34. Justin Connolly - The Walt Disney Company

- We grow when we give. - We grow when we give. - We grow when we give. - We grow when we give. - We grow when we give.

- Welcome to ROG, return on generosity. I'm your host, Shannon Cassidy.

“This podcast celebrates generosity at work,”

not financial giving, giving valuable time, mutual respect, alternative perspectives and genuine collaboration. Our special guest today is Justin Connelly, president of platform distribution for Disney media and entertainment distribution.

Justin and his team lead all distribution activities across theatrical and home entertainment, including domestic and international theatrical distribution of all films produced and released by the Walt Disney Studios

and its collection of respected studios. They also managed all of the aspects of North American distribution, affiliate marketing and affiliate related business operations for all of the services provided by Disney and ESPN's portfolio of media networks.

Justin and I met through a mutual friend Lori LeBah many years ago.

He's always a person I asked to speak at leadership programs

and team events at ESPN and because he's so generous and willing to invest in others, he agrees to participate and it's always the highlight. Justin is a true example of authentic and generous leadership. He's this balance of humility and excellence.

He has a bachelor's and MBA from Harvard, a Boston native, so he's a fellow Red Sox fan and a treasured friend, welcome to ROG Justin. Hey, Shannon, thanks so much for having me. I'm thrilled to be here and excited to have the conversation.

Thank you, same here, really. I mean, when I launched this podcast, I thought through my roller decks of leaders who I've had the opportunity to learn from and witness and you came top of the list when I thought of who are

the most generous leaders that I've ever seen in action.

“And I think talking about this topic is similar to me asking”

you how you breathe because I don't think that you do this. Maybe not, we'll learn. But I think you are just a very naturally generous leader. And I appreciate you making time. But by the way, thank you for saying that.

And I know we both know that you've done a lot of work with our organization. And so you know, the culture that we're trying to build, the people that really kind of work and drive and create that culture within our organization.

And look, I think we all share this interest in trying to be generous to each other and generous with our time, our resources, all of those dynamics.

Because ultimately, we're really believers

and invested in the notion that it drives a more effective outward at the Walt Disney Company and at ESPN. Yes, totally agree. How would you describe generosity at work? There are a lot of different dynamics to that.

“But from my perspective, it starts with time.”

And it starts with the notion of how you spend your time in what you do with it. Making time for others, even though at first blush, it may seem like it's taking away from something else. Being generous with the wisdom you have,

with the information you have in order to be open and sharing and collaborative. All of those things from my perspective run through that filter of generosity. Likewise, you can talk about feedback,

you can talk about mentorship, and also letting others shine, creating space for others intentionally. All of those things, again, from my perspective, map really well to the notion of generosity.

Yes, I totally agree with that. And how did you come to this understanding of how to be a leader and how to be such a contributor in this way of giving time and wisdom, feedback, and intentional exposure?

How did this come to be in your life? It's a great question. I'm not sure I've ever really sort of delved into that specifically. But if I had to step back a piece of it,

and I think this is true for everyone, comes from, you know, you're upbringing, your role models, the people who have shaped you in the way that you view the world. And so that starts at home.

My parents were both great role models to me. I had a working mom. I liked the describe her as just a total badass, when it comes to doing everything related to strong in raising our family, but also incredibly strong.

When, you know, she went into the working world, she was a lawyer by background.

She ultimately was a judge.

She was just amazing. An amazing role model. And, you know, some of the things that I saw

And she knew the names of the people who, you know,

would, would clean the courthouse. She would know the names of the people that worked in corners of the law office. She was in, that didn't necessarily interact with her every day. But that was part of the way that she really felt

a sense of being a part of a community and being connected. And making sure that she knew those people, and not just by name, but she knew their families,

“she knew who they were, she cared about them, right?”

And that care and respect really shown through. And you see the way people respond to it. They, I think they show up differently when they believe and they feel genuine care. My dad was similar.

