me numbers, but the way my brain is, I went to Baptist seminary, so [00:16:00] it’s like, Oh, it’s 20,000 people when it’s really 200. So I’m not great with that. I walked in this room and what’s amazing was you’re transitioning your former leader out. You were running the show as a new leader, but there were a bunch of people in there and they respected you.

They listened to you and it was clear that they liked you. And so, the culture is interesting where you work on hiring within, developing leaders within. But you took it to another level, even before you had this newer role, you were instrumental in developing, and you gave me one of these coins when we were working together, the Own It Coin.

And you develop. You were running point and developed these words that are on there and you can’t see it real well. I don’t think, but why don’t you tell us a little bit about this idea? Because you didn’t just come up with a cool trinket and then say, “Hey, lose it somewhere.” I mean, you have a culture developing around it that you require your team to carry around, and if they’re not carrying it and someone asked about it, they get to buy the next round of drinks. So…

Jerry Roberts: absolutely!

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Casey Cease: So, why don’t you walk us through the idea about it, how you went through developing it, and a little bit about what it is and how it works?

Jerry Roberts: sure thing. So, the organization, our company, grew exponentially, around 2005, 2006 timeframe. So my boss came in with a large [00:18:00] acquisition. I came in a year later with another large acquisition. And so the organization grew in our communications infrastructure. And when I say communications, I want to make sure people know that’s telecommunications, hands on electronics, fiber, microwave, any way that you can move information. Very techie stuff, not the HR corporate communication.

I get connections Yeah, through LinkedIn all the time. Hey, if you want to advance your marketing, it’s like no wrong type of communication. So highly technical stuff. But when we came together, we had three different disparate cultures, Different ways of doing things. We had some very talented people, but we’re kind of scattered in who we are.

And so, we, you know, my boss knew early on that we needed to combine the best of what we’re all bringing to the table to one cohesive new culture that encompasses everything. And so, 1 of the things that we started early on is a [00:19:00] quarterly meeting between our managers and our engineering team, which at the time was a small group to say, all right. So what did we do? How do we do it? Let’s pick a technology and take the best of all that. And we’ll write a new standard under our new organizational structure.

And then, we pretty soon realized that not only do we need to do that on the technology side, we need to do that on the people side. We you know, we no longer have the A company way of doing it, or the B company way of doing it. It’s our company way, our company mindset, and our company culture. And we have a pretty distinct corporate culture. We run lean, we run fast. It’s kind of a family atmosphere, but we’re pretty large. And at the time we were pretty big and now we’re significantly larger. And so we engaged an outside consultant to help us kind of develop our mission, vision. Try to do some goal setting, and we came up with a process originally.

It was around, how do you recognize people who are doing an exceptional [00:20:00] job? Yeah, You got folks out on the field that are really crushing it there. you know, we, yeah, We have a lot of folks in the field scattered all over the United States. So, to do well in our, organization. you know, Someone has to be self motivated. you know, It’s a highly self directed workforce. you know, They have to be technically competent, but they also have to have you know, some inherent skills and attitudes that are tough to find.

And so, we wanted to you know, kind of define that, refine that down to something tangible that we could kind of wrap around that. And it went from a way to kind of recognize folks to really saying, all right, these elements that define who we are, are, not something that 1 or 2 people It’s the whole team because we can’t be successful without exhibiting those elements of our core values. And that wrapped around a culture that we’ve built, that we call own it.[00:21:00]

And in every aspect of what we do, we strive to own it every single day. And there are five main elements. There’s safety because in oil and gas company that that’s a pretty big thing. There’s teamwork because we’ve got a lot of folks in a lot of areas that need to be able to work together and rely upon other folks in the field to help get things done.

You know. We can’t be successful as an organization without managing our costs, and being mindful from the highest level to the lowest level of the group that anything that we do, we’re going to do what’s right. But we’re not going to waste money to do it. Then, you know, to do everything that we have to do with the highly distributed workforce, we have to be extremely efficient at what we do. But to pull all these together, you got to have a team that has integrity.

And those 5 elements all wrap into that 1 attitude that really you know, governs everything that we do. If [00:22:00] there’s any task, if there’s anything that we’re engaging in, we can look to one of those elements of that own it philosophy.

