One on One with Mista Yu

From GED to CEO: Dusty Holcomb on Building Purpose-Driven Leaders, Not Managers

• Mista Yu

Share episode

SEND US A TEXT. Drop Mista Yu a text at: (904) 867-4466 or (https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/2378778/open_sms). Leave your first name and the city you're reaching out to us from. We'll respond to your message on the next Fan Mail episode and give you the biggest shoutout. Every message you send to me matters. WANT A SHOUT-OUT ON THE PODCAST?

Ever been told you’re not cut out for something? Dusty Holcomb was—then he walked back four years later and slid a magna cum laude diploma across the same desk. That fire shaped how he leads today: service over ego, clarity over control, and relentless learning as the engine of growth.

We sit down with Dusty—Founder and Coach at Arcqus Group and podcast host of Leadership Unlocked—to unpack the difference between managing outputs and leading people. He shares the five questions every team must answer without the boss in the room: why we’re here beyond money, where we’re going, how we’ll get there, how I fit in, and what’s in it for me. If your team can’t answer those, you’re flying through fog. Dusty explains how leaders remove ambiguity, align values, and invite discretionary effort by translating strategy into human terms.

The conversation ranges from homeschool roots and a library-card education to executive roles and building the Vision to Victory Accelerator, a 12‑leader cohort where iron sharpens iron. We dig into self-leadership habits—daily meditation to create a response gap, gratitude journaling to focus attention, and intentional planning to direct intensity. Dusty is candid about the edges of being intentional, intense, and relentless, and how family tempers those traits. He also names the hardest scenario to be led: when ego outruns mission.

You’ll hear why “be interested, not interesting” is the simplest way to unlock influence, how values like curiosity, ownership, faith, growth, service, and humility anchor hiring, and why Viktor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning is an annual read. Dusty’s BHAG is bold—impact 100 million leaders—and he’s building it through a podcast that curates real stories and a company that equips purpose-driven teams.

Want to pinpoint where your leadership is stuck? Take the free Leadership Gap Assessment and get a 45‑minute consult at leadershipgapas

Coffee lovers and health-conscious listeners, we have new sponsors. They're offering you their best discounts! Links are below. Start saving now!

Quantum Squares: https://quantumsquares.com/discount/TCMMY

Strong Coffee: https://strongcoffeecompany.com/discount/TCMMY

ZivoLife: https://zivo.life/discount/TCMMY

I know you can probably find a good cup of Joe anywhere these days but can you find a good cup of Joe that is actually healthy for you! Strong Coffee is YOUR answer! Use the promo code below and tell me if it doesn't change the game for you! Healthy for your skin and your mind and it tastes great!

Strong Coffee: https://strongcoffeecompany.com/discount/TCMMY

Support the show

Hope you enjoyed our broadcast! If you would like to, or know someone who would like to be connected to Mista Yu as a future guest on one of our shows or to have him on your show or you think he's the perfect fit to be your new High Performance Coach, visit our page here: https://theycallmemistayu.wixsite.com/they-call-me-mista-y

We can't wait to hear from you!

Here's my LinkTree: linktr.ee/theycallmemistayu

Here's my Landing Page: https://theycallmemistayu.wixsite.com/they-call-me-mista-y

unknown:

Welcome back to one-on-one with Mr.

SPEAKER_01:

U. Of course, I'm your host, Mr. U in studio with us, founder and coach of the office group and the host of the Leadership Unlock podcast. Dusty Holcomb is in the house, man.

SPEAKER_00:

Dusty, how are you, brother? I am wonderful, Mr. U. It's so great to be here. I've been looking forward to this conversation. Same here, man. Same here.

SPEAKER_01:

We talked about a lot of things during my pre-interview, a lot of juicy uh tidbits and actionable goals and strategies, and a lot of good talk about you, man. So I want to get into it a little bit. We always start our show off asking our guests to share about their childhood, how you got from there to here. Tell us about your upbringing, man.

