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Unbound is a weekly podcast, created to help you achieve more as a leader. Join Chris DuBois as he shares his growth journey and interviews others on their path to becoming unbound. Delivered weekly on Thursdays.
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On today's episode we'll uncover where teams leadership and creativity blind. Are your leader trying to get more from your business in life? Need to. So join me as I document conversations, stories and advice to help you achieve what matters in your life. Welcome to unbound with me, Chris DuBois. Michael McRitchie has a strategist for business, personal and global issues and a creativity awareness educator. He works with individuals and teams to unveil and promote their limitless human potential through awareness that is found in the wisdom of our common language art creativity. Michael, welcome to unbound
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thanks for stopping that. tripling that saw up my bow. Never heard it like that. Awesome. Yeah, I'm gonna
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add a little pizzazz. Yes.
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Great to be here. Chris. We talked before. It's always a pleasure seeing you. And yeah, I am born in Vienna. I was a sick child. I
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went to school with seven. And I couldn't and basically it was like hitting the wall. Couldn't understand was stuttering couldn't read, couldn't regurgitate anything. That's still till now. That's why I don't fit into any systems. Because I can regurgitate I can prep, I don't prep for the podcast or anything. Because if I were prep, I would stutter and try to remember and then it will be gone. Ghana. Yeah. So but I'm really calm when when I'm right in in it. Like we talked about leadership, when I am in, you know, like in hospitality business when when everything goes you know, up and down. I'm just the comm center in the middle I you know, the most stress and hectic gets the calm I get. So every human is free. You know, it's good for something, you know. And then I went to you know, I myself ever was because I repeated two grades. I couldn't repeat grades anymore. I think the third time you can create a repeat grade. So I got a job in hospitality and I you know, I loved music. I was a DJ was a creative fashion shows, sold tape off my trump tapes out of my trunk. And by 30, I looked at my resumes and because that apply for a new job and this oh my god, I'm an artist, I'm an artist, because I can't wait till this system or, you know, the politics or religion or whatever. Whoever has artists says, Oh, you're an artist. Yeah, I said I am. I couldn't have been an accountant. I couldn't have been anything else. And I think that was a major decision said I can't wait for somebody else telling me I'm an artist. I'm just an artist, and I'm doing art. And that was right. Because that it carried me through. You know, I worked with Robert Evans, who did the Godfather, and Chinatown and love story. And I did was Newport Beach art commission, I wrote six books on art creation. And, you know, I got to create a grant for creating a new way of art education. So everything was hard anyway, all the time. So it was a good decision that I made with 30. But I really made it. It wasn't like, No, I wait till I get likes, but people are hailed as an artist or get an award. I did.
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Yeah, I really liked that concept where, you know, don't wait to be told you're an artist. Yeah, like just be an artist. And it's the same with with leadership. Right? Like, you don't have to wait to be in a leadership position. Yeah, just go be a leader. Just do the things. Don't say that. Because they're
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assuming a leadership coach. I always ask I said, leadership, I love to leadership, right. I was like, how many leaders are there because I see more leadership coach than ever, you know, everybody and everybody wants to be a leader. You want to be a leader? Oh, because then I don't have to do dirty work. It's not about that.