And that’s a driver that how we’re going to do it. And if we can’t do it within these core values, then we shouldn’t be doing it. And so, as we develop that culture, you know, coming from a military background, challenge coins are a big thing in the military. And it’s kind of grown into emergency management, you know, police and fire, as well, wanted to have something tangible that someone could having their pocket, holding their hand, keep with them. And they know, when they’re walking around, they have it each day. And it’s just that physical reminder that reflects what we carry inside, everywhere we go, every single day in every job that we do. you know, yes. And kind of sounds hokey.

I liken it to a wedding ring. Wedding ring doesn’t make you married. It’s just that outward sign of that commitment that you’ve made. And we you know, we see [00:23:00] this kind of the same way that this

is that outward sign of that internal attitude that each one of us

has an organization. As we’re you know, hiring folks, there’s something that we talk about is something that we look for, you know, those elements of own it. you know, Do they have that mindset?

Do they have that attitude? And when someone comes in new to organization, first thing we do, when we’re, when, after they go through their first HR stuff to get their account set up, we said, Oh, we talk about our philosophy. You know, We talk about our culture and our values, and they’re very strong values.

And then once we explain that we give them their challenge coin and say, this is your coin. And this is just that tangible reminder each day of what we live in our organization. And the challenge is to each and every person that they should be on. you know, If they’re in the field, they may be the only eyes and ears of you know, are part of the I. T organization that our [00:24:00] field operations guys may see in the remotest parts of the United States.

And so, if they have an issue that maybe isn’t our responsibility, our guys know, our team knows, they’re going to own it. They’re not. They’re not going to just you know, call someone and say, “Hey Joe, over here needs help.”

They’re going to talk to Joe, get Joe’s, you know, understand Joe’s needs, get the right person involved. And then, do that handoff, but then come back and circle back around with that individual and make sure that their needs got met. And no matter what it is, you know, if we pick it up, we’re going to own it to resolution. And that helps build You know, that confidence that trust and in our customers that no matter what comes up, they can reach out to organization, and we’ll make sure, their needs get taken care of.

You know, We’re not a profit center and organization, we are a service organization. We help our field folks enable them to do their jobs more [00:25:00] efficiently, more safely. And because they’re the ones running the pipes, and the plants, and all the equipment, making the company money. We’re just enabling them to do their job. And if we’re not making their life better, there’s no reason for us to exist. you know, And ultimately, it’s a customer service organization. And that’s kind of what we do.

And like I said, we grew the team from, you know, as we grew together from like 35 ish up to 80, 81 now. And and still we’re a very small lean piece of a you know, much bigger organization. Yesterday, we were in a executive briefing and I think, we just made Fortune 72.

So, we’re um, organization is just over 7, 000 people throughout the United States you know, Multibillion dollar revenue company. But still, you know, we run kind of small. We run kind of lean. But it helps us react very quickly to changes [00:26:00] in the market and changes in opportunity. And we have some incredible executive leadership who are very proactive, very smart, and just looking for new ways to do things to keep us strong, and all the, uh, segments that we operate in In midstream.

And so, I think, you know, anyone who’s been in the company any amount of time in organization, you know, they like being there because it’s a challenge. They stay busy, they’re doing something different nearly every single day. And what they do matters. And our big goal is to give them the tools that they need to do their job. you know, Equip them with the right tools and test equipment, but equip them with the right training, the right motivation, the right opportunity. Equip them, give them you know, authority to make decisions. And you know, give them the responsibility to own their areas, and to you know, really show them how the job that they do [00:27:00] affects the organization very positively.

Casey Cease: Well, and that’s, been one of the joys of walking with you and understanding the reality of your ascension and leadership is that you’ve developed core values. You’ve been implementing the core values. You hold yourself accountable to core values and you continue to want to offer leadership and direction to those who are also under your leadership.

So for those that are in that are in leadership positions, and I work with a lot of entrepreneurs and startups to people who are scaling to multiple millions of dollars to executives like you who are in billion dollar organizations, what kind of advice would you give to leaders who are needing to step up their leadership?

