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[00:00:00] Announcer: This is the Build A Vibrant Culture Podcast, your source for the strategies, systems, and smarts you need to turn possibility into purpose. Every week we dive into dynamic conversations as our host, Nicole Greer, interviews leadership and business experts. They're here to shed light on practical solutions to the challenges of personal and professional development. Now, here's your host, a professional speaker, coach and consultant, Nicole Greer.
[00:00:32] Nicole Greer: Welcome everybody to the Build A Vibrant Culture podcast. My name is Nicole Greer and they call me the Vibrant Coach, and I have a brother from another mother as one of my guests today. Both of us have this hospitality running through our veins. In fact, look at these two books he sent me in the mail and look behind him! He's got his posters on the wall. Taylor Scott is with me today. Taylor Scott is the bestselling author and inspirational keynote speaker and organizational development consultant. Through his books, workshops, keynotes and licensed content, he inspires audiences at Fortune 500 companies, universities and community organizations nationwide to become their best, deliver the best, and experience the best life possible. Taylor leverages his personal experiences in 20 years working in the hospitality industry for Disney Parks and Resorts, Gaylord Hotels and Resorts, Wynn Resorts and The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas to connect with and inspire leaders at all levels. And we were just talking before we started the show. I'm going to Vegas and guess where I'm staying? The Cosmopolitan. I know. So good. Right? How are you?
[00:01:39] Taylor Scott: On behalf of the Las Vegas market and everybody from the opening team of the Cosmopolitan, we welcome you.
[00:01:46] Nicole Greer: Oh, that's so good. That's so good. Yeah, I didn't say this before we opened the show up, but I did work in the property management business, but one of the gentlemen that I worked for, he owned hotels here in Charlotte, and so I had a short stint in the hotel business as well. And I'll tell you, it's important to do what you're saying right here, lead with hospitality and learn to Give Hospitality. Taylor, how'd you get into the hospitality business?
[00:02:10] Taylor Scott: Yeah, for me, I grew up in a small town in eastern Kentucky. Not too far from you.
[00:02:15] Nicole Greer: Okay.
[00:02:16] Taylor Scott: Down in the Charlotte area. Yeah. Eastern Kentucky, but an hour and a half east of Lexington. So. As you know, growing up in that part of the world, when it came time to go on vacation, we went to Walt Disney World every chance we could get.
[00:02:27] So from a young age, I think the first time my family went, I was five years old, so I was just captivated from the time I was little. And then when it got time to start looking for colleges, I was looking for schools that were close to Walt Disney World. And so I wanted to go there and work. So for me, I kind of knew before I even left high school that I wanted to go to some sort of a business program or a hospitality related program. And so I did that, Florida Southern College down in Lakeland, Florida, 40 miles due west of Walt Disney World. And every single summer in college, I did the Walt Disney World College program where you would work in a different role in the show, as they say, each time you would go do it. So I did it four times and I just, I love it. I just fell in love with everything about it. And the older I've gotten, it switched from, I loved making magic for people, for guests. And then when I started learning more about leadership, started experiencing leadership, I started falling in love with this opportunity to make magic for people that were on my teams. So here we are.
[00:03:30] Nicole Greer: That's so great. Okay, so I have to know what town in Eastern Kentucky.
[00:03:35] Taylor Scott: Small town called Grayson. Now here's the thing, there's Grayson County.
[00:03:40] Nicole Greer: Okay.
[00:03:41] Taylor Scott: That's not where I'm from, but there's Grayson the town in Carter County, and that's where I'm from.
[00:03:47] Nicole Greer: Okay. Okay. Because I have a wonderful client that I've worked with for many years over in eastern Kentucky. And they own all the Double Kwiks. Do you know, do you know Missy Matthews?
[00:03:59] Taylor Scott: I do not.
[00:04:00] Nicole Greer: Okay. All right. I just thought it's kind of a small world in eastern Kentucky. She's in Whitesburg. Her home office is in Whitesburg,
[00:04:07] Taylor Scott: Oh, wow. I know where Whitesburg is. We went down there. I think I was a junior or senior at East Carter High School. That's my school. We went down there and played in football one year and got killed. But yeah, that's deep. That's southeastern Kentucky, I think.
[00:04:20] Nicole Greer: Okay. And so the reason you got beat is because Missy's husband, his name is Junior. He's the football coach, and that's how that works. Okay. All right. Well, I thought, wow, this is really weird. We have so much stuff in common. All right. So I love the fact that you are into hospitality, but you've got these two books. One is Give Hospitality: A hopeful story of_ what happens when we live, work, and love from a place of generosity_. Which is amazing. And this is going to go on sale like.
[00:04:47] Taylor Scott: Yeah, it's available for pre-order already now. It's available for pre-order already, but the release date is July 8th, 2025, so right around the corner.
[00:04:56] Nicole Greer: Okay. All right. Very good. So maybe you'll come back and we'll talk about that one, but this is the book I want to talk about.
[00:05:02] Taylor Scott: Okay.
[00:05:02] Nicole Greer: _Lead with Hospitality_, please write this down, everybody. _Be human, emotionally connect and serve selflessly when you're in the leadership role_. So let's dive into this book.
[00:05:12] So what started you down the path to putting this book together? I think it's fantastic.
[00:05:18] Taylor Scott: Well, it started well before that book came out. It's been, as many people probably can relate that are listening, you know, those of us in the hospitality industry for the last 15 plus years, bit of a roller coaster. So for me, I got out of undergrad in '01, then 9/11 happened. Then get out of grad school in '08 and
[00:05:40] Nicole Greer: Housing crash.