SPEAKER_00:

Who's dust? Yeah, you know what? It's it's so cool. Like, I was not meant to be a leader. And you know, it's so funny that like that's an opportunity you get to learn from. My childhood was growing up in rural East Georgia, and from the fifth grade forward, I was homeschooled. And because of that, I had the opportunity to learn, and I was so fascinated with learning and history. And so one of the greatest gifts I was ever given was that my parents said, here's a library card, go learn whatever you want. And I think I read every book on military history in our local library and just had the opportunity to learn what I was interested in. That's good, man. That's good. What part of the country did you uh grow up in? Uh Eastern Georgia. So grew up in uh the Southeast, uh East Georgia. My dad was the county extension director for the uh Georgia, University of Georgia Extension Extension Service. And so we were uh his whole role was to serve farmers. He'd grown up on a dairy farm. I grew up around farming, and that was uh, you know, those are some of those lessons you learned very early in life about what hard work really is and uh how to go out there and get after it. Oh, I loved it. I love that.

SPEAKER_01:

What would you say if you can locate one was a turning point for you that kind of brought you into this mindset that you have now? If if we're wise about this life that we live, we can always be able to go back and trace those turning points. I mean, it it's it's no it's negligent to kind of just walk through this life and not realize the areas that you know they got you to where you are. But could you locate one of those areas that was a turning point for you that got you to this new mindset that you have?

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, no, it's so powerful. I couldn't agree with you more. We have to take the time to reflect on these things that really formed us and reformed us. You know, one of the earliest ones, kind of linking back to the fact that I was homeschooled, is because of that, I had to get a GED, a general equivalence elite diploma. And back in the early 90s, you know, that was the marker of someone who had failed out of high school. And so that led me when I got to college or went to apply to college, you know, the college admissions counselor who looked at me and said, Well, you know, Dusty, not everyone is cut out for college. Perhaps you should consider a trade school, perhaps you should consider just, you know, going to work. And, you know, I knew that I was smart, but I also at that moment, I didn't realize this until years later, I was mad because, like, who is this guy who doesn't know anything about me to judge me based on one thing, one test, one score. And, you know, I didn't have great scores because I read what I was interested in and I didn't read any math books. Like, you know, nobody sits there and reads a calculus textbook and has it all figured out, or at least I didn't. But he chose uh to try to label me. And then I went back four years later, slid my diploma across the desk, and said, Thank you very much for the motivation. I just graduated Magnicum Laude, and I am appreciative of the chip on the shoulder that you gave me because I refuse to be defined by what someone else thinks.

SPEAKER_01:

Wow, I love that, man.

SPEAKER_00:

I love that.

SPEAKER_01:

You deal a lot with leadership. We're gonna get into a lot of different things and hopefully get it all in before our time works out on us. But you deal a lot with leadership. Now I'd love to know from your assessment why you think leadership is such a constant discussion. This show alone, I I probably peeked, I probably interviewed more folks who are in some kind of leadership or have a uh this leadership bent to what they do than anything else that I anybody else that I have on this show. Why do you think it's such a big deal and why do people avoid the responsibilities of leadership now?

SPEAKER_00:

Well, I think there's two types of things going on here. There's there's management, which is you know the coordination of the external efforts of others, and then there's leadership, which is around the ability to align and bring purpose to the efforts of others. And so when we think about leadership, we're thinking about how do we get people aligned and focused on a vision and a mission and then executing uh on time. And I think it's so incredibly important because in many cases, the only way we're gonna get anything done is by helping others be successful. And that's what leadership really is. And so when we stop and we think about it, we have a responsibility to be better ourselves so that we can serve others more effectively. And there's a lot of people out there, but there's not a lot of great leaders. You know, in my uh lifetime, I have worked for 11 people. There are 11 human beings that I have directly reported to. Three of those were leaders, the rest were managers, the rest were uh not leaders, but three true leaders who elevated their game. And so, and in doing so, continually helped me elevate my game.

SPEAKER_01:

So break the difference down, of course, for those that may be unaware. I am because I've been in this space more times than I I can't share. The difference between a leader and a manager, break it down for the people.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah. So think about management as the person who is focusing on the business results. They're managing the efforts to deliver an outcome. And that's it. They're just managing the effort to deliver an outcome. A leader is helping people understand where they fit into it so that they deliver the outcome on their own. A leader is aligning people to vision. You know, there's a famous proverb, you know, where there is no vision, the people perish. Leaders are helping people connect the dots. They're not micromanaging the outcomes. Yes, the outcomes have to be there. In fact, leaders have to be managers, but managers don't have to be leaders. Managers cannot care about a person. Leaders care about the results and they care about the connection from where we are to where we're going, and they're serving others. Leadership is service. And here's the most important distinction. And if I were to break it down to this element, this is what it is. Leadership is not about you, management is only about you. Management is delivering results so you look better. Leadership is empowering others so they deliver the results and they get better.

