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The Leadership Sovereignty Podcast, hosted by Ralph E. Owens II and co-hosted by Terry Baylor, is a career acceleration platform
Leadership isnβt just a skill β itβs a career strategy for professionals seeking growth, influence, and promotion.
Hosted by Ralph Owens, Chief Information Officer, and Terry Baylor, CEO of a healthcare technology startup, the podcast delivers practical, real-world leadership strategies you can apply immediately. Each episode focuses on increasing visibility, navigating corporate dynamics, preparing for promotion, and leading beyond your title.
Expect short, high-impact conversations designed to help you think, act, and position yourself like a senior leader before youβre given the title.
Youβre not just an employee. Youβre the CEO of your career.
New episodes are released bi-weekly.
Ralph Owens (00:00)
you being leveraged or are you
Terry Baylor (00:00)
You leveraged.
Ralph Owens (00:03)
Leaders who scale stop renting their time, but the only way you scale is through leverage
Leverage is based on a system. But if we're so focused on being the greatest worker, we'll always be a cog in the wheel of somebody else's system.
A few β impactful moments to think about was we talked about the difference between mentors and sponsors, right? You know, definitely, yeah, for our listeners, carry that into 2026 with you. You need to identify, you know, each, right? You know, they're both important, but they have very different roles and why performance alone doesn't secure your advancement, right? And I'm going to say that again.
Terry Baylor (01:04)
Yes.
correct.
Ralph Owens (01:24)
Why performance alone does not secure your advancement, you have to get a sponsor in your life, right?
Terry Baylor (01:31)
Yeah. You got
to have somebody look, look, you got to have somebody advocating for you. You got to have you in the corporate world. You got to have you a ride and die. Right. You do. You do somebody who's going to. And I think we've we've heard several leaders on throughout 25 say this and Ralph, you've even said it. Who's going to speak on your behalf when you're not in the room? That's that's the whole thing. Right. You're not in the room and.
Ralph Owens (01:36)
That's it.
Yeah, you have to.
That's right. That's it. That's right.
Terry Baylor (02:01)
People are talking. It's as simple as that.
Ralph Owens (02:02)
That's right. That's right. That's
right. Big, big shout out to β Carla Harris. If you have not watched her Ted talk on this, it'll change your life. Right. And that was where I was first introduced to the concept myself, that it's what Terry just said. There are meetings in rooms that you do not have access to that are that your future is being determined on who's going to sit at that table and speak on your behalf.
Right? And that's what the sponsor does. So, and you know, we, and I think that was a theme throughout a lot of episodes, right? A lot of different guests. They all said the same thing. Hey, I had a sponsor, right? I had a sponsor. I had a sponsor, or I was a sponsor to this person. I cleared the way so that they can do this and they could do that. it's definitely going into 2026, you want to be thinking about who's going to be your mentor and who's going to be your sponsor. So that was a big one.
Terry Baylor (02:42)
It was. Yep.
Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.
Ralph Owens (02:58)
β And then your career momentum is tied to relationships and not just effort. know, we know, we learned this lesson, right? We came up like, hey, I'm just going to outperform everybody around me and that's going to be enough. And then you realize that, you know, these people who don't even perform are getting promoted and moving ahead in their career. And you thinking like, what in the world? I like, I'm nailing everything, you know?
Terry Baylor (03:05)
That's right. That's right. That's right.
Correct. Correct.
Ralph Owens (03:27)
But the relationship, mean, what you gonna say something?
Terry Baylor (03:31)
Well, I was going to say real world situation, right? I saw a guy. I'm like, this dude got something. Let me just, you know, let me, you know, a couple more opportunities. Hey, send so and so. I got something going on. Send so and so. Okay, this guy, it wasn't the one time. It wasn't the one hit wonder. And I'm talking to you, you have an opportunity. I'm like, Ralph, I know a guy.
Ralph Owens (03:47)
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm. β
Terry Baylor (04:00)
I think this guy would be perfect for your organization.
Ralph Owens (04:02)
Mm-hmm. Yep. And the rest is history. Yeah, that's right. That's right. If you don't take anything else away from our conversations of 2025, understand that the relationships that you build are just as important and sometimes even more important than the performance you give. Yeah.
Terry Baylor (04:05)
And the rest is history.
Than the work. Yeah. Yeah. You got
a note here, Ralph. Advancement is relational, not transactional. So you know what that means? Your work don't, I mean, it does, but it don't, right? Your work really, you know what it does? Okay. Your work is basically, it's you getting out of bed, getting, you know, getting prepared and walking out the door. It just gives you the opportunity. That's it.
Ralph Owens (04:31)
100%.
It does. Yeah, that's right.