[00:05:41] Taylor Scott: Yep. And then we all get back on our feet. And then in 2020, the pandemic happened. But for me, I had worked at Walt Disney World during school, during undergraduate studies each summer, and then I worked at Gaylord Palms Resort and Convention Center in Orlando, opening team, housekeeping manager, bell service manager.
[00:06:00] Then I went back to Disney and worked in resort operations, did another hotel opening at Pop Century and then went to sales and marketing for a few years, and then I left and go to grad school, and then I landed out here in Las Vegas. The reason I say, to answer your question long way around Robin's Barn is, I spent a good nearly 20 years just out here trying to figure out what I was passionate about, what I was really great at doing in terms of where I would fit in the industry. And what I realized is I really loved the inspiring and encouraging and motivating part. And I started figuring out somewhere along the line when I got to The Cosmopolitan that, hey, I kinda like writing. I kinda like speaking. So I had written a book called _Ball Games to Boardrooms_, that's a self-published book, and that was before _Lead with Hospitality_. And so I did that one when I was working at Disney Vacation Club over at Disneyland, leading the sales team at Disney Vacation Club just to kind of see if I could write a book, you know?
[00:06:58] And so we put that one out and then it was shortly after that when I said, all right, let me see if I can actually have one that's with a real life publisher, and it's a big grownup book. And what I, what I learned is you can't just write a book and put it out and expect, okay everyone come hire me! Everyone let me come speak. You know, you have to, everybody was like no, no, no. You have to build a business that goes along with what you're saying and your message. So that's where this really began. So I just started researching. I was curious. I wanted to know why is it that we love our favorite leaders?
[00:07:31] Why do some leaders encourage us to do more, become more, give a little bit extra, and ultimately deliver our best work? When other leaders, we really don't get that excited about it. And what I found is like we loved our favorite leaders for the same reason we love our favorite hospitality destinations, our favorite hospitality brands like the Disneys and Marriotts and United Airlines, or whatever your favorite destination is.
[00:07:53] For me, it's like Maui and all, all around Hawaiian Islands. So it really came down to nine times out of 10, it's less about what the leader does, it's less about what they say, and it's all about how they make people feel. So that's what led to leading with hospitality.
[00:08:11] Nicole Greer: Right. And you've got a really great layout and I think it's easy for people to follow. So this is a definite, you gotta buy it, you gotta work the book. So he's got part one. The first thing that people do to lead with hospitality is that they connect. Will you talk about connecting?
[00:08:27] Taylor Scott: Sure, sure. And it's similar, everybody right now, just kind of imagine and reflect on your favorite hotel experience, or a recent vacation experience, or if you're a business traveler, a recent experience when you got off that flight and you took the Uber or the train or the cab to your hotel and you were checking in and just think about a really great experience. And it probably started with a great connection right out of the gate with the person that welcomed you there. And that got everything started off on the right foot. So what I found in all of my research and my experience working out here in all those different places that I've mentioned is that before people will open up and lean in and be open to any kind of coaching or any kind of motivation or any kind of direct, you have to have connection first. And there's a Peter Block quote that says, before connection, no work can occur. So that's where this all really started, is not just a connection, but an emotional connection. And so that's what led me to sort of dive deeper.
[00:09:28] Nicole Greer: Yeah. And really I think if we bottom line it's like, I like you, you like me, I feel respected, I respect you. Right? It's this thing where there's like a little spark at the beginning. You mentioned Marriott in your little run of hospitality places. And I just got back from Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and I stayed at a beautiful Autograph Marriott Hotel. And the gentleman that checked me in, he treated me like he had known me his whole life. You know, he's like, and let me make sure you know this. And I knew he was going through a script, like this is the thing that you do when you check somebody in. First of all, being a hospitality person, I thought, he's actually following the script! Hallelujah. You know, good job on the training team. Right?
[00:10:10] And then every time I saw that guy when I walked through the lobby, he's like, hello, Ms. Greer. And then I corrected him and I said, call me Nicole. And he is like, hello, Nicole. You know? So I couldn't agree more that connection is absolutely huge. And I think a lot of people feel disconnected from their leaders. What do you know about that? Are people disconnected?
[00:10:28] Taylor Scott: Yeah, for sure. I do. Look what you just did right there. How long ago was that experience?
[00:10:33] Nicole Greer: Three days ago.
[00:10:34] Taylor Scott: So three days ago. And look what you're doing already. Boom. Right out of the You're telling stories about that person and you're probably right now figuring out how do I go back there?
[00:10:44] Nicole Greer: Right. I'm going to the Cloudveil the next chance I get.
[00:10:47] Taylor Scott: There you go. And I would be willing to bet, because that person made that connection with you on that human level, in that emotionally connected way, I'd be willing to bet that any recommendation that person gave you while you were staying at that property, you were like, I trust you. Let me make a note of that.
[00:11:05] Nicole Greer: That's right. Went to all the restaurants he told me to.
[00:11:07] Taylor Scott: Yeah. I love them. I all of their,
[00:11:12] Nicole Greer: Mm-hmm.
[00:11:13] Taylor Scott: So I was reading Switch Chip and Dan Heath. Switch How to change when change
[00:11:19] is hard, and they leverage research by the great NYU
[00:11:23] psychologist, Jonathan. H-A-I-D-T H-A-I-D-T Haidt
[00:11:27] Nicole Greer: in my hands right now.
[00:11:28] Taylor Scott: Haidt wrote this book called
[00:11:29] The Happiness Hypothesis. and in his book, he paints a picture of what's
[00:11:33] Nicole Greer: Yeah.