SPEAKER_01:

I like that. I like that. Oh, you're the founding coach of the Awkwards Group, but we didn't get a chance to really get into it and dig deep into it, but I want you to share about why you started this group, what's the structure like, what are you doing within it, and what the end goal is. So kind of a four-part question. Sure.

SPEAKER_00:

I love it. I'll try to remember all four parts as I walk through.

SPEAKER_01:

I hope you go ahead.

SPEAKER_00:

I started the Arcus group after 28 years in corporate leadership and executive leadership roles. And, you know, I had the great blessing uh very early in my life of being introduced to leadership. One of those three leaders for me was my very first mentor who taught me that when you take care of those you you serve, that they will take care of you. It's about them, not about you. And so that has been a founding kind of first principle of my thinking my entire career. So after 28 years of doing this in the corporate environment, serving others through leadership teams, et cetera, being the president or the CEO of organizations, I decided that on my exit from my last organization, that it was time for me to really focus on giving back, on helping other leaders grow. And so my first principal passion is to enable the success of others. In fact, that's my core mission statement in life is to enable and empower success in others. And so I founded the Arcus group so that we can help purpose-driven and value-centric leaders do exactly that. And so what we do is we work with leaders and leadership teams to enable them to grow in their leadership capabilities. And as we think about leadership, as I think about leadership, the ability to lead teams, the ability to lead organization is first dependent on the ability to lead yourself. You have to lead yourself first. You always have to be learning, you have to be growing, you have to be improving. And leading yourself is the hardest, but it's the most impactful work that you get to do. It's what allows you to get from where you are to where you want to be. These inflection points, these jumps in leadership capability are all dependent on your ability to lead yourself. So, what we do is we work with leadership teams. We have a couple of programs. Um, one of our um most desired and most uh popular and successful is our Vision to Victory Accelerator program, where we put 12 leaders in a group, we teach them a leadership operating system, and we sort and we surround them with you know the 11 other like-minded leaders who are doing that exact work at the same time. And it it brings another one of my favorite proverbs to mind, which is iron sharpens iron. When you get people in the room who are exceptionally good at what they do, you get an exponential growth factor because you're letting people learn from each other. We're giving them a system, they're coming in with their own uh desire and they're helping each other learn and grow. And it's so incredibly powerful to watch.

SPEAKER_01:

I love this, I love this. I know sometimes we can't always have the answer to the test before we have to take it. But tell me how you handle the process of being led. I speak to a lot of leaders who uh they take pride in leading other people, nothing wrong with that, that's fine. But uh it feels like they they they they cringe at the idea of being led themselves, and people who are leaders that are leaderless, that's uh that gives me pause. How do you handle the process of being led? We talked about that a little bit. Like I asked you who who coached you in our pre-interview and in our previous conversation, but how do you handle the process of being led yourself as a leader?

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, I think there's a fallacy that it when you get to some point, you no longer need to be led. And I think that's complete BS. You must always be led. And sometimes you need to go find mentors who will help lead, who will help guide you. But to the process of being led is really to understand I am not yet where I want to be or where this organization could be or where we're going. And how do we get aligned with that future vision? And so when you are in an organization and you're being led by someone else, are you asking the right questions? Are you helping? Sometimes leading up is the most important work you'll ever do, where you are helping the your leader coalesce on the right things. But to be led is a responsibility, just like it is to lead others. So you have to ask the right questions. You have to be seeking direction, you have to be seeking clarity because that's what oftentimes we see and I see as the biggest gap. There's a lack of clarity around expectations of the leader and those that they are leading. So if you are in a position where you are being led, then seek clarity. Ask questions. Are we aligned with where we're going, when we're going to get there, how we're going to get there, and all of those things? Because we as leaders must create clarity. And ambiguity is the uh kryptonite to effective leadership. So we get to lead up or lead down by removing ambiguity. And so I think that it's great to be led. I have a series of mentors and people that that I intentionally choose to be led by because they make me better. And that's what I'm seeking as a leader is I'm always seeking to be learning because you know, we talk about that there's this fallacy that leadership is uh born and not made. And I would say leadership is learned. In fact, I might even go further to say it's learning. Leadership is learning. Learned means past tense, means you've got it all figured out. No, no, no, no. Leadership is learning, which means seeking out those people that you want to be led by.