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Yeah, I think I did as much dirty work as a as a leader as I did. When I was out. So you have
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to you have to do more because you have to show you know you wash the dishes. You wash the dishes. Hey, listen, this is how you wash the dish. Yeah,
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right. It was actually super when I was up in Alaska for my first duty station in the army. It snows in Alaska. I'm sure a lot of people know that but you have to shovel that snow and that's usually a soldier responsibility. Yeah, but we as leaders would often just go out and do it if if we're the first ones out of the office. Why would we not help everybody and just clear clear the sidewalk
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and TVs team is boss. You know that team is boss. It's you're not Saturday. The team, you have a function as in the team, you had chain link in the in the team. So whatever the team has to do to be the team, you clean up your wash dishes you get there's no odds, you know, he's a complete different perspective. You know, people are saying y'all date the guy since a white shirt in his corner office and just gives, gives directions now
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it's not? Nope. So you advocate for becoming more conscious and aware as individuals? Yeah, just building awareness. What are some of the practical steps that our audience, you know, could take away from this episode too, for raising their own self awareness? I
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think self awareness is, is the king is the king of everything. Because when you go, what is when you do a job, or you learn for something, what do you do get a lot of knowledge. And then you don't get the job because they want the experience. And then somehow you get in and do an internship and whatever. But experiential knowledge is awareness. So when you were in there, I couldn't tell you what I could talk about army, but I couldn't tell you what it was, and you couldn't tell me, you know, in the art probably. And I said, I did that. And I can tell you, from my experience, what I had to watch out or what to do, and that's awareness. And most people will tell you the same thing. I mean, like we say the same things about leadership, we both have the experience of that. So we tell each other up, and then we align it. So I feel the same way. And then whereas just the most, and I think what hinders awareness is system, relevant, when you live a system relevant and you are very system relevant, you know, in the army, you it's completely system. But when when you say the job is a system relevant job, but you you are a human centric being. And I think once you have that awareness, so you're living a human centric life, as a collaborative, create the animal of nature, which we are part of, and give that priority, then the system relevant skills easy, because you know who you are, you know, you're not going to be a cook, when you can cook. You know, you know, when you say, okay, I'm good with people, that's a human centric trait, when you know, okay, I'm good with kids, I'm good with people, I'm good with dogs, I'm good with whatever. And then, and I understand or I'm a total nerd, I understand all the technology and whatever. But once you figure that out in the human Centricity by helping out people and, and interacting humans with humans, then it's easier to have maps, I'm going to the army, I'm going to be a chef, I'm going to be in the hospitality, business. And you toggle those two, because we are collaborative, creative, creative animals by nature. So we have to stand, we can create our own habitat, which is systems that are made the religion, that politics, whatever. And we have to be the balance in between humans, because we can create those things, those habitats, those artificial habitats, but we have to be kind of in between. And what happens today is, oh, my god, the company is so good that the system is so great. I'm sacrificing my love. I'm sacrificing everything for the system. Yeah. Like like, oh, a Google and Apple is everything that my job is everything. I don't care about my wife, I don't care about this, you know, and you always have to think because if you don't go, and the sad thing, this is the sad thing, when woman, when mothers are feeling guilty, they have to go to a job, because that kid is sick. That's what I'm trying to make people aware. If you have a team, and we're at work, and say, hey, my kid is sick, that is okay. And the team works really well. He's not off, but everybody's out for their own thing. So if it's a team said, Don't worry, stay home till Bobby gets healthy again, you know. And that's not anymore. People are sacrificing their life for system and thing. And the problem is all systems and I found that out too. And I think that's important for your listeners to get. We have fish in water. And we are like fish in water. And our water is a continuous lack more money, more product, more sales, more and more and more. In nature. You don't have every harvest the best you have two or three harvests that are broken down. And what happens is what I think was missing is enough as a value proposition as an added value. If you get the financial principles, which is an outdated system that doesn't work, we obviously look at all the systems breaking down. Because they can't more and more and more it did they just it just no human wants to go back to work anymore because it's just too much, you know? And, and so the people said, Okay, if enough was something worse, then we can do D gross, we can have a year and say, this year is like a leap year. We don't expect GDP to grow up Darius, just you know, just to give people I'm not a financial, I'm not saying I'm basically I'm completely self taught. But that's why I have an interesting perspective. Because that, you know, I think what in nature is balance? You know, the natural is balanced. There's not a million elephants too many answers. Okay, now the minute we have to have to die now, the star of No, nature is always balanced. And and humanity is in systems is always more and more and more, it's never balanced. And it's obviously expected to deliver more, you know?