[00:11:33] Taylor Scott: _on inside the human brain at all times._ And it, and it's an illustration, what your story is, an illustration of this, um, scientific research that you just unpacked ready?
[00:11:43] Here.
[00:11:43] Here it is. Jonathan teach us. And
[00:11:45] then, so Chip And Dan used that metaphor in their book, switch, which. I learned was like translated into 48 different languages And sold sold that many copies just yet, but I they could, if they could use this research then my whole point of we ought to lead with hospitality.
[00:12:00] So here's the, here's the foundation ready. It has to do with your initial question of why
[00:12:05] connect first, Jonathan, Haidt teaches us this.
[00:12:08] He
[00:12:08] what's going on inside the human brain. You know how we have the left side of the brain and the right side of the brain. Um. The left side of the brain, as we all know, is logic and intellect and analysis, um, whereas the right side of the brain. is responsible for the emotions and feelings and creativity and imagination.
[00:12:26] So here's what Jonathan Haidt says. Ready. He says, imagine a sitting on top of a six ton elephant, and the person sitting on top, we'll call that person the rider. and the rider. represents the left side of the brain. And the rider's responsibility, the rider's contribution to this situation is the rider, the left side of the brain, provides the direction of where the person's going to go. On the other hand, the elephant represents the right side of the brain, and that is the emotion, the feelings. And the elephant's responsibility, the elephant's contribution to this situation is the right side of the brain, the elephant, the right side of the brain, provides the energy and enthusiasm to move. The energy and enthusiasm to change directions, the energy and enthusiasm to even spring into action at all. Here's the leadership takeaway. Ready. If the rider and the elephant ever disagree on which direction to go or whether or not to spring
[00:13:23] into action, who's going to win that argument?
[00:13:29] The elephant actually will. And the the elephant's going to win every time because
[00:13:35] it's got a six ton weight advantage for one thing. And it's the elephant. It's the right side of the brain that provides the energy Ready? And everybody, I would encourage you to write this one down or go back and rewind a little bit. Listen to this again. John Maxwell says, we can't move people into action unless we first move them with emotion. And if you think about that in your own life, think about that in your own career, your own life, personally, in your personal life, the last big purchase you ever made, the last big decision you made, was it logic or the emotion that ultimately drove you to make the decision?
[00:14:10] Nine times out of 10, it was the emotion.
[00:14:13] So as leaders, we can learn some stuff can take that and go, wow, if we emotionally connect with the people on our team, we stand a better chance of being able to guide them, lead them, direct them, and give them feedback that will move them to move. I.
[00:14:45] Nicole Greer: Yeah. Absolutely. And I would call that discretionary effort, right? You know, so I'm going to give
[00:14:51] Taylor Scott: Yeah, well that was just, I was just sitting how about an illustration for that, this that I'm bringing up and look here, I'm
[00:14:57] Nicole Greer: I love that. So you have
[00:14:58] Taylor Scott: I'm going to in August 16th, I'll
[00:15:00] be
[00:15:00] Nicole Greer: World through the eyes of a Child."
[00:15:02] Taylor Scott: remember it was yesterday, I.
[00:15:04] One of the, it might've been the we ever went to Walt Disney World.
[00:15:07] We stayed, it was then the Royal Plaza And it was on Hotel Plaza Boulevard. square miles of the Walt Disney World Resort. but it wasn't property. Um, but still we didn't know the difference. It felt like it was 'cause we were right there.
[00:15:19] But I remember we, we had driven, we had driven. Down there from Kentucky front welcomed my family, the Scott family party of four. I mean, we must have looked like the Griswolds rolling in there. and and he just, he open like open arms. I mean, I think it was, late at night. you step out of the car, it's humid, it's Orlando. and you know, as a, kid, my sister's two years younger than me. We just had vision. I remember like it was just, you had visions of like, I.
[00:15:44] Oh, pretty soon we're going to be on Main Street. Pretty soon Space Mountain and pretty soon we're going to do all these magical And he was just like so welcoming And he's like, Hey, y'all World while you're
[00:15:52] here? And we, we as a family had always like joked about that old, you know, the, Chase and the whole
[00:15:57] gang. Uh, And dad did you hear? he called it Wally World and it was just like this moment. and then the most important part though, I still remember this. he's like, giving us a, we go check in And us a tour, walking us to our room. And all these things. But okay, here's what I recommend. Get to the park to do this. Make sure you try to eat at this place. And my point is. it was the connection feel welcome, comfortable, and important. And my mom And dad, I remember I rem I'm again, I am 45 years old. As we sit here right now, I couldn't, I can visualize my parents going, okay, yeah, well, he said to do that, so we're going to do It the same thing can apply for you and I as
[00:16:37] leaders, but if we make them feel that
[00:16:46] Nicole Greer: Yeah. Yeah. That's so fantastic. Okay.
[00:16:54] Taylor Scott: comes down to, this really related to mindset, a leader. So a leader's mindset is very different from the mindset of a doer, if you
[00:17:03] will.
[00:17:03] Uh. I remember I was, my early I think I had been
[00:17:07] at Gaylord Palms for a few back to Walt Disney World to open Disney's Pop Century resort.
[00:17:12] And so I had to go, you're a fellow, fellow facilitator and person that's in learning development, So I had to go to Disney Traditions over again, had to go to all the new hire and onboarding classes at Disney University all over again And It was awesome and they brought a fancy executive to kick off.
[00:17:31] The, the, the couple days he was a general manager at one of the Disney resorts
[00:17:40] Nicole Greer: Oh, that was so good for you.
[00:17:46] Mm-hmm.