SPEAKER_01:

That last part might need to be might need to be repeated because that's what I think people are missing. The learning aspect, being uh humble to sit at the feet of somebody who's been a little further down the journey than you have, and be able to glean from them and still be able to serve other people too in your uh sphere. That that's I forgot I forgot the name of the uh the method, but it's a three-part method where it talks about you serving people who've grown further than you have or further along than you are, people on your level and people who are not on your level. I had guests come on and they shared about it. Now I mentioned it out loud and don't even recall the name of the method, but that's kind of where it takes me. All right, so mention this.

SPEAKER_00:

Now maybe I should announce this. No, go for it, man. Go for it.

SPEAKER_01:

Let's let's keep moving. I wouldn't say something different. Uh, in regards to just who you are, the person, if everybody that you knew was polled, what are three things or three descriptors they would say about dusty? Everybody knew that was polled, was three things that they would say, you know, an own condition adjective or maybe a descriptor, a personality trait, what do they say dusty is?

SPEAKER_00:

They would say that three words intentional, intense, and relentless. And those words, while I'm thinking about them through the positive lens, they also carry with them some baggage, right? Um, but intentional would be the first one because I am incredibly intentional about what I do. I believe that we should be thoughtful about reflection, thoughtful about planning our time, thoughtful about who we speak with and how we speak, but be intentional. I think it's one of the marks uh of a learning leader is to be very, very intentional. Um, the second was the word intense. And I don't necessarily wear that with a badge of honor, but I know that uh my intensity um can be off-putting at times, but it also can be clarifying at times. And so very, very intense individual. And I'm chuckling as you ask this question because I've I've had people tell me these words and go, Whew boy, you're intense. Like I feel like I've just been in the ring and I'm like, oh, we're just having fun here. Um I'm an Enneagram eight for those who know Enneagram. And then the last is relentless, which means never quitting. You know, I've I've spent a time in my life where maybe it goes back to that mindset of someone to defining who I am and trying to, you know, say that, hey, I'm not cut out for college. Because of that same thing, I went and did became an Iron Man athlete. Because of that same thing, you know, things people said, hey, you can't do this. And I went, oh, watch me. Relentless, the inability to quit. And all of those things, Mr. U have positive and negative. And I think that that's where we as leaders leading ourselves have to be able to watch out for those negatives that will torpedo us, you know, our greatest strengths will become our greatest weakness or become our binding constraint if we're not careful. Um, but those are the words I would choose.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

My Nagram kind of bounces between five and eight, but that's where I'm at. That's my that's my life story, the intense part. How does your family deal with these traits?

SPEAKER_00:

Um, lots of coffee. No, okay. No, you know, I I'm very blessed that I have my bride um is a wonderful balance to me. And she will help, you know, go to the reins every once in a while and slow me down and remind me that hey, you you don't have to do it all at once. You know, it doesn't all have to be um now. And so, you know, that is something that I'm continually learning. And I have a family that helps me learn. My bride is way smarter than I am. And then my kids, you know, it's been the greatest blessing is to learn, is to have children and learn they're not you. And so you get to amend your behavior and your style because of what they want or what they're interested in or what's best for them. So I'd say that my family helps me temper some of my um positive attributes to a more normal level because it's not best for them if I'm that way. I need to change who I am to serve them. Makes a lot of sense.

SPEAKER_01:

Have this on the screen for a little bit. I guess we're happy talking. I forgot all about it, which is crazy. But for those that are watching, you can see the link on the screen. It's a quick nine question quiz to help you help you if you're struggling as a leader or in intermediate leadership, help you kind of fix that. It's free, it's quick, and it'll lead to a 45-minute leadership consultation if you're interested in doing that. But Dusty, uh those that are can't watch, that are listening, it's leadershipgapassessment.com. Leadershipgapassessment.com free quiz, help you solve some leadership issues and help you have you on the track to get some uh continued consultation, help you kind of work through some leadership stuff and kind of grow as leaders. So I like Dusty said earlier, iron does sharpen iron indeed. So, what's a scenario for you, Dusty, where you feel like it's the most difficult for you to be led by other people? Um it's just like I can't be led by other people in this case, in this case, I'm struggling with it. I know I need to be here, but this is really hard for me. What's that?

