Structuring Chaotic Minds

Sustainable Leadership: Systems, Wellness, And Real-Life Balance

• Melissa Franklin • Season 5 • Episode 1

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Burnout isn’t a badge. It’s a warning light. We sat down with three leaders across education, advocacy, and operations to unpack what sustainable leadership really looks like when the buses still need to run, kids need to be safe, and results still matter. Together we explore how to build capacity you can actually maintain, the role of seasons in your career and family life, and the quiet mechanics of systems that keep teams moving even when you step away.

You’ll hear the unfiltered realities behind “balanced growth”: morning anchors that restore energy, the practical power of a living calendar and task list, and why minimum viable outcomes beat perfection when stakes are high and time is short. We get honest about burnout—how it creeps in, what the early signals feel like in your body, and how to reset after a setback, including the vulnerable aftermath of a close public loss. We also break down culture design that lasts: trust first, distribute knowledge early, document once and reuse, and delegate so people gain confidence instead of becoming dependent.

If you lead a school program, a nonprofit initiative, or a small team, you’ll find tools to prevent crisis mode, normalize capacity conversations, and create processes that let others run the playbook without you. Expect practical habits, candid stories, and a reminder that leadership longevity starts with protecting your wellness and teaching what you know, not doing it all yourself. Subscribe for more conversations on sustainable leadership, share this with a leader who needs a reset, and leave a review to help others find the show. What one habit will you add this week to make your leadership last?


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SPEAKER_04:

Welcome to Structuring Chaotic Life, a podcast where we turn the chaos of everyday challenges into structured success. I'm your host, Melissa, and each episode we'll explore innovative strategies, real-life stories, and actionable insights to help you navigate the complexities of leadership, business, and personal growth. Whether you're an entrepreneur, a leader, or someone striving for personal development, this podcast will give you the tools to create clarity and the chaos. Let's dive in. Thank you everybody for being here tonight. And good evening. We are talking about Balanced Growth Leadership Series. So this particular series started a year ago. We're really excited to jump back into the flagship topic that we talked about, which was longevity and leadership. Leadership is really exciting. You get excited about being in charge. You get excited about these new roles, these new titles. And then all of a sudden, sustaining it becomes this extra task that nobody warned you for, nobody really gave you the heads up on. And some people don't really talk about it. So we're going to dive into that taboo topic that a lot of people don't really talk about. And it comes down into how do we keep leadership to actually be sustainable? How do we build those systems? How do we make sure that we have self-awareness? And how do we have that willingness to evolve as we keep going so we don't lose ourselves along the way, whether it be a mom, a dad, a sister, a brother, a daughter, a son? We we want to make sure that we're still showing up in those roles. And the way that we can show up in those roles is really talking about those spaces and being able to have systems or strategies to actually make these things possible. So my name is Melissa Franklin. I am the founder of Structure Innovations and I am an executive coach, and I'm super excited to bring this topic to you guys tonight. I am super honored to have our moderators here as we are talking about this session. What you guys will learn tonight is how to avoid burnout, lead with balance, but actually create a lasting impact. Because at the end of the day, we want to make sure that we actually have an impact that's taking place rather than we're just clocking in and then okay, it's over. We want to make sure that something is sustainable, that we can keep showing up and that it is something long-term. So I want to take a moment to go ahead and meet our panelists. And tonight we have Francis Gallardo, we have Linda Perez, and then we have Saira Mecho Morales. I am super excited about this combination of ladies. So when it started out last year, it was it was a question of are we doing business professionals? Are we doing educators? What are we really doing? Because structure innovations really touches with education and business and branching the two. These ladies have a very combination and background that is so diverse that I'm super excited and honored to have them all here. I'm gonna start first with Francis Gallagher. I'm gonna ask each panelist to introduce themselves. Like, what is it about who you are, leadership, and what does the word sustainable leadership mean to you? So I'm gonna start first with Frances because she's on our left side, and we'll get started with her.

SPEAKER_01:

Hello, good evening. I'm Francis Gallergo and for me, I could say that the biggest thing is capacity, right? In order to sustain and avoid the burnout is capacity, understanding and knowing like your capacity and and you're able to continue and you know everyone's you know, as leaders, you see many other leaders, you see many other leaders and doing so many different things, and we don't know their their capacity, but if you uh pay attention to your own capacity, what you're able to do, what you're passionate about, and focus on that, that's what I would say as as far as has worked for me.

SPEAKER_04:

I'm gonna struggle with this because I'm gonna want to put hearts and emojis as you're saying things. And I love that that it's it's that awareness of self and like checking in. Oh, I'm excited. Thank you, Francis. I'm gonna go next to Linda, Linda Fettis. Linda is somebody as a leader that I have looked up to for years. I'm excited to have her on. As to me, she's a leadership person that brings together not only athletics and like teaching children how to actually do what they have to do in the real world, but making sure the building doesn't burn down and everybody's still got home alive. And there is so much in that process and running these types of systems. So I'm really excited to have Linda on as well. Linda, can you introduce yourself? Um, your your background in education leadership in general, and then what the word longevity and leadership means to you.