[00:17:51] Taylor Scott: and he is talking to all of us, this was a class of either newly promoted leaders at Walt Disney World, or I think I was like one of two people that had recently come in from the outside. This was in 2003, so it was among the first people to come back in from external after 9/11, 'cause they'd gone on this hiring freeze. But anyway, short story longer, this guy says, congratulations. Up until now, you've all been great doers. Your success has been judged by how well you have been able to do things, but now you're leaders and everything's changed. He said, now we're going to really judge, like how good are you as a leader is not what you can do, but instead it's what you can take a group of people, turn them into a high performing team of people and then go lead them to do things. And I have never forgotten that and I'll never forget it. And I always repeat that to anybody who will give me the opportunity.
[00:18:46] So when it comes to having that mindset of a leader, I believe it's an exercise in emotional intelligence when we can have this sense of acceptance. And there's three things I love to share with people, particularly up and comers, emerging leaders. If you can learn to accept yourself for who you are, just figure out what are my natural strengths, my God-given abilities, things that I do better than most people and they come pretty naturally to me and lean into those. The quicker we're able to do that and be comfortable with that and let go of these things over here. Like for me it was math and finance. I'll never be that guy. And it was around the time when I was in graduate school at the Cornell Hotel School. I tried to focus in finance and real estate, finance and development. And I mean, that's not me as much as I wanted it to be. It's just not me. And so some things started opening up for me when I was able to just go, that's not me. But these things are, and then it just makes you a little bit more comfortable in your own skin.
[00:19:44] And when we do that, we're able to do the second piece, which is accept other people for who they are. We can't change people really, but we can meet them where they are, accept people for who they are. And the third one, I'm still working on, and many of us probably are, is can you accept some organizational realities? Like you might have some great ideas and they're probably warranted and they might work and you might do them one day. But there may be some things right now in your organization or the world or the climate that are preventing us from doing those things. Can you just have a little bit of acceptance? And when we do that, we're able to bring our best selves and let go of the things we cannot control, but instead focus on the things that we have an opportunity to influence.
[00:20:29] Nicole Greer: Yeah. And I do think that that's a big learning curve, especially early in your career, is to not understand why we don't have the budget or we don't have the people, or we don't have the resources or the reason that your young, great ideas are getting shot down. There's usually something, some reality that we do need to accept. So that's good. I would say part of that is growing up. Accepting what you have and actually being happy and content with it. I think that's fantastic. Yeah. So connecting with that is fantastic.
[00:20:56] So the other thing I love about your book, Taylor Scott, is that on page 44 and 45, at the end of the first section of Connect, you've got like a little action plan. So instead of you just saying, here's all the stuff you need to do, you help them actually formulate a little action plan. And I have found that in all of the training that I've ever done, you can talk all day long about concepts, but until you ask people to apply, apply, apply, nothing's going to happen.
[00:21:22] Taylor Scott: That's right. Yeah. That was inspired by a few things, that sort of style. And I do that in the next book as well. There's a Give Hospitality action plan as well, which will put the concepts of the next book into action. But I grew up, like, my mom was my kindergarten teacher. Both of my aunts were in education, teacher, principal, both of my grandmothers were teachers. And I grew up in the south going to church every Sunday. And you know, the preacher would always have, all right, pull out your bulletins. There was always like this three part sermon. You know, would always be like principle, illustration, application. And so that's where that comes from. I used to love that when you'd leave on Sunday morning and they'd be like, all right, here's three things to focus on this week. Well, I do that in the live learning experiences that my team and I do, same kind of vibe. And so what I try to do is give leaders this guide, and we've even sort of marketed it as somewhat of a book club guide as well for those interested, where you can have a team read. You know, like get the book and.
[00:22:18] Nicole Greer: Lunch and learn.
[00:22:20] Taylor Scott: Yeah, everybody read it together and then you can go through those application things each week.
[00:22:24] Nicole Greer: Okay. All right. Very good. So part one of _Leading with Hospitality_ is connecting, right? Part two is serving. And the word hospitality, in and of itself, means that you would serve the other person, right? That you'd be hospitable. The first part of that is talking about empathy. And so, share with us a little bit about why leaders need to practice empathy.
[00:22:47] Taylor Scott: I just believe empathy is like a fast pass to connection. Using a Disney term again. And I didn't realize, I don't know about you, but when I did my career switch from being a leader of leaders, an executive in these actual roles in hospitality and entertainment to switching gears and becoming a, you know, author, speaker, consultant type of a career here the last four or five years, early on in this season, I had to learn stuff. Like I worked for a guy who was really instrumental in helping me learn this business, but one of the first things he did is he brought me like this stack of books. He's like, all right, man. You want to learn this business, you want to learn how to do this on your own? And he plops down like five books.
[00:23:25] He goes, you gotta know these things inside and out. You're going to write your own programs, write your own books, be able to answer questions and guide people and coach them and develop them. He's like, you gotta know. So the one of the first things I learned was that empathy is a skill. And I'm like, oh, I didn't realize that.
[00:23:42] And so ever since then, I'm just like, man, I wish I knew that 20 years ago and 18 years ago, and 15 years ago, and 12 years ago, and here's why that's important actually. Because it means that no matter how old we are, how long we've been in it, or how not so long we've been in it, we all have the opportunity to improve it. We can get better at it. All we've got to do is practice it. So that was the first big thing. But empathy is just this fast pass to connecting on this human level with everybody. So that all those things we just talked about for the last 20 minutes, they will open up, they will trust what we have to say, and they'll potentially lean in a little bit further.
[00:24:19] Nicole Greer: Yeah, because here's the truth, um, you're leading humans and they're messy. They're absolutely messy.