SPEAKER_00:

Um, it's when a person is narcissistic or only worried about themselves, like they're managing the environment because of what's best for them and not what's best for the organization or the greater purpose or the greater vision. That's the that's what I struggle with the most is dealing with or working with people where it's all about them and their ego, not what about is what's best for the organization or best for the people that they serve with. Um, I struggle with that and and probably always will. That makes a lot of sense.

SPEAKER_01:

I want to give uh the office group a really quick spotlight right here. Just actually with one final question, and I want to get into what you some of your other work with your podcast and such. Excuse me. So in your group, are you like hiring cultures? Do you hire leaders in your group? Is that kind of what you're doing as well to kind of build this? What's what that look like?

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, we we have coaches and advisors that are on our team that we are looking for and helping who are like-minded for us, they're passionate about enabling others to grow. So, yes, we are very much growing and looking for coaches and advisors who believe that leadership is about service to others and are looking for uh ways to help unlock uh the efforts of others. And so that's part of what we do.

SPEAKER_01:

Okay, I don't I don't think I have a link from you, how people can find that, but get that to me or I will I will do.

SPEAKER_00:

Yes, I wanted to share it here, but can you share the link to the location for that? Sure, it's Arcusgroup.com, arcqusgroup.com, and then they'll have uh about us and outreach. You can if you're interested, you can reach out. All right, it's gonna be under outreach.

SPEAKER_01:

Copy that. So we have that there. I put it up on the screen for those that are watching. It's gonna be the office group. It's not gonna be spelled in the name the way you may think. It's gonna be arcqusgroup.com. Go under the about about us section and then under outreach for those that are listening and not watching today. Office group, arc, qusgroup.com, and go under outreach. All right, let's keep the tree moving close to the end here. What's some advice that you would give to the younger Dusty? Heard a lot of great things about him in in the beginning of the episode, but do you have some advice for that young man?

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, there's three things I would tell a younger version of me. One, I was told this when I was young, and I didn't wasn't smart enough to know what it meant. Life is about the journey, not the destination. Don't become so focused on the goals that you forget to appreciate the journey. It really goes back to what you were saying a minute ago. Uh, we have to take these lessons that we've learned and capture them. And if we don't, um, that's just we're wasting them, right? We've so like lessons be present for the journey. Uh, number two, learn to uh meditate early. Like I didn't pick up a meditation as a daily practice until maybe 10 or 12 years ago. And I think that if I had learned that as a skill, um much, much younger, then I would have learned to install a circuit breaker that would have prevented me from reacting to things as opposed to uh pausing and understanding and letting, you know, letting things flow around me that that uh I wish I'd I'd had. And third, you know, it would have been just fully appreciate the moments that matter every day. I started a practice of a daily gratitude journal about 15 years ago. And I wish I had started that practice 30 years ago. Writing down the three things every single day that I am grateful for has changed my life. It is the single most fundamental practice that I do every day and will not miss. I love this. I love this. Who are the influential leaders and mentors in your life? Uh, the first one that comes to mind is uh Colonel Greg Camp. He was my first leadership mentor. He was uh my manager uh and boss at age 21 years old in my first official leadership role. And he is the person that I give full credit to for installing within me a mindset about what leadership is, about servant leadership and how we are charged with uh being responsible for others, uh not having them be responsible to us. Love that.

SPEAKER_01:

Now, you said you you believe there's five most important questions that a leader must be able to answer. I guess in your assessment, if they can't answer it, they're not ready to step into the leadership. That's what I'm gathering from that question. Well, what are those five questions?

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, those five questions are really what a leader needs to be able to ask and answer of themselves and enable their team to ask an answer so that they can get missionaries in their organization, not just mercenaries. And what I mean by that is people who are putting forth discretionary effort, not just doing the bare minimum, not just doing what the job pays. Those questions are question number one, why are we here? What's our purpose beyond making money? And you can say, well, why does that matter? 93% of Gen Z and millennials say that if they have no alignment with the purpose of an organization, they will seek another opportunity. Why are we here? What's our purpose beyond making money? Question number two, where are we going? What's our vision? So people really need to understand that there's something beyond the day-to-day transactional elements of the work that we're trying to build. They want to be part of building something. Got to have a vision, got to have something over the horizon we're shooting for. Question number three, how are we gonna get there? How are we going to make that vision a reality? Harvard Business Review came out with a study a few years ago that said 95% of people in an organization don't understand the strategy of the company. Said differently, only 5% of the people in a company are actively understanding and working towards making that strategy a reality. That's the plan. That's that's crazy, right? I'm counting on 5% of the people, there's a better way. Yeah, question number four, and this is where I think most companies really start to uh fall fall to the wayside, is the connect the dots question is how do I fit in? Can people ask and answer how their work connects to the plan, to the vision and the purpose? Do they understand why what they are tasked with doing really matters in the company and how it connects to all those uh elements? And then question number five, what's in it for me? And it's not just a money question, it's a question of how will I grow? How do I measure my success? How will I be rewarded? What are the opportunities that are going to come because I've done a good job? When people can ask and answer those five questions, more importantly, when those questions can be answered by your team without you in the room, you have empowered and enabled the people who are closest to the problem, who are closest to the customer to deliver the best work. And if you think about it, if we could get every organization where the people closest to the customer and closest to the problems understand why we're here, where we're going, how we're going to get there, how they fit in, and what's in it for them, man, they will make incredibly good decisions.