SPEAKER_05:

Hi, my name is Linda Perez. I am an athletic coordinator, but I also am the special Olympics coordinator for the district. I have to actually, but I have to make sure that everybody I work with, I understand. We are working for the children and also for the parents, very understanding, working together as a whole group, making sure everything runs smoothly and making sure I am on top of everything that needs to be covered. As far as you know, the meals, the buses, making sure the students and the practices are there on time and really taking care of one another, but then making sure that family always comes first before anything. And making sure that everybody goes home with the peace and self-mind. You know, I'm the one that I believe I take the most dress home, being as a leader and the athletic, and I try to keep everybody together. I'm the one that keeps I'm I'm in the balance beam where I'm in the middle. And to me, the capacity is very important also because each one plays an important role in our lives, and the challenges will come every day. And with those challenges, we're gonna come with them and we're gonna roll with the punches. And that's how we go. And we work together and get things done, and we got to work together with that part.

SPEAKER_04:

Love it. Thank you so much. And now I want to introduce Saida Mitchell Morales. I had the honor of meeting Saida through another nonprofit organization that does a lot of advocacy that makes me super excited, just like Francis. But the cool part about getting to meet Saida is I saw her navigating also different leadership spaces in education as well as in the business spaces. And it was just really exciting to watch. So I'm gonna stop ranting and I'm gonna let Saida introduce herself. Saida, who are you? What's your title? What's your background? And what does longevity and leadership mean to you?

SPEAKER_00:

Yes, well, thank you for having me, Melissa. Really excited to I haven't met Linda before, but it's nice to e-meet you, meet you virtually. And Francis is it's good to see you as always. Uh, so I'm currently the communications director for Futuro San Antonio, an education advocacy nonprofit here in the city. And I actually also ran for school board here in East Central ISD. And it was the first time I ever ran for office. And for me, longevity and leadership is about thinking of it as you go through seasons. And so some seasons will be busier than others, but at the end of the day, you are still a leader. I think that I'm someone who was raised to always go give my hundred per 110% really all the time. You know, I was raised by a single mom who was always working three jobs and just go, go, go nonstop. Um, but I saw how that also exhausted her and, you know, led her to be burnt out and she's finally starting to take care of herself. But, you know, like health issues can come up if you're just giving more than what you can. Francis talked about capacity, right? Like if you're going over capacity too much, you know, that that can lead to burnout. And I think it can be easy to compare yourself to others and think, oh, well, they're doing this and they're doing that, and they're accomplishing all these things, and like, why am I not keeping up? But you know, focus on your own race to marathon, not a sprint. And there's times where you're gonna have more energy and you could probably run a faster mile. And then there's times where you're going really slowly and you're just putting one foot in front of the other. So just being kind uh to yourself and and being patient and um remember that you're running your own race and everything has its season. So if things are a little slower right now, that's okay. Know that there's gonna be a season where it picks up and you're gonna miss things being a little slow. And also if things are really busy right now, know that you know things will will slow down again.

SPEAKER_04:

I love it. I was like, yes, summarized and like we're ready for checkpoints. Thank you, Saida. Thank you, ladies. I am super excited about this particular topic. When I first started this a year ago, we chatted about a topic that's really taboo, and it came to how do we sustain ourselves in leadership? But how many leaders actually admit that they're tired? How many admit that, oh man, I miss my kids' stuff and all these other things? That was the whole purpose behind this. Who's the person? Who's the leader? And let's just bring some sense of awareness to all these things. Sometimes we can't juggle all of it, sometimes we can't continue with all of it. And we want to bring these experts together to share their experiences and help give you like that background to where you can feel that it is the same thing, that at the end of the day you're still held accountable, but that nope, I I can't do it all. I have to pick and choose what I'm gonna prioritize this week. And I'm super excited to see everybody coming on together because there's very diverse backgrounds. So today's conversation, we're gonna start first with a poll. I'm gonna stop sharing my screen. I'm gonna start sharing onto the poll, but what is the biggest challenge in sustaining leadership energy? So, this is for our audience as well as our panelists. I want you guys to think about it. What is the biggest challenge in sustaining leadership energy? Can everybody see the question popping up at the moment? Awesome. You guys can go ahead and vote. I'm gonna leave about 30 seconds on there, and it's okay if you don't vote. If you're driving, please do not vote. It is just more for us to chat about. I don't want anybody to feel like they'd have to push. Remember, this turns into a podcast series, so no pressure. It's just a conversation. This is really for us to be able to kind of reflect and chat about. All right, I'm gonna go ahead and start sharing because pretty much everybody has voted. So I'm gonna go ahead and start here. Panelists. What do y'all think? Anyone can feel free to take themselves off mute. What we're seeing is the biggest challenge is motivation and then burnout and then lack of systems. Team turnover is not even an issue, and that's literally what businesses usually complain about. Oh my goodness, it's always a high turnover. That's why we can't keep it. I am so curious to hear what my panelists have to say about the audience's take on this. Who would like to start?