[00:24:24] Announcer: Are you ready to build your vibrant culture? Bring Nicole Greer to speak to your leadership team, conference or organization to help them with their strategies, systems, and smarts to increase clarity, accountability, energy, and results. Your organization will get lit from within! Email her at nicole@vibrantculture.com and be sure to check out Nicole's TEDx talk at vibrantculture.com.
[00:24:52] Nicole Greer: And so what I love, Taylor, is on page 62, you have another put hospitality into action and you give three tips for activating empathy. The first one is seek to understand. So I had a whole Stephen Covey moment when I was reading that! And then share your understanding. And show that you understand. I think that is such a wonderful little model that you've put together. Seek to understand, share your understanding and show that you understand. So can you talk a little bit about that and how that came together?
[00:25:19] Taylor Scott: Yeah, that's funny you bring that up and thank you. I feel seen.
[00:25:25] Nicole Greer: I actually read these books You people send me. I'm learning so much. I'm getting so much out of it. Yeah. I'm a lifelong learner. Can't get enough.
[00:25:33] Taylor Scott: Yeah, I remember when I was writing that part. It was a long time ago, by the way. I was reflecting on my own leadership journey and there was this one person I remember the conversation that she and I had. She was on my team.
[00:25:46] Nicole Greer: Yeah.
[00:25:47] Taylor Scott: And she's giving me some feedback, man. She was like, hurling fire and brimstone. One of those kind of moments.
[00:25:52] Nicole Greer: Well, we're all sinners. It's okay.
[00:25:56] Taylor Scott: She was, it was. She was giving it to me straight. And it's funny, the same person, she just texted me two days ago, and I haven't seen this human being in over eight years.
[00:26:05] Nicole Greer: Oh, that's good. You must have a connection. Don't miss that.
[00:26:09] Taylor Scott: Exactly. And she said that to me. Like I was just very passionate. I mean, I'm pretty passionate guy and she was too. We worked at Disney Vacation Club together at the Disneyland resort, and I remember we were just having this conversation. We were on the same side of this particular, you know, topic, don't get me wrong. But I was basically venting to her about how come all these people aren't doing what I'm asking them to do, and it's so simple and why can't they just see it?
[00:26:32] Nicole Greer: Yeah, everybody should grow up and do their job. Yeah. I've given that speech too. I bet you all of you listening have given that speech.
[00:26:40] Taylor Scott: Exactly. And she checked me. She's like, well, how about you show them that you actually understand what they're going through? Because I had said it, you know, I'd done the work to connect with them. And even back then, I was like the king of like, let me send this magical email, you know, and that'll get them, you know, that'll really
[00:26:58] Nicole Greer: Motivate
[00:26:58] Taylor Scott: behavior.
[00:26:59] Nicole Greer: Right. Get the elephant moving.
[00:27:02] Taylor Scott: Yeah. And so that stuck with me. So as leaders, you and I, if we can get out there and be in the moment and be present. It's a cliche, but it's a cliche for a reason. Action will definitely speak louder than words, as long as the people see that we have taken steps to actually understand. The definition of empathy is not about agreeing. It's not even about giving compassion. It's about understanding. Understanding what that person might be thinking and might be feeling, and I, those things I learned when the guy gave me the stack of books. Empathy's also the ability to just feel what somebody else might be feeling. Well, in order to feel what somebody else might be feeling, you gotta get out there and get in the boat with them. You know, like in the experiences with them, um, so that you can kind of have this conversation with yourself.
[00:27:54] And here's one statement that somebody taught me and I've been passing it along for years that will show people. Here's the statement. If what happened to you had happened to me, I'd be just as frustrated as you are.
[00:28:10] Nicole Greer: Mm-hmm.
[00:28:11] Taylor Scott: If what happened to you had happened to me, I'd be just as sad. I'd be just as mad. And I used this one in real life one time with a guest, an irate guest at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas on a Saturday night. I was looking fly in my suit and tie under the chandelier bar. You know, it was like, slot machines going, music. And my team, I was the director of loyalty marketing and my till's desks out and about throughout the casino where you sign up for the loyalty program, get your players club card, put it in the slot machine, give it to the table games people, you know, do it at the restaurants and the bars to get your points.
[00:28:45] Well, my team had messed up this lady's experience six ways from Sunday, she asked to speak to a leader. And then they escalated it. They escalated again. And then it got to me and I was like, well, how come they didn't talk to Lisa? They're like, T Scott, they want, they want to talk to you. So here I was and I tried using this and it worked, and the way I did it with her, if people are listening here, if you're in hospitality, try this. Ready? I said, I gotta be honest with you. That's not the experience we've set out to create. But my mom and dad come out here like all the time. My mom's a slot player. My dad loves to play craps. And I just looked her right in the eye and I said, if what happened to you had happened to my mom, I can't even imagine how she'd be feeling right now. And the lady, the guest, she was like, all this pent up anger. She's,
[00:29:33] Nicole Greer: She was about to tell you right.
[00:29:33] Taylor Scott: She's, she goes, what? What? Well, thank you. She said, you're the first person to actually listen and show me that you understand why I'm so upset. So there you go. That's my empathy statement there to use, to let people know that you actually understand what they're thinking or how they might be feeling.
[00:29:54] Nicole Greer: Yeah. Yeah. So I'll repeat those in case you're like, what did she say? What was it? Seek to understand, share your understanding, and show that you understand and mention your mom. That
[00:30:03] Taylor Scott: Yeah.