SPEAKER_01:

This is the leadership mountain, man. We're trying to climb it today, man. So I I definitely appreciate this crystal. You mentioned a quote that you love. I don't think I've ever heard it before, but you said, be interested, not interesting. Unpack that.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah. So I heard uh Jim Collins share this when he was uh telling a story about Peter Drucker, and he was a young management consultant working with Peter Drucker, the godfather of management. And he, you know, he was going to Mr. Drucker after a week or two of uh working with him, and he was expecting to get all this accolades about being the sharp young Stanford graduate and you know sharp guy. And he said, Mr. Drucker, how how could I be more effective? And he's expecting to get a pat on the back and you know, hey, you're so smart. And he said, Well, Mr. Mr. Collins, I think you would be much more effective if you would spend more time being interested instead of interesting. You see, he was spending all of his time trying to be the guy, as opposed to focusing on understanding what was important to the other person. And I think that that's just such a wonderful metaphor for leadership. When we spend our time being interested in others, instead of being interesting all about self, we get other people to bring their best self to work. And that's what we have to do. That's the job of the leader is to unlock their the potential of the people on their teams.

SPEAKER_01:

That's super authentic, man. I'm loving this whole conversation. That's why we're going way past the time we are going out. I'm loving it. This is really good. We got time. But in a world of many podcasts, which you and I are both very, very familiar with, what's the end goal for yours? And and tell me, which is a kind of a two-part question. What's the end goal for leadership unlocked? And then, secondly, how did that connect with the Arcus group? Is there a connect connective tissue between the two of those? Go ahead. Yeah. Share that goal, please.

SPEAKER_00:

So the end goal with Leadership Unlocked, uh, maybe this is my part where I'm being interested uh uh quite a bit, you know, as I transitioned from leading organization and having hundreds and thousands of people, I realize that I have this insatiable quest for learning. I just want to learn. Well, one of the ways that I get to do that is by helping unpack and unlock the stories from others. So by having amazing guests on leadership unlocked, and the entire podcast is built around understanding the stories that shape great leaders. By having them on the show, I get to continue to learn. I get to continue to be around really smart people and ask questions about the lessons that shaped them, the things that they learned. And I'm like, to be honest with you, I don't want to have just people who have been in CEO roles or you know, running companies, et cetera. I want to have people on who have navigated life and have created influence because John Maxwell said leadership is influence, nothing more and nothing less. So I look for people that I want to learn from that are super interesting. They're maybe non-traditional leaders, but they have a story to tell, and I get to learn from them. So my end goal is to continue to learn myself and to help them share their lessons so others can learn. We've had guests on there. Uh we have a CEO who was uh, she's now a hospice chaplain. She was a half-line executive and became a hospice chaplain. Yeah, man, there's some lessons learned from somebody who is navigating death with families at the last moment. And what is life and what are regrets? There's so many incredible stories. So that's my end game. How do we help people share stories that matter? And, you know, what I get from it is learning. And what I get from it is the ability to be part of curating these stories for others. And that's the goal. And we've grown from, you know, we just launched four months ago and we're already in the top 5% of podcasts worldwide, and we're growing 25%. A month in listenership, and it's just so incredibly powerful for me to hear the feedback from others about what mattered to them and how that story unlocks something for them. That's that's the game.