Cause I mean, I heard you say, hey, you were brought in through an acquisition. Your boss was brought in through an acquisition. Culture was all over the place. And so, the two primary things I think are really interesting amongst a lot of things in your life and [00:28:00] career, but are, as we talked about today are navigating that cultural change and establishing new culture.

And then, also transitioning from the technical, tactical side of doing the work to the strategy leading of man from just general management to higher tier leadership. What’s some word of wisdom from your experience that you would share to listeners who are maybe growing in their career or growing their business and realizing they need to make that transition from just doing all the work to really learning how to lead people well and delegate and grow their mindset, like you said? Um,

 

Jerry Roberts: An individual and how your team can meet that vision and mission. The other thing that is vitally important in my mind is you really have to know your core values. Uh, [00:29:00] You have to be clear on what that is. And you have to be clear on what the values of your organization are. Because if they’re not congruent, there’s going to be problem. There’s going to be conflict and there’s going to be a lot of stress. I’ve been in that kind of organization. You know, They were diametrically opposed. That was a lot of stress. I learned a lot. It grew me as an individual.

It challenged me to be courageous to step up and say, I’m not going to do that because you know, my values are much different than that. But I think you need to know that. And then you just need to step out and be courageous and realize, with the best of intentions, you’re gonna make mistakes. But the only way to not make a mistake is to sit down and do nothing at all. You know, So you you have to engage, you have to be courageous.

But you also have to You know, come into it with humility and know that there’s a lot you don’t know, and you got to be willing to ask for help. And you [00:30:00] got to be willing to, fail. And allow others to see that and be able to let others know on your team, hey, maybe I flubbed that up, but I apologize. And here’s how we’re going to fix that and how we’re going to grow. And it’s you know, it’s about having the right mindset and attitude and in a servant’s heart to, to serve in the organization. Cause really leadership is about, at least in my mind service. And cause it’s hard.

Early on, I remember I had a promise, You know, the previous organization that you know, you keep doing your job well, and we’ll make you a supervisor. And that was my focus. I wanted to be a supervisor. I wanted that role, not fully understanding what that meant. And I never got that role and it kind of frustrated me. And then, as I kind of grew in the organization, I realized, I had the wrong mindset. I had the wrong focus. What about the title? It was about you know, the commitment to grow in the organization and to help others [00:31:00] grow in the organization. And once I got that, and realized that you know, just how tough good leadership can be you know, then you just got to hunker down, and you know, educate yourself, and be willing to to humbly do those things that got to be done.

Casey Cease: Well, Jerry, it’s always a joy to chat with you about leadership and having worked with you closely in a coaching environment. Being able to watch you work through these things and you really live this stuff. You think through it and you want what’s best for the organization, for your staff and your mindful of your faith, and your family, and you live into that. And so, it’s always a joy. I know, as you continue to go on your leadership journey, we’ll have you back on the show, and have you share a little bit more. So where can folks interact with you online?

Jerry Roberts: Well, I’m on LinkedIn. That’s about the only social platform that I’m very active. yeah, I’m on Facebook just so we can get pictures of the

Casey Cease: you go.

Jerry Roberts: But I am active on LinkedIn. I do serve on [00:32:00] nonprofit board with you, but also have been very involved with industry associations in service there. To really you know, get other folks involved in training. I’ve been engaged in leadership development. Kind of bringing our team along. That’s really kind of a desire of mine in the future to whatever I do, to engage with people and help people grow.

Casey Cease: No, and you’d be a great coach and consultant one day you decide to rewire, I’m sure you can offer a lot along the way. But yeah, I encourage you all to engage with Jerry on LinkedIn, connect with him on there. If you have questions about leadership, in your business or company. He’s a great friend. We work together on a board for nonprofit, and he’s a lot of fun.

So Jerry, thanks so much. And we look forward to having you on here again.

Jerry Roberts: Absolutely.

That wraps up this episode of the KCC Show. Make sure to visit our website, thekccshow. com, where you can subscribe to the show on iTunes, Spotify, or via RSS, so you’ll never miss a show. [00:33:00] While you’re at it, if you found value in this show, we’d appreciate a rating on iTunes, or if you’d simply tell a friend about the show that would help us out too.

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