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Sure. So you've mentioned quite a few times now talking about balance, yeah, just the ability to find it, right. So if we're, for looking within nature, being able to understand yourself and become aware on that side, you can now by better understanding yourself, you are able to see you as a part of the system, how you can better fit right might not be the best piece Yeah, to fit in here. How do you how do you, Bill help people build awareness for like, the trade offs that they have to make? Right? Like if I think balance, you're gonna have to give something I think
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for first, okay, there's a emotional, your feedback loops, you're angry, you want to control, you are jealous, because you think you can have that that somebody else has. So the emotional feedback loop that you actually should chase is fulfillment. Because fulfillment, it's about it. Life is about having a fulfilled life. That doesn't mean the systemic belief that it has to be sunny every day. And if it's not, we sell you a Ferrari appeal or a face job. You know, it shouldn't be that it should be. Life is hard. Life is hard, not because it's hard. It's systemically hard life is life, like nature's nature. And you can and because you are living being you grow. And by growing when you take three kittens in a box, they are cuddly and Munchkin, and in two weeks to kind of fight each other not because they're so close, because they growing, the growing they get an experience. You know, cuddling with each other isn't enough anymore. They want to explore, they want to go out they want to hunt their mouse or something. So the feedback loop is we always have adversity. And the best way to handle adversity is leaning and when you have pain leaning into pain, you're better than I do. When you have an emotional thing you lean into you don't start fighting, but you lean in it, you just feel it say Oh, give me a moment, go out and say I want to chill this person, right on or whatever, get it out, lean into it. And what does that tell me about me. And then once you have that, then you get more and more fulfillment. So for example, I'm more and more in the moment when you are in the moment. So I'm not focusing right now. On Oh, I have to, I have to run the dog, I have to, you know, pay my bills. I'm here I'm right here with you. And that automatically, which you know, but that's why you love to podcasting. When you hear and you couldn't just be like with a friend here just sink or something else. You have to be here for 30 minutes, 40 minutes you have to be here. And but what that does is it gives a tremendous thing of fulfillment because you learn you meet another human being and then other human beings meeting other human beings is essential, it's essential to your fulfillment, because you learning always more you always experience more of who you are. Because you are a piece of nature God whatever you want to call it, that woman is of nature God, you know this and when you connect with those, you feel that we are all interconnected. You know we are all one we are not a system, reverse engineered system thing of how humans should be and and are. We are one human family that created see stems to help us to support us to be to lift our human potential not to just to just okay, what am I gonna do? I'm a black person, whether I'm gonna be this person, I'm a woman. No, you are accepting the in the in the mating season, it doesn't matter in nature if you're a female or a male, it doesn't matter. So it doesn't matter in which way she is this woman down way more manly than than men and this man down way more feminine then thinks that all agenda of this classification that become stereotypes, you know, you know, we need to find a word. So I think I'm taking you know, all the guys because the Deaf nose down on sensitive, they can just kill. Yeah, but it's not true either. Because the best archers and marksman a woman. So even in that, you know, in the system context, we are wrong. But we do it because our fathers did it our breathing, it's over generations. And when we say when you come that's why I say it's so important to separate the two human centric human relevant, human centric life versus system relevant life. And the human centric has to be number one, because we created systems. If there's no humans tomorrow, we AI systems absolute if there's no systems tomorrow, it will be hard for humans. But we will survive. I guarantee you
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will develop more systems. Yeah, we
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read the relevant we make more systems. Yeah, it's okay. Right.