SPEAKER_01:

I love it, man. I've seen a couple episodes, and I have your assessment. Your show is really, really good, man. Thank you. I appreciate it. We do the show for the pretty much the same reason. We're gonna unlock these uh incredible stories of courage and resilience and actionable tips and strategies, and just help us be better as a whole. So that's what the whole thing's all about. So I love this. I love this a lot. Uh so how does that connect with your does it connect with the Arcus group at all? Is that is there a connection there? Does it kind of help feed something there? Or how's that work?

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, yeah, it ultimately it does two things. I have a big, hairy, audacious goal, and I have no idea how I'm gonna achieve that goal. My B HAG is to impact the lives of a hundred million leaders. Now, I don't know how to do that, I don't know how I'm gonna do that, but I know that something like Leadership Unlocked can help do that. And I'll never know. I can't count every person who listens to an episode and then goes and does something, and then it goes that goes and helps other people. But for Arcus Group, we have to have a vision. We have to have something over the horizon we're shooting for. So if we can shoot for a hundred million people impacted, the Leadership Unlocked podcast helps do that. The other thing it does is, and I think this is incredibly important. People uh are attracted to people and that they like and trust and who believe what they believe. And so by being out there with Leadership Unlocked, we get to have an authentic voice, we get to tell real stories, and we get to show people what we believe. I get to show people what I believe is a leader. And so that will either attract people who believe the same things and want to learn and want to grow, or it will repel people who don't believe those things. And I'm okay with that. Like I don't I want it to attract people who have the same type of energy and the same type of desire to serve, or repel those who don't. And so it supports and enables our vision of creating an organization that's going to impact the lives of 100 million people, and it helps attract people and reinforce whether they ever do business with us or not, is completely irrelevant to me. It helps attract people who believe what we believe so we can build a community that creates impact. Those are the ways that it links into what we do.

SPEAKER_01:

Well, if I'm doing my part, I'm a I'm a fan and follower of the show, so I enjoyed myself personally. So this is good stuff, brother.

SPEAKER_00:

Thank you, Mr. U. I really appreciate it. That's high praise indeed.

SPEAKER_01:

That's not a problem at all. Uh, what for somebody who is looking at the work that you're doing and want to be a part of what you're doing? You mentioned alignment a couple of times, and that's that's really the word of the the last three months for us on in my neck of the woods is alignment. Alignment, I've been hearing so much uh in dreams and and in reality. Alignment. What is a potential person who wants to help and be supportive or be a part of be hired by you? What do they have to align with? Spell that out for people who may be watching, listening, who may be interested in supporting you.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, I think that alignment. The first thing they have to align with is that they need to have clarity around what's important to them and who they are. And they have to have alignment on core values. Now, I I tell people you don't have to have the same beliefs that we have, but you have to align on the values that we have. And our values are incredibly important. I put them on the website, I talk about them all the time, but you have to align so that you have curiosity, ownership, you have to have faith, you have to have a mindset of growth and a mindset of service, and you have to be humble. And so those are the values that we have and we share. And so that's the first thing you have to have alignment on. You have to have violent alignment on those things because if you don't, you have it's like gears in a in a in a in a machine, the they just don't line up and they grind and it doesn't work. So alignment to values, um, desire to serve, and ultimately it can't be about you. It has to be about those that we empower and those that we serve, and that's what we're here for, and that's what I'm here for. Uh, and so that those are the people that um the gears just align up beautifully. It's all about alignment.

SPEAKER_01:

It is all about alignment. That's that's the word of the day, the week, the past quarter, if you will. So, last three questions. I'm gonna try to go ahead and get these in. And then I'm gonna leave them on the table. What's one book that you believe everybody should read and why? I love questions like this because I'm a big reader. I know you are too. What's that book, brother?

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, I will give you the book that I read every single year. And there's there's lots of books. This is one I read every year, and every year I read it, I have a different book based on where I am in life. And it's Victor Frankel's Man's Search for Meaning. And I love that book because it is a constant and continual reminder that we have the power of choice, that we have the opportunity between an external stimuli and our response to choose our response. We are not um uh we we are not delegated a response. We have the opportunity to choose. I read it every year. Um, typically read it in the summertime. I read it again this summer, and I read a different book this year than I did two years ago, than I did five years ago. Man's Search for Meaning by Victor Frankel. Number one, read it every year. Got it.

SPEAKER_01:

And it's up on the screen for those that are watching. If you look if you're listening again and you're not watching, his name is spelled V-I-K-T-O-R. Last name is F-R-A-N-K-L. Okay, so you should know that. But that's uh Dusty's annual book. I think we all have those. I haven't read this one myself, but I'm super interested already. Here's the penultimate question today. If you have a gift of a seven-week sabbatical, where will we find Dusty?

