Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Bill Lampton Ph.D.
Yes, welcome to the biz communication Show. I’m your host Bill Lampton the biz communication guy, every week, having a lively, highly informative discussion with a guest whose tips and strategies will help us and our business. I know certainly, they helped me and I know they help all of our viewers on YouTube and our podcast listeners as well. Today, it’s a genuine pleasure to welcome Jeannie Cullen Schultz. She joins us today from Janesville, Wisconsin, where she serves as CO president of JP Cullen, and industry leading construction company Janene attended Dartmouth College to play basketball intending to become a sports coach. But the prospect of joining the family business changed that path and we’re going to talk about that. She took the steps necessary to gain the knowledge and experience to join the family business including working elsewhere. First, as a project manager for HVAC contractor, North American medical, and 2013 Genie assumed responsibility for expanding the health care market in Dane County, resulting in work and every hospital and Madison, Wisconsin, and relationships with 92% more health care clients than JP Cullen had previously. As co President Jamie partners with her brother George to further strengthen the organization for the next generations. In line with a Cullen tradition, Jeanne is devoted to her family. And along with her husband and five children. She is passionate about badger, basketball, and football. So join me now in welcoming Janie. Hello, Jamie. Welcome to the best communication show.
Jeannie Cullen Schultz
Hi, thanks for having me today.
Bill Lampton Ph.D.
Jenny, I mentioned in the introduction, which you very kindly provided that you were a basketball star at the university level and your head ideas about becoming a sports coach. And many people would say that would be a little bit possibly more comfortable than going into the family business. I grew up in a family that had a family business and I personally and my choice stayed away from it. I just thought maybe that that wouldn’t work for me. But you had a different idea, a different approach. So tell us please about why you chose to get into the family business. And now you are co head of IT.
Jeannie Cullen Schultz
Yeah, definitely. So I had a interesting path growing up and was one of I believe there’s 13 of us cousins, I’m the only one that never worked at JP Colin growing up, which is pretty unique. But I was always very dedicated to my basketball passion, whether it be training and getting ready to play at the collegiate level or doing coaching, lot private lessons, things like that, as that’s always what I thought I wanted to do. And I know that I’m still very passionate about basketball and coaching and teaching. But ultimately, after doing it for a couple of years at the University of Wisconsin Madison, I realized I love basketball, but I’m not sure it’s the career that I want to have for the rest of my life. For those that know a little bit about college athletics, it’s very, recruiting is huge. Traveling is huge. And I know I’m a pretty competitive person, and it was going to want to keep moving up the ranks. So that would mean uprooting my family up every couple of years. And ultimately, I just, I didn’t think that was the lifestyle that I wanted. And I have a tremendous amount of respect for anybody that does coaching. So with that said, I was 27 of 30 credits into a master’s degree in Educational Leadership with a focus on athletic administration, and had only ever done college or basketball coaching regardless of the level. So I consulted with my dad, who’s a great mentor, both professionally and personally. And he suggested Well, why don’t you sit down and talk to a couple of women in business and women specifically in the construction industry. And I was fortunate enough to talk to three women at various stages of their their business and professional career. And they really opened my eyes to construction is just like any business. Sure there’s fewer females in construction than males but that’s much like college athletics or any athletics I should say. I, at least with my experience, I was always, you know, playing basketball with a group of men or guys, and usually in the minority as a woman. So they showed me you know, if you’re willing to work hard, roll your sleeves up, learn, ask good questions, you can be successful in this industry. And I’m certainly glad. Looking back, I think that would have been in about 2009, when I had those conversations and ultimately made the change. I’m so glad I did, because this has been a true, true blessing, an awesome experience so far, both at North American mechanical and JP, Colin.
Bill Lampton Ph.D.
While looking at your current position, as CO president of a company, there’s no doubt in my mind that communication skills play a vital part, and your leadership. Yeah. So talk to us, please about what you consider some of the most important communication skills, maybe how you learn them, how you practice them? And also, what have you learned about communication on the job is one thing to learn about it academically. But it’s another thing to learn about it on the job?
Jeannie Cullen Schultz
Yeah, definitely. Great question. I think for me, the most important thing I learned again, from from my dad, is to listen and listen more than you talk, you can learn a lot, whether it’s in a meeting with a client, with your own team members, if you listen and really understand what’s going on in the room, and then be able to respond accordingly. So I think that’s a big thing I do. See sometimes that people are so intent on getting their point across or getting their idea out there that they maybe skip that step of listening, and really understanding what’s going on. The other thing, and I believe this is something that Darcy Lama touched on is just the importance of two way communication. So often, you know, you can say something and think everybody in the room or if it’s a one on one setting, they totally understand what you’re saying. And then you walk out and circle back a couple days later, and you’re like, what happened here? Why didn’t Why didn’t that get done? Or why didn’t it get done in the way that I thought, in my mind, we are on the same page. So two way communication, and really making sure you understand what the person is saying, or that the person you’re talking to understands your intent. And then one thing that I’m you know, continuing to focus on and, you know, I don’t know that there’s a ton of people that like giving tough news or breaking, Breaking Bad news, but I’m learning how important it is to be proactive and direct. And it’s obviously not something that’s not a surprise how important that is, but it can be tough, especially in my role. Now, as the CO president, usually the phone rings more with challenging news or opportunities than it does with good news. So just the importance of stepping back and dealing with whatever the issue or concern is, at the time, proactively and directly. So I think those are the three things and they all say sound relatively easy. In theory, but as you said, the on the job communication. And what happens in in the construction industry can be challenging as well, because of the pressure and getting buildings built faster, cheaper, is really intense. And our our men and women in the in the field really go through a lot. And we want to make sure we’re doing everything we can to support them through proper communication.