SPEAKER_01:

I guess I could start. I personally voted for burnout because I hadn't gone through that, and to say that let me share that it's okay. We're all gonna go through it. What matters is how we pick ourselves up and how we continue and we learn from it, and we learn from it, and then I want to share too. I didn't go in depth into like what is it that I do as a leader. I'm a parent advocate with Futuro. I'm a community health worker, and I'm a part of a coalition. I I do coalition work, I do uh like focus groups work, I'm doing there's so many things I'm doing in community, but I've learned I could say to balance and pick and choose what I can take on, you know, and I think that's that that's what causes if we have that balanced burnout, it won't happen to say like there's such thing as you'll you can have a small burnout and you can have a really deep burnout, you know, and I've gone through both and I feel that and as a leader now, uh that's what I avoid. So I I pay attention to try to pay attention, you know. I say motivation. I saw that which one was the first one? Motivation, right? I have more motivation and yeah, motivation is I think the motivation is the circles. I would say for for my experiences, the circles that you know I put myself in and who I surround myself, like other leaders and stuff, to keep motivating and seeing the work that we're doing and also sharing together the work that we're doing. And I think that's how we're able to keep each other motivated and and going into like avoiding too much of a deep burnout. And then I think that's what I have to say.

SPEAKER_00:

It's going off of Francis. I also put burnout, and I think I don't know about other folks here, but I'm the kind of person who will go until my body like shuts down, or like, you know, my body will tell me you've had enough. And I'll get like really sick, or you know, I'll just like kind of physically, you know, hit a wall. And you know, I'm trying to be better now about not getting to that wall, like starting to identify, and this is something that I've like been working on personally, is starting to identify the warning signs of like I'm going, I'm doing too much too fast, like I need to slow it down and scale back. And so that's why I think for me right now the issue is burnout. I think when I was younger and like before I had my my kids, motivation, I struggled with motivation a little bit just because my priorities were different. I was kind of more focused on myself. I didn't really think too much about, I mean, like I cared about my larger community, but now it's, you know, I want, I'm motivated by my children. They're my biggest motivator and a lot of the reason for why I do things. But that's not to say that, like, you know, if you have kids and you're not stepping in into all these leadership roles, I think actually having kids should motivate me to scale back a little bit so I can be there for them and and be present. And so I think it's definitely a balancing act. And again, I I come back to this idea of seasons. And so understanding that depending on the age of your kids, I think that matters too. Uh, I have a five-month-old, and so I have to like really be intentional and you know, not not do too much because they're only so little for so long. But, you know, and then depending on like the age, um, as they get older, like there's different flexibility. Of course, every stage comes with its challenges. It's not to say that like teenagers are, you know, are easy, but it's but it is to say that like your your leadership might look different depending on your age, depending on if you have kids or not, and your kids' age ages. And then in terms of lack of systems, I definitely uh have seen that in in the workplace. Like if you are not part of a team that checks in on each other and that values and supports you taking space, that can definitely lead to burnout. And I've been in environments where every like everyone around me is working at a super, you know, fast paced, and that's almost like being rewarded, you know, to like work extra hours and stay late and do more. And and that was definitely like a recipe for for burnout.

SPEAKER_04:

I love that. Thank you for sharing that because it's important for I'm trying to find my emoji button for the hearts because she had a lot of mic drop overs that I was trying to share them. It's not working for me. Sorry, guys. Yes, Saida, there was so much that you said. I love the part that we're in different phases as moms. As parents, there's some dads in here, they're at different stages too. And I don't envy you. I know you got some littles, but I got some bigger ones. And I'm like, oh my God, I am still losing my mind being chauffeur. It's wow. How am I showing up and making these like multi-million dollar deals? And then I'm like, oh, you need to be somewhere at five o'clock, and I'm still late. Like it's it's uh it's a pick and choose. We gotta give ourselves grace. We gotta figure that part out. So I love that you pointed out motivation changes based on our basis and where we're at. It's important. We have to remind ourselves of that. So let's kind of look into these. This is what our panelists want to answer. So the first topic is gonna be what habits or routines anchor your leadership? Second question, what systems helped you stay structured through growth and chaos? And the third question Have you faced burnout? Have you recovered and reset? So I'm gonna name this for our audience. Every lady here, or every panelist here, it wasn't even because we chose a lady, we chose a panelist expert who has been showing up in other spaces and who had real life happen and somehow still got the results done. I was honored to invite them because it was like they're still showing up, they're still delivering. I don't know how they're doing it, but let's talk about it. And they're they're not wrong. Being a mom, being a parent, being a leader, being in charge of eight other organizations at the same time can be a lot. And you you pick and choose, but routines make it possible. So I want them to share their expertise, and I would like them to start with the first question. What habits or routines anchored you all in your leadership? And who would like to pick that first one? How do we survive this, guys? How do we make this actually longevity and long term?

SPEAKER_05:

Yes, I can I can go. What habits I have in routines are anchors for being a leadership is really waking up early in the morning, working out, and having my uh my motivation really kick in and my self-peace of mind as far as my routine that we will anchor to my leadership to have that self self-mind uh wellness in place.

SPEAKER_04:

I love that. We gotta start early. You're leading a bunch of other people. So her version of early, guys, like she she's gotta open the building and make sure the kids don't take off anywhere else.

SPEAKER_05:

Yep, I'm there at 5:30 in the morning, opening gates for all the teachers and everybody else.

SPEAKER_03:

So our version of early is a lot different.

SPEAKER_05:

Yes, it is. I'm there at 5:30 in the morning, opening gates, opening doors, and then I'll start my early morning job. And I just have this routine that I listen to. It's actually my YouTube, it's a it's a video that comes out every day, and it's just like, for example, struggles and then habits and you know, the purpose why you hear purpose, you know, just little motivational, inspiring, motivational speakers on a daily basis is what I listen to, and then I take to target dress. It's like I think about work, the guitar get dressed and get that. That's my routine every day, every morning, and that's how I start my day.

SPEAKER_04:

And that's partially why I would share that. Coming from the space to where, as a Latina and an individual that grew up in poverty, education was the outlet. But then watching all these individuals who got their education and still they were somehow exhausted and tired, and I was like, they're doing something and they're making it, but they're still not quite like satisfied or happy or what is it. And then also with myself, I was always getting sick. I was always getting injuries. I was always having these things. I'm like, how can I keep up with them? Yeah, right. I don't even know how I'm gonna do that because I still have a doctor's appointment this morning. Beautiful. The whole conversation comes down to what we've seen and what we've watched. Sometimes this chaos comes into watching other individuals and we evolve it in a different way to make it sustainable for ourselves. So let's move on to the second question. What systems helped anybody stay structured through growth and chaos? Because I know for me, it was actually watching everybody else, and I was like, I don't want to wake up at five o'clock in the morning and keep being here at 5 30. That was a motivator for me. Saida Francis, I know it's a little bit different. Anyone want to piggyback?

SPEAKER_01:

I guess I can go with systems help stay structured through growth. I would say um for me, I would say the number one thing that I've learned is taking care of myself. I know we hear it a lot. We hear it all the time, and especially when you're in the middle of like how can I take care of myself if I'm doing ABC over here, one, two, three, X, Y, Z over there, you know. But one of the things that my grandmother told me when we me and my siblings growing up was like if you don't take care of yourself, you can't take care of nobody. You know? And you don't for me, my experience, I didn't realize it until it was that where I couldn't even take care of myself anymore. As like a burnout, as you know, so I would say that first and foremost is take care of yourself, you know, and and to be able to recognize it, you know, and when you feel it, when you see it, just do it. Make the space, make the time to do it, you know, because uh time is free, that's another thing. But time is free, we don't have to pay for it, we don't owe it to nobody. You know, we can uh create our own system. And I would say another thing that has uh helped me that I can say that I tell everyone and anyone if you want me to be a part of something, you know, we can talk about it, we make contact, we talk about it. So it's something that helps me is calendar invite. And then that way I can check if that works for me. I'm very, very about my calendar, you know. It it helps me at night before I go to sleep, I go check it, make sure. And you know, I think that's one of the biggest things is calendar invite me. It's not, it didn't happen, the conversation did not exist, you know, and that's one of the things I feel that helped me. And it has helped me to not burn out, you know, like and and if I have to change something, I I go pick and choose and look into it and prioritize, you know. So I would say first thing and foremost is take care of yourself and your calendar that you know aside from aside from my Bible right next to me, you know, is my calendar. So so yeah, that's the structure that I have created, you know, through growth and the chaos. I love it.

SPEAKER_04:

Well, then we're gonna pay you back, Saida. By any chance, have you faced burnout? And if so, how did you recover or reset?

SPEAKER_00:

Yes, I'm so ready to answer that question because when I ran for school board, I lost by 103 votes. Uh, so it was pretty close. And I just remember that night, kind of just everything fell on me at once. Like I just felt like the weight of everything that I had been carrying, you know, trying like when you put yourself out in the spotlight and you you're just so vulnerable, and then you're working around the clock, it and then all of a sudden it's like it's over, it's done. Like, almost like my body was like, oh, okay. And I felt this immense relief, but then I also felt like all the midnight oil I had been burning was like finally catching up to me. And I I instinctively just kind of focused more inward. So I didn't really talk to people like I told my friends and my family, you know, they reached out and I was like, thank you, I appreciate it. I don't want to talk about it right now. And I kind of just like let it sit, the experience of, you know, pouring your heart into something and it just not working out how you thought it would. I had up until that point had this like, you know, these dreams of seeing myself make it. And then when it, when I didn't, I kind of had to like readjust to the reality and then see myself differently. Because to be honest, I I hadn't, I thought about like, yeah, I probably won't win. But you know, when you're when you pour your heart into something, you think about it uh as a success. You don't spend too much time thinking about it failing. So sitting with the failure, connecting with my family, I just prioritize family time, going on walks. I stayed off social media. I made like, you know, a post about the election or whatever. But then after that, I just like, you know, cut off contact. And I needed that. I needed to just cut out the noise, the external noise, and listen to my heart. And for me, I I feel connected to my church community. And so I just was showing up to church every Sunday and was just kind of trying to get back in touch with myself. And I didn't sign up for anything. Like I didn't apply to anything. I didn't sign up for anything. I just kind of like sat with it in my heart and, you know, talked to myself, put it out in the universe. Okay, what what are my next steps here? But I won't lie, it was really hard at first. And I definitely, you know, was in a dark place where I felt like, you know what, forget it. Like, I don't want to take any other risks, I don't want to do any other leadership positions, like I'm done. But I just needed to give myself that time and that space. And and eventually, once I had healed, I was then slowly able to start intentionally leaning into the spaces where I felt called to be in.

SPEAKER_03:

I love that.

SPEAKER_04:

No, I think it's the hardest part is being vulnerable and then watching everybody watch you through that. That was one of the most impressive things about you and leadership for me. It was like, wow, she took that with just such grace. And then I know you had to do your step back, but then you still got right back out there and kept doing it. And that was beautiful for me. And it kind of takes it down to what do we have to do to keep ourselves focused and balanced? So I'm gonna ask our audience now and launch this poll question. It's gonna be a long answer, and it's gonna it's gonna change on answers, and that's fine. But this is just more for us to see from you guys. What is one thing that you do weekly that keeps you focused or balanced? About a minute, because I know we gotta actually type a sentence now instead of just A P C D. Okay, so looking at those, what we will do is we will share those answers in the actual podcast episode so you'll be able to hear those type of responses, but they will not say who shared them. So those answers will get shared with everybody, and I'm very curious to see what we have. Our panelists would anybody like to share what do you do to stay focused and balanced weekly that keeps you going.

SPEAKER_01:

For me, honestly, what keeps me focused and balanced is my gratitude every day to my higher power, which is God, Jesus Christ. So every day sharing, you know, sharing that gratitude and praising and worshiping and in tuning myself, you know, my connection, my relationship with God, because that has helped me tremendously, tremendously to be able to stay focused and balanced. And even when it goes off, there's no such thing as, oh, that's the key, that's the answer perfectly. It's gonna work perfectly every time. It doesn't, but it's a routine that continuously that I know that I can turn to and pour out, you know, because when you're fulfilled with your leading your leadership roles and all the types of leadership roles as a mom, as a sister, as a daughter, as you know, just your inner circle to the outer circle. And yeah, so weekly that's what keeps me focused and balanced, right? And it's amazing. What about you, Saina?

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, I was just thinking as Francis was sharing that. As a kid, I used to hate going to church. I I would beg my mom to not make me go. And now, as and it's so funny, and it's it's literally like a switch. It's like after I had my son, I was like craving that community and that experience. And so I yeah, and so now it's like I I need it. Like if I don't, you know, go on Sunday, I I feel like the rest of the week I'm like a little off and a little, you know, it's like not grounded. It's it's just become so important to me. And um, I do that, but then I also do like the logistical thing of just planning out my week. You know, I used to just hold it all in my head and I would forget things, things wouldn't get done. And so now it's like I put it, put it all on my calendar. I also use tasks on Google Calendar. You can like do tasks for yourself, and you can also put like when you do it. Um, so if I had to like call, make, call, and make an appointment, I like put it exactly in my calendar when I'm gonna do it. And I found that that really helps me.

SPEAKER_04:

I love that. I think it's the scheduling and the planning in advance, and sometimes we just don't give ourselves the room to do that. But yes, you are not wrong. Okay. So thinking about this guy, this is for our panelists, moving on to the next space. So it's one thing maintaining ourselves as people and just and then I don't know about you guys, but as I'm trying to make sure I don't let the building burn down and other stuff, somehow I managed to piss off everybody in the room. Oh my god, what did I do wrong? So, how do you really mentor but pass on the leadership skills, but keep that culture of actually growing leadership skills rather than upsetting people or telling them what to do? What makes team culture sustainable and not feel like directions and directives or rather than I said, and hey, we're a team. How do we really make that happen? And then finally, how do you prepare your business or your leadership role to operate without you? Because that's a whole nother thing. If you want to go on vacation one day and you are you're not the business owner, but you are there in that job, then it makes sense for you to build procedures and approaches to things so you can still go on vacation. That sort of thing. So basically, I'm gonna ask you guys first, whoever wants to come off me from our panelists, how do you mentor or pass on leadership skills thinking about those topics at this moment?