SPEAKER_00:

Oh, I love this gift. I want this gift. Um, you would find me with my family in the biggest backcountry space there is. Uh, maybe on a horseback, maybe on a hiking trail. I want to be in a very big space where I feel very small and I'm reminded of the impermanence of us as humans and the permanence of the of the landscape around us. Uh, I find that type of environment, that type of space both inspiring, um, thought-provoking, faith foundational for me. You know, God is big and I am small. You'd find me in a space that's very, very large where I can be very, very small.

SPEAKER_01:

That's super humbling. I use that word a lot when it comes to you, brother. Thank you. I love this. All right, so I'm gonna go ahead and give you an instruction real quick before when we close out. Down a little bit afterwards, we should upload those through, and then some additional things on the back end. But now we had our last question of the show. It's called a CMV question. We talked about a little bit, have to start prepping our guests for them because they got so surprised and flustered. I want to give them more time to think about it. Career, mission, vocation question. I'm just taking all of the incredible things you've done off of the table temporarily, not to diminish your talents or your work because you've done several great things for a lot of people. Everything you've ever done, hobbies, career, mission, vocation. What do you believe Dusty is doing right now today outside of those things?

SPEAKER_00:

If one person based on anything I've ever done in life, makes a decision or a choice that improves their lives or the lives they love and care about, that's what I'm here for. Like the ability to impact the lives of others so that there's a ripple effect beyond me. That's why I'm here. Yeah. I think we're all teaching.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, that definitely sounded like this could definitely be you. Right. So this is your opportunity, your two minutes, Dusty. You can let folks know where they can find your work, or you can give them uh a pearl of wisdom that meant anything to you, or you can do both, but you got two minutes.

SPEAKER_00:

Go for it. All right, awesome. Well, I think the pearl of wisdom would be to restate what I've already said. You know, leadership is influence, nothing more, nothing less. And so that as people are thinking about leadership, I want to remind them that it's not about titles, it's about the ability to influence others. And when they invest time, effort, and energy in leading themselves, they earn the right to lead teams, they earn the right to lead organizations. Um, they can you can learn more about our work at Arcusgroup.com. And if you're stuck or struggling or trying to figure out, you know, why is leadership so hard? Why am I stuck? What is it that I can do to get better? Go to that free uh leadership gap assessment, leadershipgapassessment.com, take the assessment, and it'll help you pinpoint an area where you can learn and grow. And we'll give you a free consultation to help uh help give you uh some tools that you can get you unstuck and moving to the next level. So it's a desire uh of ours to serve, and it's a privilege to be able to do so. And I'm so glad I got to have this conversation today with you, Mr. U.

SPEAKER_01:

Same here, brother, has been beyond my expectations. I love talking about leadership and love somebody who's authentic about it. That's not something that is uh that's not pervasive.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, I can only be me, that's all I know how to do.

SPEAKER_01:

That's that's fair. It's definitely rare, and you're a rare brother. And I appreciate not only being in community with you also, but getting to know you, man, and and and connecting with you on that level. So definitely a blessing, man. This is the podcast host of Leadership Unlocked. Five on the Apple Podcasts, you will be fully satisfied, trust me. Incredible show to be so new and the founder and coach of the Autus Group. So you can check out Autusgroup.com. You can get uh assistance with leadership consulting, or you can reach out regarding the opportunities that Dusty has available on this site. So thank you again for being here, Dusty, and doing this, man. I really appreciate you, man. Thank you very much, man. It's privilege and an honor. Thank you. Same here, brother. Okay, hang on with me for a little bit afterwards, man. But Dusty and Mr. You, we're out of here. Have a great day. If you're watching and listening, you can find all this live already uploaded on nearly any platform. Instagram and TikTok will be coming. And then, of course, all the different platforms, you'll find it within the next half hour or so. So thanks again for watching and listening. Have a great day. We're out of here.

People on this episode

Head Shot

Mista Yu (Yusef Marshall)

Host

Podcasts we love

Check out these other fine podcasts recommended by us, not an algorithm.

Power of Man Podcast Artwork

Power of Man Podcast

Rory Paquette
Wake Up the Lions! Artwork

Wake Up the Lions!

Rory Paquette