Bill Lampton Ph.D.
I applaud those three points you make and Janie, I, I often have told the story and several times on the biz communication show about early in my career as a Communication Consultant after I’d been a faculty member in communication. And also then I’d spent some time in management. So when I started my presentation career, there was a group in nearby Atlanta that asked me to come speak to them, give them a one hour program at lunch, which I was delighted to do. And they asked me ahead of time, they said, We’re going to have a printed program. So ahead of time, tell us what your topic is. And I said, Fine, my topic is listen your way to the top, which is something as you’d indicate it really is is Mitel and helpful instead of just speaking your way to the top. So you can almost guess the rest of the story. And when I got to the meeting and looked at the program, it said that I was speaking on speak your way to the top. So I called the chairman aside and I said I don’t want to embarrass anybody but this is a time for me to make a great point that I even said, listen your way to the top. And that was what I asked you to put in print. But just by impulse you put speak your way to the top that broke the ice for the meeting. And then I remember so well, we had a one hour very act interactive session with all of us talking about listening problems and, and how we could become better listeners. And then that leads to your second point, which to me is, again, very vital. managers, executives, CEOs, many of us think, okay, I told them, I told them, what, why didn’t they get it? And yet, this is where what we call reflective listening, comes in. So significantly, and I imagine you practice this where you say, Would you repeat back to me the instructions as you understand them? Is that a tactic that you’ve used Genie?
Jeannie Cullen Schultz
Yes, definitely. And it’s spot on. And it works. When you do that. Sometimes you feel a little silly or like, Hey, maybe I don’t need to do this. But every time I do it, the intent of my message seems to be more more well received, and on the same page, so definitely.
Bill Lampton Ph.D.
Oh, yes. And and those points that you made, I’m, I’m just, I support them very strongly. I, in fact, one of the points that I often make with people that I’m dealing with, is that you are not insulting someone when you remind them of an instruction, because this can help even clarify, what what was what they were asked to do, if you remind them of it. I, I know, early in my management days, I thought well, that that would be a little insulting or abrasive. No, it’s not. It’s not people need reminders. We we all do. So your tips, right, there are on target. And I guess I have to ask where those you learned in your management, your, your MBA program are, are these things that you learned on the job or a combination?
Jeannie Cullen Schultz
Yeah, I’d probably say a combination. You know, I’ve been very fortunate through my my time and career in athletics to be involved in a lot of team situations. And I’ll say, big moments to from playing in an NCAA Tournament game, studying at Dartmouth, things like that you’ve learned so much in doing, but then definitely being able to supplement it with some of my work, whether it was at Dartmouth College or at UW Madison. Going back to just thinking about communication at the athletic level, and the teams, you know, we’re bringing together 12 to 15 women from all over the country to play basketball, which is a great opportunity. But it also is a great teaching moment too, because everybody learns differently. Everybody has different experiences, background levels, styles of communication, and you know, with 12 to 15 women or probably 12 to 15 men. A lot of times some of us think our ideas the way to go, or we should do it this way. And you have to learn to adapt your style as well as your messaging to make sure you get through to all team members, because you’re only as good as your weakest team member. And if we pull together, you can have good success. So definitely, I would say it’s a combination of real life experience, and then also being fortunate to have a decent amount of academic experience as well.
Bill Lampton Ph.D.
I’m happy you mentioned communication styles. Because when I was in management at the vice president level in healthcare and higher education for two decades before I became a consultant, I wish I had known what I learned late in my career there. What I learned about communication styles, I was probably like many people and that first of all, I made two mistakes. One was I wonder why everybody didn’t like to communicate like I did. And then secondly, I thought, well, I can change their communication style. Yeah. And it was only after I I became acquainted with disc and DIA and C and those four different styles and after I became a coach And with that, I thought my gosh, if if only I had known this earlier in my management career, then the people who were a very high D, I’m a very high i. And of course, that’s, that’s an automatic clash right there. And the eye person cannot understand why the D person is so demanding. And the D person can understand why the eye person is so casual. Alright. Are you familiar with those styles?
Jeannie Cullen Schultz
Yeah, definitely not an expert. And it’s been a little bit since I’ve taken my own, but I would probably be more in the DI D camp than the AI. And what’s interesting is, my brother George and I, who are, as you mentioned, and Co Co leaders, co presidents, over the last three years now that we’ve been in this role, just seeing how similar we are, but also how different we are, especially when it comes to communication. He’s definitely more of a make a decision, communicate, move on. Very firm in his communication as well, I’m a little bit more of a processor and like to take some time to think about things and understand all the impacts that a decision or the the players and people involved in the decision may have. But just seeing how are two different styles can meld together and ultimately, lead the company and get the overall corporate vision and business plan across our 600 plus employees that we have is pretty cool. And using our complementary personalities to get there.