SPEAKER_05:

That one is pretty hard to be honest with you. Mentor or pass on the leadership skills, only because I'm speaking for myself, because when I don't go to work, everything it just goes downward. So I'm getting phone calls while I'm home or sick or what have you. So it's either get a notebook and write down everything I'm doing. I have to call up my substitute who's a retired teacher, who has to get on my email to forward information while I'm at the doctor's office, for example. So it is on my part, it's very hard to mentor somebody. Yes, I'm mentoring somebody right now, but it's step by step. Okay, get a notebook. This is what I'm going over step one, step two, step three, and then refer back to my emails that have been sent out. So pin my emails that have been sent out, work side by side with that individual. But they also got to make sure that we are at the same level. If they don't understand, they have to come back and I have to sit down with them and do a whole reset regroup and have meetings and help them to the best of my knowledge and and until they understand what they're able to do without me being there. Because I did tell them, I did let them know if I the data retire, I'm gonna be out and I'm gonna delete everybody's phone number. So good. So we'll see what happens. But right now, um the mentoring, it is like I said, it is very hard to mentor somebody as far as the task, the leadership that I have on my plate right now. But I am showing them as much as I can. And I have one mentor that I'm doing right now. She's new, so she's learning very quick. She's a quick learner, she's doing an awesome job, and she'll ask questions. You know, how do I do this? Show me how to do it. And I said, No, you're you're gonna do it. I will show you, you know, you're gonna do it. Let me see, type, type the account number, type this. I'm gonna see you do it. So it's a lot of hands-on also uh activity and a lot of hands-on stuff that we have to do and a lot of acknowledgment. So, what I really like about her is that she finds resources without me helping her. She'll ask, I'll be the last resort, she'll ask before she finds the answer, which is a getting better, a lot better than it, you know, from the beginning. But it does take a lot of work.

SPEAKER_04:

I love it. It's it's the molding of the next person that's gonna pass on that baton and actually hold it down without you. So I'm gonna push this back to Saida or Francis. What makes that team culture sustainable? Because at the end of the day, somebody still decided that was gonna be the team culture. So, what makes it sustainable?

SPEAKER_03:

You're both making that face. Like, who's gonna go?

SPEAKER_00:

I can go. So I feel really good about currently being part of a small team, but a team where people lean in and help. And we are constantly communicating and constantly helping each other so that when one person leaves, we still know what's happening and we can lean in where we need to. Like, I just think about like our executive director was out on vacation and we like ran the organization. Like, nobody would have known that she was out for that week because I mean, we just knew how to step into that leadership. And and for me, you know, I manage like the communications, and so I tried to just as much as I can. Like I with my job, I can do this. I know that some people have high-stakes jobs and you can't just like lower your expectations. But for me, I can lower my expectations in the sense that, you know, the social media isn't gonna have a post every day and all these things, but like it's gonna have two posts and they're gonna be strong posts. And, you know, like I also implement this in my marriage. Like, if I want my husband to help me do the ditches, I'm not gonna then criticize him for how he did the ditches. Are they clean? Great. Are they put away? Maybe not how I like it, but they're put away. So it's like, you know, you kind of figure out like what you kind of pick your battles to or like kind of like what what's the hill you're gonna die on. And you know, for me, the ditches are not a hill I'm gonna die on, but other things might be. And so I think it's just kind of figuring out like what's a priority, what's not a priority, you know, what can, if you're not there, what can can scale back. And then delegating. So like whenever I do a project, I try not to do everything myself because if I do everything myself and I get sick or something happens to me, the whole project is gonna fail. So instead, I try to like delegate things and and make it so that like if because this has happened to me before, I should say this. I learned this the hard way from experience. When you do everything yourself and then something happens to you, the whole thing falls apart. So I now try to be a lot more intentional about bringing other people in and making sure that like everyone sees how the pie is made. So if something happens to me or when I need to take a day off, you know, there's there's no concern about things getting done.

SPEAKER_04:

I love how you just said that. When I was a teacher and running everything by myself, I don't know how the teacher runs the building, but the teacher was running the building. So when I was a teacher running the building, I got typhus. And I got called by my principal and my manager and got asked, so when are you coming back? Hey, CDC says I can't go. Like you have to accept that and figure it out without me. Nobody died, and it still happened, but nothing happened and no progress was made. So, kind of how you said that when I moved into leadership, my exact mindset was how do I do this so they can still figure it out without me? I need them to understand their roles, and people would be upset and be like, I'm not the principal, I'm not the leader. But at one point or another, everybody might be sick and you need to figure it out still. And hey, you get to be in charge that day and get to decide what happened and what didn't, but nobody's gonna get fired because you knew the bare minimum or you knew the expectations, just like you said it. How did the pie get made? Did the dishes get washed? They didn't get put where I wanted them, but they got washed, and I can reuse that plate, I can still do what I needed to do. It doesn't look how I want it to look, but it got done. And how is that a sustainable type of thing? How do we bring people into that culture? Linda was just sharing that she's training a new mentee and then getting them in that space. So, Francis, I'm gonna push it back to you. You don't have to prepare your own business, but you've been in other spaces where you advocate for people and you have put some amazing stuff in place that is like checked boxes and got people to start moving. How did you do that and get them to operate without you?

SPEAKER_01:

say the biggest thing is trust you know trusting I feel that you know the sustainable culture and preparing your team or person to operate without you is one from the very beginning is having that trust being open with trust sharing that trust and vice versa to with each other all around like you know the whole team or if it's a team of two or you know because when you have that trust they have that confidence you know the confidence to be able to do I used to work for a housing organization and I was a service manager and so there was times where you know there was one time that I was out for a month you know due to something happening right and everything ran so smoothly you know everything ran so smoothly as far as I built a community with other service managers who knew my property who knew my client my residence because and also in in advocating like you know when we're doing certain things it's just that trust so that we gain the confidence to be able to do it as well. You know I would say that the key thing I could say for it is preparing someone to operate is showing them that trust so they can have the confidence to be able to go out and and operate. You know I had a an out there man tell me one time he asked me do you know how the difference between a good leader and a great leader and I said no and he said a great leader builds great leaders a good leader just selfishly leads you know with the intention that they want to lead to do something good right but a great leader will build other great leaders you know and that just stuck with me you know so it's like if I have the password to how to do something to how to make it work how to you know coordinate and you know come together and and and stand for something you know is is building other great leaders.

SPEAKER_04:

So yes I love that and be like send me the password send me the password you guys are gonna understand what that means moving forward all right guys so then let's think about it based on the conversation and what we're talking about what part of longevity are you most focused on improving at the moment then wellness team improvement or sorry team development improvements the same thing fine team development systems or financial longevity we haven't really talked about finances today but we're talking about more sustaining ourselves what are you guys focused on and what would be the biggest priority for you So we have a very interesting mix I feel like people not being worried about team development usually means you're not the one in charge. It doesn't mean you don't care it just means somebody else is gonna figure it out and that's fine. They're more worried about making sure they can figure it out and what is their part. So I love this part because this is kind of the aha moment that we all need. And it just kind of comes down to what is it that we need to approach for longevity so before we close and well looking into this I want to ask each of you as we follow up what would you like access to like are you ready to actually be going through these pieces or do we need a little bit more extension and questions are you subscribed is everything in there I I really want to look into this there's no single path for leadership but what is your next step? Is it one habit is it one boundary is it one mindset shift what is it really going to look like for you guys for our panelists looking back at that particular one I'm I kind of want to come back to this. Based on them picking mainly wellness and systems as we wrap up what do y'all think why was it mainly wellness and systems and why did BND get left out I can answer I feel that with my personal lived experience and also being in community I think that wellness holistically whether it's mind, body, spirit everyone has a different place where they're at, you know, when it comes to wellness I think that if that's taking care of everything else can fall into place.

SPEAKER_01:

You know so and then systems is being the next is I see that it's the you know the biggest is that how to create systems and how to sustain systems. Sorry and how to execute you know so I would think those three things is that I I could see why systems was like one of the highest you know and um and yes like you know process um someone creating a systemic oh I went away process and the the message is that creating the processes and procedures and and and the thing is too is that sticking with them. You know I think is that also sticking with them and actually trying them and doing them before you change them or before you say oh no this is not this is a failure you know is that when you when the system is created you know go through the process.

SPEAKER_00:

So yes I just see Saida like yep yep yep Saida do you want to pick me back up Francis said it perfectly I mean it was what I was thinking too that you know with wellness that's something that you can control right like you can control the food you eat how much water you drink how much outdoor air you get that's within your locus of control. I think sometimes with team development that can be a little intimidating. I currently don't manage a team so also to your point Melissa it's not a priority for me. I think with systems you know especially as you get older and you have to manage and navigate so much more I like I think about when I was in college you know I just worried about myself but now with systems it's like you have a home you have a car you have a job you have a family you have you know and so you really got to find a system that works for you. I used to think that like I needed a paper planner because I thought it looked so cute and I would see it on you know TikTok and it's like oh I want to be one of those people that uses stickers and writes everything down. But you know that's actually not realistic for me anymore at this phase of my life. And so to like Francis's point, sometimes you can have systems that work you know in one at one point but then um you know sometimes you have to reevaluate and you have to ask yourself like is this system working for me? And then the final one was oh financial longevity. I mean I I feel like that I'm still working on it. I feel like that is with everything else it's definitely really important. And but I feel that's more of like a personal than not not necessarily me as a leader. But seeing that that is kind of pushing me to think now that maybe that is something to think about as a leader. Do I have the financial stability to to be able to lead and you know be comfortable leading and not worried about my financial situation. So something for me to think about now.