[00:30:06] Nicole Greer: Okay, so don't forget. Part one is connect, part two is serve. And then you have a whole chapter about service. And here's what I have learned in this life, is that if you can help somebody else out, there's this law of reciprocity. People will help you back. They'll serve you back. So you say in the book, in chapter four, to serve is to LEAD. Write this down, everybody. Listen, educate, act, and deliver. Talk about your little acronym for LEAD, listen, educate, act, and deliver.
[00:30:33] Taylor Scott: Yeah, maybe it's like a personal thing for me. And I do that all throughout the next book too. The little acronyms.
[00:30:39] Nicole Greer: I love an acronym.
[00:30:41] Taylor Scott: I was talking to my mom a couple weeks ago. My mom was like, well, that is the way you learn. You always have, so maybe that's why. Uh, but I just wanted people to have a way to remember.
[00:30:50] So the way I often do it is, is like we, first, we talk about serving and what it means to be a servant leader and what that means. It's like putting your team first, your team's needs first, their agenda above your own. And then it's like that upside down pyramid. We all learn from Ken Blanchard and all those people. Like
[00:31:05] Nicole Greer: That's right.
[00:31:06] Taylor Scott: They're up here. And you and I as leaders, we're going, we're, we're cheerleading, we're breaking down barriers, we're cheerleading them. And so the way I put it is, if you wake up one morning or one week or one month, and you're like, I gotta really start serving, how am I going to serve today? How am I going to serve in this season? Well, you can listen to people, you can teach them something. You can pass along some pearls of wisdom that you've been taught. Get out there, like we just talked about. Be in the moment with them. Take action. Be active and accountable, and then deliver, deliver on your promise for being a leader. And you and I know and everybody listening that's in a leadership role, there's like an unwritten promise. Once we get in that leadership position, it's like an unwritten thing that we're there to help you with your problems. You know? 'cause they're all coming to us. My paycheck's wrong, my uniform doesn't fit. I lost this, or I didn't do something right. Or how come
[00:31:55] Nicole Greer: I don't know how to help this customer, just like you talked about, right.
[00:31:59] Taylor Scott: So delivering, don't forget about that part. It's almost the little things that mean the most. That's why I chose to do the LEAD.
[00:32:05] Nicole Greer: Yeah, I love that. And on page 85 for deliver, he says, deliver feedback. Which that's one of the things that I talk about consistently. People love feedback, unless you never give it, and you only give it when they're messing up. So, you know, deliver feedback, deliver on your promises, deliver information, tools and support to get your team on a consistent basis. I love that.
[00:32:28] All right, so first part, connect. Everybody with me? Second part, serve. Part three is engage, engage with people. So the first part you talk about there is comfort. So talk a little bit about how do we engage when we lead.
[00:32:43] Taylor Scott: Yeah, the whole welcome, comfortable, important thing comes from when I was a 22-year-old me and I was on the opening team at Gaylord Palms
[00:32:51] Nicole Greer: people, It was wide open.
[00:32:58] Taylor Scott: I thought about that the other day. I had a call a week ago today, literally, with an executive coach. He wasn't coaching me, but I just was connecting with him and he gave me feedback and he's like, look at you, man. He's like you're all over the place. He's like, you got all this energy. You want to teach executives and coach executives? They're kind of calmer. Well, I'm like, okay, well good feedback. But yeah, imagine 23 years ago. It was worse! That's what I wanted to tell this guy. But anyway,
[00:33:22] Nicole Greer: He knew.
[00:33:25] Taylor Scott: They brought in a keynote speaker for the pre-opening of Gaylord Palms, and I've never forgotten this moment either. And he said, friends, Let me tell you something. Whether you're in hospitality for the next two years or the next 20 years, he's like the essence, the essence of gracious hospitality is the ability to make people feel welcome, comfortable, and important. And so this is the comfortable part of that. Like I'm convinced that to be an inspirational and transformational leader, we've got to make people feel welcome, comfortable, and important. So this starts with just this sentiment, this mindset, this heart set, this idea of anything we can do as leaders to reduce worry, to take away anxiety, to give them the answers to the test, to let them know that we see them, we believe in them, and most importantly, we want them and we value them here on this team because the vision we have for this team includes them.
[00:34:23] Nicole Greer: Absolutely. And, and I think too when people get comfortable, you get the true self of somebody. You don't get the ego version or this pretend version, you know. People say all the time, and leaders, you've heard this: um, I'm different at home than I am at work. But really, what you want is that authenticity all the way through. And when you make them feel comfortable, I think also, people will be more likely to give you all of themselves. Again, that discretionary effort. So I think that's wonderful. Yeah. So you talk about that, and then the next thing that's in here is this idea. And don't miss this, everybody. And this is where _Lead with Hospitality_ and then this next book, _Give Hospitality_. All this is working together. T Scott, I'm going to call you T Scott. We're new friends now. T Scott is talking about this idea of giving hospitality to your employees. Kindness is contagious. Kindness is inspiring, and how do we activate kindness? Like, isn't it nice to work for a nice leader? It's very nice.
[00:35:21] Taylor Scott: Fabulous. Way better than the alternative.
[00:35:24] Nicole Greer: That's right. Working for a jerk, really. So how do we do that? How do we show kindness? What would be some things that we could put into action that would help us show kindness?
[00:35:34] Taylor Scott: Yeah. I was going to call this chapter, "Courtesy."
[00:35:37] Nicole Greer: Okay.
[00:35:38] Taylor Scott: And I remembered some seasons in my career, some seasons in my life. And you probably have some leaders in your past as well.
[00:35:44] Nicole Greer: Oh, we all do.
[00:35:46] Taylor Scott: Yeah. And like the thing about courtesy is you could fake that. You could try to come across like you got the best in mind for them, but it could also be fake. But I chose on purpose with a purpose, for a purpose, to call this genuine kindness. Embedded in sort of the definition of kindness is generosity. It's doing things for others without any expectation of anything in return. And so the way I like to think about it and what I would do, back in the day when I was writing this and contemplating how to best package this up, all I did was think about the leaders that I respected the most, and the leaders for whom I worked the hardest.
[00:36:27] And a lot of the people, like I just mentioned, I'm still in contact with today. It really came down to when they would give their time, they could be doing a hundred other things.
[00:36:37] Nicole Greer: Yes.
[00:36:38] Taylor Scott: They would give their time, and then they would give their talent, like they would be absolute ballers in like these two or three things and they would be like, let's take a walk. I'll show you. Here's what
[00:36:47] Nicole Greer: Here's my tips, my tricks, my techniques. Yeah.
[00:36:49] Taylor Scott: And then the other third was when they would give their heart. Like, sure, I get it, there's professional and there's personal, but to your point, authenticity is a thing and that leads to credibility. And so when that leader, when you and I as leaders can really just give our heart, like genuinely show that we care about that person, not only today, not only in this season, but we care about them enough to do things, like work with them and walk with them and talk with them and give them the feedback that will help them on into their career, everything changes.
[00:37:20] Nicole Greer: Absolutely. Okay. Which leads right into encouragement, right? Which is chapter seven. Uplifting people to fuel their hearts, fuel their minds, and then ultimately, if you've got fueled hearts and minds, you've got a fueled team that's out there working hard for you. Yeah.
[00:37:33] So what are your thoughts about encouragement? I love the quote you have on page 109. I made a note here. It says, "Be an encourager. The world has enough critics already." I've heard that before, but I was like, oh, that's a good one. I'm going to make sure I hold on to that one and I don't let it get past me. What do you think about encouragement?
[00:37:50] Taylor Scott: Yeah, it's great. Especially right now, like so much drama, division, it's crazier now, not only for us, but imagine being an up and comer right now. Imagine being an emerging leader that's just getting started and they're walking into all of this. So yeah, like I think it was Simon Sinek I saw say this one time, look at the word encourage. Encouragement. What word do you see embedded within that word?
[00:38:14] Nicole Greer: Right, right.
[00:38:15] Taylor Scott: Courage. Encouragement literally means to give people courage. And so I love that. And then the way I like to bring that one to life is I was sitting here one day trying to figure out what to write next. Had, you know, writer's block. And I just started Googling stuff and listening to music and I came across this term called Sawubona, S-A-W-U-B-O-N-A, Sawubona. And it's from the Zulu culture in South Africa. And many people say that the Zulu culture in South Africa sort of inspires a lot of the other cultures in a lot of different countries in Africa. And then here it is, look at what's happening all the way over here.
[00:38:50] Nicole Greer: Some dude from Kentucky.
[00:38:52] Taylor Scott: Yeah, exactly. And we're getting inspired. But I'm a Disney guy, so like I remember the movie Avatar, both of them, if you haven't seen it, block off 11 hours, they're that long. But it's worth watching Avatar. They say, actually, here's what sawubona means. And they say it all throughout, both Avatar movies. It means, "I see you. I see you." Sawubona. So apparently you walking down the street in the Zulu culture, somebody says, sawubona and it means I see you. And then the grateful reply to that is Yabo sawubona, which means, until you saw me, I didn't exist.
[00:39:24] And then what I really love is that whole thing together. This is beautiful. The whole thing together means a person is a person because of other people. I read that and I was like, is there anything more leadership than that? Is there anything more hospitality than that? And I just think we need more corporate cultures like the Zulu culture, that we have leaders and teams and peers and partners that go around letting people know, Hey, I see you. Hey, I see your value. Hey, the way you handled that last week, the way you just handled that 10 minutes ago? I see you, man. That was fabulous.
[00:39:56] Nicole Greer: Yeah, I agree. I agree. All right, you also have an action plan for that portion of the book, that's portion number three. And it's on page 125, and I love this here. It says, be kind and intentionally give your time, talent, and heart to those you lead. Sit down. List three ways you can give your time to your team and how that will help them improve, succeed, and feel like they belong. That is underlined with a dog-eared corner here. And that is because I think at some point there's this weird thing that happens, especially with very senior leaders, they're like, "people don't want to hear from me. They don't want to know what I did in 1997." And I'm like, yes they do! All these young people are dying to know, how did you get to the C-suite? How did you pull that off? And if you would just give them time.
[00:40:41] I have a leader that's here, right next door in South Carolina, and he has made it. You know, he's got the country club and the stuff, and the cars and all the things. And young people do want to know how you get there, not because they're just interested in material things, but they want to know what does it take to end up and have a fabulous life like that? And so he takes a handful of people every single month to the country club for lunch. And it's like a big club. Oh, you got asked to go to lunch? And then he keeps up with these people, you know, through their career. So I just think that's fabulous. Yes, absolutely.
[00:41:14] All right, so inspire people is our last thing, right? So we want to talk about part four, _inspire_. Once people feel significant, they lean in, step up and deliver their best. How do you know that's true?
[00:41:27] Taylor Scott: Yeah, this comes from, I learned how to do keynote speaking from my favorite author, Mark Sanborn.
[00:41:32] Nicole Greer: Oh my gosh.
[00:41:33] Taylor Scott: He's the guy that wrote _The Fred Factor._
[00:41:35] Nicole Greer: So good.
[00:41:36] Taylor Scott: I love that book. And anyway, long story. I wrote him a note back in 2011 and I was like, Hey, you don't know me, but you're my favorite author, I love _The Fred Factor_.