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So let's tie this going towards like the business world now. Yeah, how does the building of self awareness, I guess, facilitate more just like effectiveness, more efficiencies within companies, by the leader and the individuals within the team, just prioritizing self awareness,
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I would say, first of all, the leader has to be always the most self aware, I don't care what people tell me, you cannot lead a company, you can't be a CEO of the company, if you don't, are not the most self aware person. Because even if you don't talk to the lowest people, you can see because the fish always thinks from the head right from the head, whatever you say, fish makes smells from the not from the bottom, it said from the head. So it's always the same. So when there's a problem in a company, you know what it is, I mean, look, when, when when one chief leaves and the other comes in, it's just because you need to at least know what let's say, you're on the hugest company, you need to know your people that help you, you know, the closest one to you. And you feel that and when you feel that and if you're not aware, you don't feel it, you should look at the balance sheet and said, Hey, Chris is getting me every month 50% or more, to kill your people. You don't think that comes back? If you keep hatching up people and get me 50% Stop money. Humans make the money. Without humans, you know, it's not you. It's not because you give me more money. The more happy people feel in your environment, the more you mean to not like I have I have a job to be here. But that's just the job of the team. I'm not hierarchy see, an artist is better in art. When you look at a conductor, you know, they the conductor knows. The music symphony is harmony and disharmony imbalance, balance is the key. Because if it's only this harmony, it's noise. If it's only harmony is boring. inevitable in music. That's why I say I'm working on a educational program where you have group art and group sports, you have to do both. So the chalks have to do the artistic endeavor, that artists have to do the sports and if they can do the running or whatever they should be whatever waterboy or referee or something. Because they have to experience the experience. So in our, in our view, it's about the piece. It's like the military is what you do. Nobody asks you to fail, nobody else. You know how to get more thing. It's just like, began to get in there. That's our goal. And that's our function we have to get from here to there. That's it. How are we going to do it? That's up to us. We can have a little bit of a saying but we got to get there. And and I think that's very that's why artists and soldiers are very much because it's a human centric, it's totally human centric. Indonesia, what artists insulting? Yeah, I know, I know, artists that go out with, with, with with SEAL teams, you know, and they love each other because they understand themselves from a human centric connection, you know, a human centric life. So I think when you lead, you need to be, you want to be a leader, you have to be the most self aware. No ego out the ego out, you cannot feel they're worse or better. You can kind of focus on the teamwork on the team. That's why I say key team is boss, him his boss, when you have team is boss, you will be very efficient. I have a Yesterday I talked to a girl that I coached. And she runs that restaurant with 10 people, and it's a huge restaurant. And she says you see a person with a with a black, you see a person with a black shirt, you know, the waiter, they can help you. It's not like, Oh, let me get you somebody else. It's they help you. And that's an that's a team. That's a team. Everybody helps, you know. Also, not not hiding stuff, not having everybody feels, okay, that guy wants just money or the guy wants to just make himself important or is out for your job. Everybody knows it. When the when your promotion comes in comes or it doesn't. It doesn't matter how you now interact with your team. And that message you have to give us and hey, if you like I love people, when they say do it for the money, I said if you do it for money, go to a bank. If you do it for the love of the money, I totally accept that. Be a venture capitalist or go to a bank. Don't be in hospitality. Don't be you know, to get get some tips. That's that's not a that's not a job. If you don't like like to be a waiter don't go into into the waiter wedding business. You know? It's like if, yeah, go ahead. Good.
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So how do you recommend I guess, for building awareness within your team? Right? Because like, so the leader has to become self aware if they want to be able to run their business well, but how can they now help foster that with?
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This is my trickery. My trick is to sense people. And look, observe, I'm a big observer of stuff, I observe the people. And I find certain traits out of them. And then I make them a superstar. If in a team, you gotta you gotta give to the individuality. We have one of one you you're one of one. Chris is one of one of 8 billion. Michael is one of one of 8 billion individuals. You're not the same. You're not can you can be changed. Yeah, you can make change, but it's not going to be you. So I know from teams, when they lost one person, it completely changed, which you know, yourself. It changed because people rely on that person. And then they can't rely on the new person. So it is essential to make everybody a superstar. No, it's like the Justice League. It's not. Oh, you know, there is Superman, then there is some super somewhere now. Everybody's a super, super. Everybody's a superstar. And you introduce him like that in the team. You say, hey, there's Mr. You know, Wes. I don't know what I said late. I'm just thinking about my late last thing was oh, bar I said, Oh, my bar bar bartender. I say That's Nick from That's Nick from Boston. And that sounded like really broad, isn't it? I need definitely from Boston. If you have a carburetor, he's gonna help you. Look, is the best is an artist too. And look what he does. Look what he he's doing the best Deezer artists, his guest makes the best cocktails. The people love them that had something to relate to the guys from Boston, talk to him. And it's all forming this human interaction that we are all a family. I think when you bring family in the end in any company, when that's concept, you relate on a human centric level and the system relevant job up is easy. It's always easy. Because we had a we had a, we had a cook one time. And we and there were only two cooks in the kitchen in a big restaurant. And the sous chef didn't come. They just didn't show up. So I said, you know, we have 122 covers today.
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And the cook was a team player, not, I'm gonna take care of it that smarter. I said, bring him on. Bring him on, when you have your people said, Bring it on. And we said, we do it.