SPEAKER_04:

I love that again it's just more the different phases and the spaces that we're at I love that you just said like the planners aren't possible. I can't tell you how many planners I have stored that I never touched that I'm now using but I have no children now in the house and in my head they're over 18 if they don't make it mommy taught them and it is what it is I just want to go put more stickers in my theme that say so and so's birthday and all this other so it's the motivation factors as you kept saying Saida like I love that you pointed that out because we're each in a different state we have different roles we have different things that make us show up in a different way and all of us need to just understand at the end of the day that how do you maintain that and make sure that you don't burn out as you go how is that still something that is sustainable for you so in the group I'm just gonna do one call to action this particular practice keeps me going I want y'all to put that in the chat this particular practice keeps me going. For me every week I do a wheel of life check-in I rate myself on a scale of one to ten where am I at on fitness a one it's it's been a one a lot like it is what it is where am I at on mental health where am I at on personal growth where am I at on my relationships with family and friends my finances my different pieces I look at those things every single week and that's my thing and then finally I'm gonna ask you guys in the poll before you leave how valuable was today's session for you all was it something that you want to reattend not attend let us know was it something that was actually impactful sometimes we feel like we're complaining about something where we want to vent and we need that space and you just kind of need that validation from other people that are actually getting it done because we look up to other people and we're like wow they really sparkle and they're really shiny and somehow I wish I could be like them how do they do it and you don't realize that they have McDonald's burning in the back and like there's three dirty diapers and these other pieces that they're not mentioning and you don't see that there but they showed up and it got done and it's whatever and that might also feel like that to a a like a new mom other moms are like nobody died we all showed up it it it happened it's really a series of where we're at in our lives and as dads too like there's different things that they're gonna show up for they might have to show up for the finances they might have to show up for the pieces that they feel like they're missing out on and how do we continue to to deliver in those pieces so I'm just asking each of you what practice keeps you guys going and then as the poll question goes what how did you feel about tonight did you want to return would you suggest it to somebody else or you're like eh it is what it is and I can deal with that and that's perfectly fine. But let us know so that way we can improve these pieces for you guys I thank each of you for joining we are right at eight o'clock if you want to stay on and ask your questions to our experts we encourage you to stay on. However if not enjoy your the rest of your week and remind yourselves that there is a balance that everybody is a different step and do not measure your progress to somebody else's measured and stick because we are all at a very different space and thank you everybody for joining us tonight question for Miss Bettis go ahead hey miss Bettis how is it that you do it to make sure that you don't go crazy because I know visualizing you every day I've I've always told you that you remind me a lot of my daughter and it's just amazing to me how you're able to survive remember I've always given you that praise how you've ever been able to survive everything you always go through which is always amazing because you you finish and you show up again the next day and here we go again.

SPEAKER_02:

It's just like you know scheduling and it's just like a repetition and you're hoping that everybody else gets what they're supposed to get but the best part about you is that you don't give up. That's what I love the most about working with you before.

SPEAKER_05:

Thank you very much. I greatly appreciate it every day as I drive to work I pray to God every single day to give me the guidance the patience and to protect me and the children that need to go home to their parents and every day like I said is a challenge and a challenge that is in front of me. God will always guide me no matter what will give me the strength and guidance and to move forward at the end of the day I love to see the students smiling their their faces with the smile I know tough love is a little bit what we used to do back in the day. I still believe I'm still old school I do a lot of tough love because I know I can push them to their limit because I know they're capable of doing what they can and what we see and they don't see and they become future scholarship athletes signing for sports that you know we we've come to accomplish building these student athletes and that really uh keeps me going is seeing them going through to school graduating and becoming somebody in their life and that really makes me so proud and touching and that's what keeps me going and focusing regardless of sometimes that I have the chaos going on here and resetting and I have to come home and reset on the weekend and go for Monday here we go again she's always done a great job so thank you.

SPEAKER_04:

I will extend that and say a huge thank you because it's leaders educators like yourself that have to do that extra and if it wasn't for you then the kids wouldn't have a space to be able to show up to so thank you because it really is important and a lot of people overlook that but that constant you're not done even though you're pushing towards retirement is like I'm still showing up you're still delivering you're still doing what's needed so huge thank you to you does anybody else want to piggyback or comment all right then well ladies thank you so much we normally have a mixed audience and panel and such it's not just always ladies so I don't want to just keep saying ladies but at the same time today's audience had just nothing but ladies that's fine I don't know if it's just the moms and the other spaces but it came down to longevity and how do you keep them but in these extra spaces and still show up. So thank you ladies for y'all's expertise and for sharing. And thank you everybody else who joined us today for having that open mindset and for being able to look into that space and share in a space of empathy instead of judgment because that's really what's needed for everybody to understand that hey I would love to do that but right now here's thank you for tuning into structuring if today's episode resonates with you subscribe share and leave a review we're all trying to remember the key to potential not always learning how to structure it.