[00:41:44] Nicole Greer: I love the Mailman story. It's awesome.
[00:41:46] Taylor Scott: This dude, he wrote me back. We built a relationship. I used to do a blog and I put out on every Friday. I asked him permission. That's why I reached out to him. Can I do a blog called Fred Friday, every Friday to recognize a real life Fred out in the world. This is when I worked at The Cosmopolitan. He wrote me back and he was like, are you real? Like, he's like, yeah, go ahead. This is great. Great for me. You're spreading my message. And we built a relationship. He ended up calling me back like a few months later and be like, you ever do any training? You ever do speaking?
[00:42:11] I'm like, yeah, I do it all the time here at The Cosmopolitan. I'm looking to get into that. He used to hire me to go out and do Fred Factor keynotes on his behalf. Um, so I learned a lot of these things from him and people like him, Jon Gordon, um, Patrick Lencioni and all these types of guys. I want to be like the next generation of them.
[00:42:26] But I remember Mark said one time. Before he would let me go do keynotes on his behalf. He was here in Vegas. He had me go watch him do one Palace. There are 2000 people in there and he is like, come in with me, sit in the first row, take notes. He's like, no such thing as a free speech. I want your feedback afterwards. And I'm like, okay. So the whole time I'm sitting there, this is like 12 years ago, and I'm like taking notes, hanging on every single word. And I remember he said at one point in his delivery, which was amazing, he said, when people feel significant, they make significant contributions.
[00:42:56] And then me, at that point, I had just gone through 10 or 15 years of leading people, housekeepers, bell services, front desk people, sales and marketing, loyalty marketing, people out on the casino floor, like signing people up. And that gets old real quick, that every day, day in and day out. But you and I as leaders, when we let those people know, Hey, your work, what you're doing, it matters to where we're taking this organization. It matters to how we as a brand are making these people feel, one experience at a time. And I heard him say that. And then I would like go out and practice it and go out and see if it really works.
[00:43:34] And I would just see, and I'm getting chills 15 years later, telling you this story right now, that I would see people, I would feel them completely open up. Like they would be hunched over, maybe, and all of a sudden they feel significant and now they're like walking with some purpose. And so that's why I believe in the significance piece.
[00:43:54] Nicole Greer: Yeah. All right, so don't miss that, but we'll put that in the show notes. Everybody needs to read _The Fred Factor_ by Mark Sanborn. So good. So are you in the National Speakers Association? You've got to be.
[00:44:04] Taylor Scott: I'm not! I should be, but I'm not.
[00:44:06] Nicole Greer: Oh my goodness. Does Mark Sanborn know?
[00:44:11] Taylor Scott: Probably not, probably not.
[00:44:12] Nicole Greer: Okay, because I just want to invite you to join us. That's why I'm going to Scottsdale. The reason I'm going out to Scottsdale is 'cause I'm going to get my Certified Speaking Professional designation and so I'll be out there. You should come, you should come see me at the National Speakers Association.
[00:44:25] Taylor Scott: Well, congratulations and yes, I would love to know the dates. Maybe I'll look at that. For sure.
[00:44:29] Nicole Greer: Yeah. Yeah. It's the very last weekend that Thursday, Friday of July. I don't know what the dates are right off the top of my head, but that's what it is. Yeah. I'd love to see you out there. All right, everybody, we've been talking to Taylor Scott, he is the author of a book I didn't even know he had. What was the book that you self-published? What was the name of that one?
[00:44:46] Taylor Scott: _Ballgames to Boardrooms_.
[00:44:48] Nicole Greer: _Ballgames to Boardrooms_. And so also he's got _Lead with Hospitality_, which we just talked through, which is so fantastic. And coming soon, uh, is it the end of July or...
[00:44:57] Taylor Scott: July 8th. This one this time is a leadership fable. So this is a story about a young girl named Summer Grace. She leaves a toxic job and she goes to work at a more magical place called Kau Wela Resorts. Kau Wela means summertime in Hawaiian, and the stories about her first two weeks on the job when she learns how Kau Wela Resorts has built such a positive and productive workplace culture that is rooted in generosity.
[00:45:21] Nicole Greer: Hmm. That's so good. Okay, so you gotta note that I just got back, maybe like four weeks ago, from Maui. You said that was one of your favorite places on the planet. I stayed at Hotel Wailea up on the mountain, and everybody's like, why are you staying up there? Why aren't you on the beach? And I said, because they told me that the hospitality was so good. And it was fantastic. Yeah. So I didn't get this one read yet, but I read this one. And here's what we'll do if you want to come back, T Scott. That's what best friends call each other first initial, last name. You can call me N Greer if you want to. We'll maybe do this one on another episode of the Build a Vibrant Culture Podcast.
[00:45:57] Now, if people want to have you come speak, they want you to come do some training, they want you to help them, where can they find you?
[00:46:04] Taylor Scott: Leadwithhospitality.com. Simple as that. My email's taylor@leadwithhospitality.com. I'm TScott1502 on Instagram. I'm Taylor Scott on LinkedIn. So I'd love to connect. We have a team of 12 of us. We divide and cover the whole United States, and as recently as a few months ago, some engagements in London. So yeah, we do this every week. When times are good, when there's not a pandemic, even if there's a pandemic, we do it via Zoom. So we'd love to connect.
[00:46:32] Nicole Greer: Okay. Fantastic. All right everybody. That's been another episode of the Build A Vibrant Culture podcast. Why don't you go out there and lead with hospitality? Thanks, T Scott!
[00:46:42] Taylor Scott: Thank you.
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