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We help out everybody. I said, Can we help everybody up? Well go. It went so smoothly. I can't even tell you. Because we gave intention to the cook was the victim. Right? You know, that really was the real the fact he was a victim? Because how can you throw three times as much work on him? But I said, guys, that guy didn't show up. Let's let's do this together. Can we ask him? Can we because I can just send people away? No, we can boom, they're all you know, there's just you've got like you introduced me that's that's in your we have a spirit we are here. We can do it. And that's makes this any we are going to accompany as everybody's dead. Because people are so frustrated. They can't do it. And he's so much system stuff is they never get to their job. It's like if you had to do logistics all day long, and you could never be in the field to get there. You're gonna get crazy.
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That's not on that. Yeah. How do you I guess what advice do you give to leaders to kind of avoid losing themselves in some of that system driven growth and rather kind of stay grounded in their humanity? have a
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talk with you or me? Guess I mean, you really, I mean, because you have to experience what we mean not read stuff. We can you know, read stuff and whatever. Anybody that listens to this podcast, know what we know, because we have you and I connect, and they can relate with their six senses to us not with the words we speak. It's an energy, it's an attitude. It's a it's, Hey, we can do we are not different. It doesn't care if you're different race or gender. I don't care. And a team we are one. And team is boss team is bosses. I keep saying it team is boss. Don't you tell me I'm a lead our team is boss. You have your one chain in that link and you have a defined position. You know, that's is to balance the whole thing out. Because if your CEO comes and says, Where's the job? They don't care if you're the if you're, you know, the leader or not. If the team doesn't work, you will fire too. It's just you know, yeah,
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I know. So, Michael. Yeah. Thank you for all of this information. Even gave me the title for the episode team is boss. I think that's what we named this one. I got three more questions for you. With the first being, what book do you recommend everyone should read?
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I would say Eckhart Tolle is the power of now. Right? You read the to the power of now power of now.
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I
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think that that's because it's not a business book. It's a human book, how humans supposed to be see, we don't get learned. We don't They don't teach us how to be humans. And what we have to our lives have learned how to be interacting with humans. And when team is boss, you learn how to interact with whatever comes because you have to work with the guests. You have to work with enemies, you have to always work with the whole gamut. And that's that you should learn in education what it is to be human, so that then you can do a human really good job in systems and they can support you.
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Right, make sense? What is next for you professionally?
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Nothing. I don't do goals. I don't do goals. I just do the best job I can now and and somebody could hear this and say I got to talk to him. Or I mean that was yesterday on a job. I think I said oh my god, we've got to do a podcast episode. You know, I was at the link LinkedIn jet jet about 911 and autism and neuro diversity because I'm nervous, you know, so and and the app. And I wanted to also I was also worried, you know, contributing that, that I'm, you know about the wonderful power that art creation has for PTSD. You know, it's just, it's amazing, the better than any drug. You know, it's just amazing the results on that. So, yeah, that's how I do I do the best that I can. I'm finishing my sixth book right now. In my sevens book. And I actually really think because tomorrow is the Congress talks about AI. And I want to drop them on LinkedIn before that. So wherever early that
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yes, you're getting busy right after this. Yeah. Awesome. Hey, where can people find you?
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In? Michael M. Michael m.com. Michael was two L's Michael m.com. And there is your LinkedIn and they is how you get in contact to me and then you can also see all the talks I gave. And my books, my music, my paintings, everything is there. And that was the last question. Okay. I thought outside of out of promoting me now I'm I'm willing to talk to everybody and work with everybody that is that really believes what we said today that human centricity is what keeps us alive because AI is not going to keep us alive. And it's gonna make it cheap makes all that although work cheap then you are paid less to because if I can get it AI made I don't need you. And you know, that's so but but but this is to see this is when you're so distorted. You don't see who is paying for that without humans buying them all the services that come out to exponentially more better and more services and products who's going to buy him when we have no money that we can make
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insane so there you go. Well, Michael, thank you for joining me. Awesome, Chris.
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Yeah, and on.
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If you enjoyed today's episode, I would love a rating and review on your favorite podcast player. And for more information on how to build effective and efficient teams through your leadership, visit leading four.com And as always deserve it
Transcribed by https://otter.ai