Terry Baylor (04:52)
The hard work basically just gives you the opportunity. It keeps you there. It keeps you there.
Ralph Owens (04:55)
Yeah, yeah, and
it keeps you there. And just to echo what Terry's saying, it doesn't say that it's not important. It is important. It's table stakes. You have to come to the table with great execution, right, every day. Right.
Terry Baylor (05:06)
Yes, yes, yes, that's every day. Yeah, that's baseline. Let's
say, let me change my verbiage. That is the baseline. That is the minimum expectation. As Bill Belichick says, do your job. Right, it's baseline. Let me change that, it's baseline.
Ralph Owens (05:16)
That's right.
That's right. You got to. You have to.
Yeah, that's right. That's right. That's right. But that alone does not get you advancement. Right? And that's a surprise. I remember when that was a surprise wake up call for me. That what do you mean? You know, I am performing at the highest level. Why is that not enough? It is not. And this is what people don't tell you. Right? And this is why we even started this show. If you want to go to the next level, you have to build relationships. It's critical.
Terry Baylor (05:51)
Yep,
Ralph Owens (05:52)
It's not optional, actually. absolutely, 100%.
Terry Baylor (05:52)
yep, yep, yep, yep. Because here's the thing, right? People will let you be a cog, man. They will let, they will let, here's what, here's really what's happening. Let me, okay, let me give you as I learned this this year, let me give you the T. Let me give you the T on this. They let you do the work and they take the credit. That's what's happening here. You do the work and they take the credit. You are a cog.
Ralph Owens (06:14)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
That's right. That's right. That's right. And you know what? And I got to go back to Sashela, her spice framework that she taught, right? You the word spice, sponsorship, β performance, right? You got to have a sponsor. You have to perform well. That's table stakes, right? Nobody gets a pass on that β image, right? How are you showing up? I think the word she uses, your gravitas, right? You know, how do you show up in the room, right? And then β C for curiosity.
Terry Baylor (06:22)
That's it.
Yes, yes, yes, yes.
Yes. Yes.
Yes.
Ralph Owens (06:51)
Same topic we were talking about, being curious and then E for exposure. That is the framework for your life right there, in your career, the spice framework. But some of the key take... Oh, thank you. And I hope you listen to this and I hope you write in your book, because I'll be the first one to buy. So some of the key takeaways for Agpar's show was that sponsorships move your career faster than your mentors do.
Terry Baylor (06:51)
Yes.
Yes.
Yes, yes, for sure.
Thank you, Chachala for that. Thank you again.
That's right. That's right.
Mmm. Yeah.
Ralph Owens (07:22)
You got to understand that your mentors
do have a role, right? But sponsorship is what moves your career forward. And hard work without advocacy leads to stagnation. Right? You know, again, I'm gonna repeat that hard work without advocacy leads to stagnation again. β In Sashela's Spice framework, the E stands for exposure, right? And I think the way she explained it was you're doing all this hard work, but who knows about it?
Terry Baylor (07:33)
Mmm.
That's right.
Ralph Owens (07:48)
Right?
know, who are you developing relationships so they can see all of your hard work so they can become a sponsor for you? So yeah, and I think one good guest reflection that Akbar gave was that there are conversations happening about you when you're not in the room and those conversations matter. You could be great on your job and still not move if nobody is speaking up for you. Huge, huge, huge nugget leading into 26.
for those who are trying to, you know, their game in their career. I mean, any final thoughts on that one, Terry, before we move to the next one?
Terry Baylor (08:24)
No,
no, no, that's it. I think you nailed it.
Ralph Owens (08:27)
All right, awesome, awesome, awesome. Okay, sorry. So let's continue to move on. So we're gonna go to episode 129. Are you trading time for money? Mr. Larry Cheatham.
Terry Baylor (08:38)
β my gosh. That broke the internet, bro.
I broke the internet. Are you trading? my gosh. But I'm not gonna lie to you. He shook me up with that one. I'm like, I've been trading time for money, man. I just got to be honest. I got to be honest. That, that rap, that weekend changed everything for
Ralph Owens (08:48)
Mm-mm, mm-mm, it was so good.
Did he?
Ugh.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. So Larry and I have known each other for years, for a long time. We've been talking about these concepts for a long time, but to see him share that on the podcast and just as a, you know, β one of the YouTube shorts we created from Larry's conversation was the most viewed YouTube short we had all year in 2025, right? And it had to do with the wealth disparity.
Terry Baylor (09:32)
thousands
yes
Ralph Owens (09:35)
in the United States. And it really reframed, β to your point, Terry, what am I doing? What is the outcome that I am trying to achieve? Everybody wants the same thing. Everybody wants success. Everybody wants freedom. But is what you're doing actually working towards that? Some of the impactful... Go ahead, Terry.
Terry Baylor (09:49)
Yes. Yes.
Yes, yes. think, man,
I think he reframed what success and freedom was, right? We, again, right, let's go back to, and I'm just gonna, I'm gonna hit it on the head, man. There were so many misconceptions about who we are as African Americans. So the adage of work hard was born out of the fact that when things changed and we weren't working for free, then the, the,
Ralph Owens (10:01)
Mm-hmm.
Terry Baylor (10:23)
the story was you don't wanna work. We can't go from doing all the work and then not wanna work. It don't make sense. We doing all the work and now we don't wanna work. So our parents passed down to us, son, just work hard because the new framework was, find you a job, stay there forever and work hard.
Ralph Owens (10:32)
Mm.
Mm-hmm.
Terry Baylor (10:52)
because we weren't getting no jobs back. You my parents back in the 40s, 50s. So, you know, we came up under this ideology. If you work hard and your work will speak for you. No, your work is not speaking for you. You have to speak for you and you got to get a sponsor to speak for you. Your work is just an example of who you are. But it's not, I mean, it's saying a little bit, but it's...
Ralph Owens (10:56)
Mm-hmm.
Bye.
Mm-hmm.
Mm.
Terry Baylor (11:21)
It's not moving the needle, man, where it's going to change your career. And so, and to say that, right? So we're not building wealth, working these jobs is really what he was saying. Because they're not designed to build wealth. They're designed to keep the machine and the engine and the system moving. And we need some of that, right? Here's the thing, right? I think Larry said this on the show, or we talked about it on the show. Look, we advocate getting a job.
Ralph Owens (11:32)
Yeah, that's right.
No, they're not.
That's Yeah.
Terry Baylor (11:50)
Because here's the, man, I wish I had this mindset 20 years ago. They're paying you to learn. So get everything that you can get while you're there. I'm gonna tell you right now, everything that I do in Live Life Technology, I've learned it at these jobs where I was getting paid a nice salary until I decided, you know what? It's a nice salary, but I'm not getting rich. I'm not building wealth.
Ralph Owens (11:50)
Mm-hmm.
That's right.
Mm hmm. Mm hmm. Mm hmm. That's right. Mm hmm.
Right.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And you know.
Terry Baylor (12:18)
And
Larry pulled the bandaid off of that, basically.
Ralph Owens (12:21)
Yeah,
yeah, yeah. And, you know, definitely, you know, our cultural experience is β relative to our experience, right? But what I learned from Larry, though, is that it goes even further than that. It is enterprise. That is what enterprise is built on. don't see, you don't Jeff Bezos doesn't make the kind of money that he makes because he does all the work. It's the way the system is set up. That system is irregardless of who's actually doing the work, right? But
Terry Baylor (12:30)
Correct. Correct.
Correct. Correct. Correct. Correct.
Ralph Owens (12:50)
But he, Larry, helped us all to understand where we fit into the system. And then also expose the system itself so that you can make a decision on what part do you want in this system.
Terry Baylor (12:54)
Sure, sure, sure, sure, sure.
Sure, sure, sure, sure, sure. But
to your point, Ralph, now don't get me wrong now. I can only speak from my experience. Everybody's impacted by the system. Now they're different. Now, again, we all understand this too, right? In a system, there are different levels, right? And plateaus. So now where you come in at that system is gonna impact your ability to acquire wealth, to...
Ralph Owens (13:11)
everybody.
Mm-hmm.
Terry Baylor (13:26)
at being leadership. And that's again, right, because we have this platform because we understand that the initial group who we were really trying to target and still targeting to get this information to.
Where you're coming in is at a place where β you're gonna be more cog than more leader, but we're equipping you to be leader. Jump into the leadership role. know, use, you know, have a narrative, have a metric, right? Understand, Raffy, you say this all the time, right? If you're not measuring your job, you're not, you can't effectively communicate how you're impacting the enterprise, right? Understand that it is an enterprise.
And if your number and your message starts going up, you know, manager, β director, SVP, CIO, CEO, whatever, right? Let what you do start transitioning where the information is so impactful, it has to be shared, right? Who created this?
Ralph Owens (14:20)
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. So some of the impactful moments from that show were the difference between effort and leverage. Huge. Huge. Huge. Understanding where you sit. Are you being leveraged or are you leveraging? And everybody can't just go be the CEO. Everybody can't go be the owner, day one. But you could be working towards putting yourself in a position to leverage.
Terry Baylor (14:41)
Mmm. Ooooo.
You leveraged.
No, correct.
Ralph Owens (15:01)
And understanding the difference between the two is huge. β
Terry Baylor (15:01)
That's right. That's right. Hey, and I'm
gonna tell you right now, you talking about trying to be that CEO or that owner day one, you better be. It's some work. Let me tell you, it's some work. Speaking from experience, it's some work.
Ralph Owens (15:10)
Yes, it is. Yes, it is. That's
right. That's right. How busy this mask, the lack of strategy. That's a huge one. That's a huge one. We will pride ourselves on how busy we are. But never take the time to figure out, but am I being strategic? Is it actually pushing the needle forward? Or is it just a badge of honor to say, I'm doing all of this? Right.
Terry Baylor (15:18)
β that is huge.
Sure. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Ralph,
that challenged me. That challenged me. And that is always because I like to get work done. I'm a task-oriented, goal-oriented person. And so just for me personally, I've made a commitment in 26. It's just not some stuff I'm going to do anymore. It can get done, but I am not doing it. I'm not doing it anymore.
Ralph Owens (15:46)
Mm-hmm.
Yep. Yep.
Yep.
Terry Baylor (15:59)
because it's not the best return on my time.
Ralph Owens (16:02)
Yeah, which leads into the next bullet. Time spent versus value created.
Terry Baylor (16:08)
my gosh, yes, bro, 100%.
Ralph Owens (16:11)
I can't even begin to even stress how important that is. And what that does to me when I hear that is, how much time am I putting into being strategic about how I use my time? I say I want this outcome, but am I just being busy or am I actually investing my time into something that creates value? And am I tracking that to your point? So β yeah, no, this is good, man. Key takeaways.
Terry Baylor (16:25)
Yes.
Yes. Yes. Yes.
Ralph Owens (16:40)
Working harder is not the same as working strategically β Leaders who scale stop renting their time, right? Let me say that again leaders who scale stop renting their time Right, but the only way you scale is through leverage Right and you have to understand leverage in the system, know We don't have enough time to go through the whole thing But you need to go back and check out those episodes for Larry Cheatham
Terry Baylor (16:48)
oooo β
Wow.
Wow.
Yes, yes, yes, you got
to, you got to, because the only way you can leverage Ralph is to have a business system, really, is what I'm hearing.
Ralph Owens (17:10)
A system is the only way you leverage. Leverage is based on a system. But if we're so focused on being the greatest worker, we'll always be a cog in the wheel of somebody else's system. And it's not until you understand the difference that you can start to invest your time in a different direction where you can start to get leverage. It's huge.
Terry Baylor (17:30)
Yes. Yes. Are you
sleeping? Are you sleeping and making money? β
Ralph Owens (17:36)
That's it. That's
it. Because there a lot of people who are sitting right next to you and you have no idea. Right? Right? β And then the last one was the value creation outlives our effort visibility. That's powerful. Value creation outlives our effort visibility. So the value you create will outlast you.
Terry Baylor (17:43)
Yes.
Say it one more time.
Mmm.
Mmm.
Ralph Owens (18:05)
your effort visibility so people could see how busy you are, they forget that the next day. Right? You think about it on work, at work, you could bust your hump, you know, trying to make the boss look good and so that they can get the promotion. And then when it comes time for your promotion, how easily they forget how hard you worked. Right? You know, that type of thing. Right? So yeah, man, it's good, man. It's good. Another guest reflector for Larry, said,
Terry Baylor (18:10)
Right.
Yes.
Ralph Owens (18:34)
Most people are paid for time, they're not paid for value. Think about that. Think about that with what you're doing right now, Terry. The work that you're doing as the CEO of Lifelife Technology is to create value. You don't get money for that upfront. You get that after, right? But people pay you for your time. Yeah.
Terry Baylor (18:50)
No, no, no. it's, yes, and it's
happening. It's happening right now in real time. I'm just like, wow, it's happening. So that is a true statement. That is a true statement. I love what he said, ending this, right? And man, I'm chewing on this as I'm looking at it now. Once leaders start questioning,
Ralph Owens (19:01)
Yeah. Yeah.
Terry Baylor (19:18)
how they're using time, they're often forced to confront a deeper issue.
Who they are apart from the role. Who are you apart from the role that you're doing? Is that deeper question? Who are you?
Ralph Owens (19:38)
That's That is
good. That is good. That is good. And just a quick sneak peek, we're to be dealing with that in 26. Your identity. Who are you? Right? Because that drives your purpose. But if you don't understand who you are, are you even going after the right thing? Right? It's going to be good. It's going to be... Stay tuned. Stay tuned. Stay
Terry Baylor (19:52)
Mm. Mm.
Yes.