Bill Lampton Ph.D.
That’s the key is to understand the differences and yet to see how each person can make the the mental and, and verbal adjustments to cooperate well enough with the other person. And even though you don’t really, you know, you don’t ever possibly grasp wire that way. That’s that’s not the important point is it? The important point is, that’s where they are, we’re not going to change them. And so we need to just make those adjustments when we’re communicating with him. I’ve often thought that that families would benefit very much from understanding the different styles couples would I remember many years ago, when my wife and I were first married, my father, who managed a family department store had it that time a management expert come in and give some surveys, personal surveys to his his employees, and he asked us as newlyweds, would you like to do this? And we did. And each one of us filled out a form. I have no idea what it was way back then. And then when we were to meet with the man for the report, his first question was to us, why did you to get married?
Jeannie Cullen Schultz
That’s a That’s a good one.
Bill Lampton Ph.D.
Yeah. So I think on a personal basis and a working basis, time for something ELSE forced for for you to mention. And I noticed, of course and looking at your 130 year old company, that you have become increasing increasingly devoted to promoting mental health and your community. What prompted that, and what have the results been Janie?
Jeannie Cullen Schultz
Yeah. You know, I think it’s something that’s always been important to JP, Colin, we’re a family business first and foremost, and as you said, have been one for 130 years. And even though we’ve grown from, you know, 25 to 50 employees and now 600 We as a family genuinely care about our employees and their mental well being and want to make sure you know, they know that whether it’s coming to a Colin a follow our fellow co worker or now a a program that we have that’s available to all our trades people as well as our employees. There are resources available. You know, it doesn’t. Everybody knows how much is going on in the world right now. Whether it’s with your home life, your family, your kids, your kids, schools, your neighbors, the economy, it’s a really challenging time for people right now and making sure that when our men and women come to work, they know they’re in a safe place, but also that there’s people that care about them and want to make sure they have the the access and resources to things that they maybe don’t know exists. The other thing is you As we’ve seen from a number of our employees and friends, people how long it can take right now to get into a mental health, mental wellness care provider to get the care and services you need. So we’re now working with a third party called perspectives that is basically available to our our team members and their families on on call. So if they call them, there’s somebody there that can talk to them, can triage them and get them in connection with somebody that can can help work through a situation regardless of the severity. So it’s just it’s really important, like I mentioned, starting with that being the family businesses, we want to make sure our team members are happy or healthy, and have the support they need regardless of it’s a work thing or personal.
Bill Lampton Ph.D.
Think you made an outstanding point there that many of us are in a in a decade, which has pressures from all sides. Economic global, I could mention so many. Yeah. And one of the things that here again, is is where many of us as we get more experienced in life, I think many of us change our opinions about mental health. Sometimes it’s because a family member or a friend is affected, and that affects us. But early in life, in our naivety, many of us who are uninformed about what causes mental illness, many of us will say, well, they’re just self centered, they just want attention. Why don’t they get over it. And if only it were that simple. So I applaud JP Cullen and I applaud you for taking a leadership role and promoting better mental health. And the any newscast that you watch is a daily confirmation of how widespread this problem is. And not It’s not geographically limited. It’s not limited in any way. It’s not economically limited. And so people across a wide spectrum can be can be impacted and thank you for the good work that you’re you’re doing their one final question is as what we have time for Janie and that is we’ve talked about communication. We’ve talked about management, we’ve talked about being an executive if you had to pick the number one ingredient for becoming a an excellent corporate leader, executive, what would that be?
Jeannie Cullen Schultz
Number one,
Bill Lampton Ph.D.
are you gonna get one or two if you’d like?
Jeannie Cullen Schultz
Yeah, I would probably say you know, commitment, and then a passion for learning and improving those two things coming together. You know, I am very blessed to be a part of our family business, but I’m also very committed and passionate about learning and getting better and moving, moving the business forward. And I think the combination of those two things allows me to be a great leader, great team member, also, you know, balancing the home life with the five kids as you mentioned, is a big deal too. So I just try and do do those two things along with a couple others and hopefully will continue to have success and alongside my brother in our JP Colin team, keep moving the business forward. It’s It’s pretty incredible to be a fifth generation family business and are fortunate to be here and looking forward to seeing what we can do for our generation and then hopefully the sixth and seventh generations moving forward.
Bill Lampton Ph.D.
Well, thank you and I, I think that the ingredients you mentioned are are so vital. Jamie, thank you so much for being with us today on the biz communication show were very grateful. And I encourage our viewers and our listeners to follow my YouTube channel is listed as Bill Lampton PhD you You’ll find previous episodes of the biz communication show on there. And I invite you as well to visit my website biz communication guide.com Since I’m the biz communication guy that’s quite logical and my phone number 678-316-4300. Again, Janie, thank you so much for being our guest on the biz communication show. Thanks. And we invite you to be with us again next week for another version where we have another great guest on the biz committee.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai
