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Leadership Levers
This podcast spotlights leaders' actions so they may enhance their organization’s performance and culture.
We feature CEOs and industry-recognized Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) who share their experiences and insights on three key challenges: people, performance, and profit.
If you are a leader who wants to learn from your peers about improving performance and financial returns, please join us.
Leadership Levers
Conducting a Symphony of Success - Unveiling the Formula for a Vibrant Workplace Culture with Sarah Martin
Ever wonder how the pulse and energy of a company's culture can make or break its success?
Sarah Martin, CEO/ Founder of Epic Events, joins us to unravel the the challenges behind creating her company's thriving, energetic and culture-centric environment.
Sarah orchestrates a symphony of positivity, possibility, and productivity - sharing her compelling journey through the unpredictable terrains of entrepreneurship - and the challenges of retooling an events-centric organization in the midst of 2020!
We don't just talk about creating awe-inspiring events on a budget - we're uncovering how to unlock the power of a workplace culture that attracts talent and clients who crave an epic experience.
For leaders seeking to navigate the choppy waters of team alignment and cultural cohesion - listen as we trade insights on the delicate art of mentoring, the bold moves needed to maintain harmony, and the subtle yet profound impact a leader's demeanor and actions can imprint on their workforce.
Sarah doesn't just lead a company; she steers a community, empowered by shared values and a vision that turns every challenge into a stepping stone. If transforming your organization's culture is your quest, consider this your roadmap.
Connect with Sarah on LI
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Seeking to strengthen your culture, boost performance & impact your bottom line? Let’s chat—no sales, just real talk about your challenges.
Not ready? Join our Culture Think Tank Community for free insights!
Welcome to the Leadership Levers Podcast. I'm your host, Will Gladheart, CMO at the Culture Think Tank. Our Culture Think Tank community is committed to advancing workplace culture and well-being. We're a virtual hub for authors, investors, leaders, managers and employees worldwide to connect, engage in candid discussions, share ideas and explore resources for cultivating a healthy work environment. We're here today to learn about the actions leaders have taken to address cultural change.
Sarah Martin:Our guest today is Sarah
Sarah Martin:Well, thanks for having me so much Will. I really appreciate the time.
William Gladhart:Excellent. I thought we would start today by having you share with our audience in our community a little bit about yourself, your background and your organization.
Sarah Martin:Awesome. Well, I am a mother of two beautiful children, that's first and foremost, and also a wife of 22 years. I am a consummate risk taker and constantly looking to increase my productivity and also reach other people and mentor more.
William Gladhart:Yeah, so tell us a little bit about your organization as well.
Sarah Martin:So my organization, epic Events, was founded a little over 10 years ago. The company is focused on corporate events, brand activations and luxury private events. We've gone through three iterations, starting from the beginning of being everything to everyone, and now we've really whittled it down to what we really love and are best at thing to everyone, and now we've really whittled it down to what we really love and are best at.
William Gladhart:Yeah, so what do you really love and what are you best at?
Sarah Martin:Before we hop off into our question. Well, we love to do big things and you know our events are a lot different than, I would say, most of the average event planner. We've dealt with every governing agency, whether that's DOT event planner. We've dealt with every governing agency, whether that's DOT, fish and Wildlife, commission, Coast Guard in order to execute these very large, expansive experiences and, believe it or not, it's really within a lot of people's budgets. They just don't realize it. So we're really able to make that wow factor hit home and create a memory and an experience for someone that really puts that marker in their brain, as they call them canon minutes or canon moments, I believe. So that's our goal. We want it to be that when you're 80 years old and sitting on your porch in your rocking chair, you say I remember when and that's a story that we created in your life.
William Gladhart:That's really cool. Thank you for sharing that. So we'll be discussing three questions today. As a warm-up to start our conversation, would you share why you believe a healthy culture is critical?
Sarah Martin:Well, a healthy culture is critical. I mean, I've been on the backside of this where I didn't focus so much on culture and I focused most on task, and in doing that, it allowed me to bring in team members that really weren't focused in serving our clients the best. It took so much from me. I'm a very energetic, I'm a very driven person, and it took so much of my own personal power to guide them into the space that I needed them to be in, both mentally, physically, and that I just don't. I can't do that. I have to focus on drawing together people that have that same culture, and our culture is really centered around three main pieces, which is positivity, possibility and productivity, and if you can align in those three areas, then we are going to go far.
William Gladhart:I love that. That's really cool. Thanks for that unique insight. I love the three Ps of epic events. So what do you see as the biggest challenge leaders face when addressing cultural change within an organization, or what have you specifically been challenged or faced with in your own company?
Sarah Martin:Well, I think, first, it's just really driving home what it is exactly that you want to have be your values that set the tone for your culture and your company. That's first and foremost. I also think, too, you might not be there yet, you might not have that full culture in you at that moment, but it's something that you want to drive towards. That's totally fine. Set that as your goal culture, because you'll manifest it, you'll step into it. You have to design it before you actually become it, and so I think that's a really powerful thing, because people want to set their culture as though how they are at the moment. And then the third thing is being able to ensure that your team is really in alignment with that.
Sarah Martin:And I got to say I've had some great team members, some people that I love dearly and I'm still connected with today, but I had to, we had to part ways. We just weren't in alignment, and, and while they did great work, they were very protective of me and the company. They were loyal. They did not come into the office with a great attitude, they did not come into the office thinking positivity, they thought of all the things that could go wrong. And I will tell you, if you're an event producer, you will definitely find plenty of things that could go wrong. Essentially, that's our job. Right is to put out the fires.
Sarah Martin:So I think you know, having that courage to be able to separate from that those that aren't in your cultural mindset, having that courage to let them go, but doing so in a way that allows you to keep the relationship warm and do it with grace, I think is very important. Yeah, I think those are three main challenges, and also, well, the fourth I would say, is just doing it, living by it, like you don't just say it, you don't say that you're a healthy person and then go eat McDonald's for a week. You know what I mean. So if you say that you operate in positivity, possibility and productivity, by God, you better be doing it, and so I think that that can be a challenge, especially on the days that us, as CEOs, have a challenge of keeping up the energy, of keeping up the motivation, because it is a grind.
Sarah Martin:It's a grind, but I've learned to love that journey and really stay focused and yeah, that's.
William Gladhart:I think that's some great thoughts and great feedback, great insights. So what do you think that leaders can do to address the challenges they are facing, or what have you done? I think you kind of touched on a couple things, but I think there's an opportunity to expand a little further.
Sarah Martin:Absolutely. You know. A friend of mine told me this is like you know, you try to attract the people that you're looking for to join your team. And she gave me this awesome tip, which was when she created her job descriptions for her postings about job openings, she actually laced in all the cultural pieces of her company into the job description so that it would attract people that were looking for those environments. And I had never really done that before. I had always just said like here's what we do, here's who we are, here's what we want you to do, here's how much you're going to get paid, like that kind of arrangement. And I will say that that was a really great tip Bridget gave me and I've used it ever since.
Sarah Martin:I think some of the other challenges are just having that bravery to be able to step forward and let go of those that aren't in alignment. But I always say do it with grace, do it with positivity, and I think another challenge is ensuring that it becomes the life blood. And you really do. Sometimes you think, as a CEO, all you have to do is say it once and everybody will get it, and that is so far from the truth. You have to say it so many times, you feel like a broken record. And the crazy part is you have to say it so many times and do it with the same amount of energy and gusto and drive each and every time. And it reminds me of like when you see a famous artist and they're singing a song that they've sung for 30 years, but they sing it with such passion and love and like give you all the emotions so that you're into the music too. You have to do the same thing. You have to do the same thing as the CEO of your company.
William Gladhart:I love that as a fellow musician, I can. I can absolutely appreciate that bringing you know 20 years of the same song and putting that same energy and intensity and and continuing to repeat the message clearly over and over. So you know you've kind of shared the three p's today. You've shared some about aligning the values, also your job description, to the culture. Is there anything else that you'd like to share or add for other leaders?
Sarah Martin:Oh yeah, I mean, you know, it's funny.
William Gladhart:That was a big sigh.
Sarah Martin:I mean, that's a big question, right?
Sarah Martin:You know, as CEOs, we have a passion towards the business and I think sometimes that gets mistaken with leadership and when you really study leadership and you engage in leadership like I'm part of a, I always buy a table at this event. It's called City Lead and it's a faith-based leadership. It's once a month, it's a luncheon, but they also do it online and that really set the tone to tell me how to be a leader versus how to be a CEO, and I feel like those are two different aspects. I feel like CEO is more task management. It's more keeping a good idea of what's going on in the dashboard, keeping a good idea of where you are financially making those decisions, going forward in your projections, et cetera. But then on the leadership side, that is a whole different aspect that I think a lot of CEOs don't realize is on their shoulders when they start in building a business, and leadership is really a fascinating place to be and I think one of the areas that I struggled with in renovating this company three different times right.
Sarah Martin:I mean, I do not give up.
Sarah Martin:This is my baby, it's my passion, but one of the things is is being able to come into the office with the strength that my team needs as a leader and being able to do that and I can't say I always did that. Well, I'm a very like where your heart on your sleeve kind of person. That's how I always have been, and I really learned that if I'm wearing my heart on my sleeve, my team is literally reacting to every aspect of that. They are riding my emotions as much as they are, and so I had to really switch my mindset and say, okay, I need to move into more of a leadership position. I need to invest in my team. I need to know where they are in their life. I need to know what it is they want to accomplish.
Sarah Martin:One thing we do is we have everyone set up a word of the year so that they can really focus on one aspect of their life that they'd like to improve. That shows that I can be really dedicated to not only their space in the office but their space outside of the office. I mean within reason. Obviously, I don't need to know all their, all their drama but, you know, really support them in that, and I think that's what's being a leader is and that's what's really important for you know keeping your team positive, productive and in a in a mindset of possibility.
William Gladhart:Well, Sarah, thank you so much for being our guest today and thank you for your insights.
Sarah Martin:Thank you much for being our guest today, and thank you for your insights.
William Gladhart:Thank you, thanks for having me Will. Thank you for joining us on the Leadership Lovers podcast. You may find all our Leadership Lovers episodes in our Culture Think Tank community at www. culturethinktank. ai. Join the community at no charge and tune in weekly as we invite leaders to share their experience in strengthening culture, one action at a time.