My dad was in elected politics for a number of years and then transitioned out of that. But he really had this drive around people feeling a sense of dignity and a sense of connection.

He was always trying to help people get jobs,

and feel a sense of self-worth and connection to the work they did. And so that's really where it starts from me. I think those are two incredible role models that I've had.

I'm incredibly fortunate to have that and the values and the way that they connected with the community are things that we're always important to me. - Wow, Justin, thank you. And for you to have witnessed that as a young person,

seeing your parents both at home and in the workplace demonstrating that generosity. I love that investment in the people in the courthouse and creating ways that people can experience dignity and respect is something so remarkable.

And I can absolutely see that cascading in your leadership. And I heard recently on a Brune Brown interview, her guest said, "How do you spell love?" And the guest said, "T-I-M-E." And what you're saying is, yes,

you're investing your time. You care enough about people to know their family, know their situation, connect with them,

and that's an incredible thing.

So when you think about generosity at work, what associations you have or what are ways

“and how do you describe it and how have you seen it?”

- And as I think about instances where I've been the recipient of generosity and the way that that makes me feel and the way that that motivates me. I think through different examples coming up in my career

and whether that was an instance where I made a pretty, I don't know if you'd call it drastic and it certainly wasn't catastrophic, but embarrassing mistake in a meeting and just being off-base with a set of facts and numbers

and having a manager and leader sort of step in and take ownership of the mistake. I worked for that person. It's just an early memory I have of that protection and safety of having a manager

and leader that truly cared and was willing to sacrifice a bit of their own reputation or capital for the benefit of my own growth of development. And I think about that moment a lot and that is a moment of courage,

it's a moment of power, it's a moment of example. And that's all the way back to the very early in my career as an analyst of the Walt Disney Company. But that moment, I don't know, it just changed something for me. It was modeling and credible behavior

“and I think about that in terms of that was generosity for.”

And it's not something that everybody does and it's not an approach they take but it was certainly formative for me. So that's one, I mean, look, there are others in terms of, I think back to moments

and there are awkward conversations at the core where I've had colleagues and I've had managers give me feedback and I'll give you an example, it's really mundane but I loved it in the moment.

It was about it being in a business meal and someone gave me feedback on my posture. Sort of I was hunched and like crowding the table and like such a small item but it sticks with me that I think most managers

wouldn't think twice to give that feedback and they'd let it go. It was actually a really interesting, it was a breakfast and it was with a client customer.

that the customer excused themselves

and the managers just said, hey, just a quick bit of feedback for you, you're sort of hunched over and it's making the conversation feel less open and it feels guarded and I mean, again,

what a small moment, right? But just power to have someone provide that feedback and really to have it be detailed, specific. Anyway, I go back to that.

“Again, hurt early in my career but I think about that”

and I think about the difference it makes in terms of the way I show up and I think about ways that I can try to provide that same level of feedback. And by the way, part of that feedback was that person being

focused and thoughtful on what was going on around that table in the moment and that, again, that to me, back to general. (upbeat music) When we come back, just then we'll share

about how feedback can help us grow

from being a good contributor to an amazing contributor.

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you'll see our shows listed by category as well as average episode length. Find a new podcast at qod.com. The QuadPod podcast network. That's qod.pod.com.

And we're back with more from Justin Connelly. - Yeah, and by the way, our team, our group is in really a sales role. We have a lot of external engagement. And the other example I think of,

“and I think of the feedback I've gotten in the same way,”

the words we use, the way we position things to be positive, to be optimistic, to be sort of forward leading even in the way we write communications that way. Again, I put that under that same umbrella into your point.

Look, the collection of a series of small improvements. I think lead to outside growth as it relates to how someone can go from being a solid contributor, a good contributor to a great work or really just an amazing contributor in the way that they show up generally.

And so all of those things matter and to your point, giving that feedback in the moment, having it be real being able to hold on to that moment and be reflective on it, critically important and all sit on that generosity map.

- Something that I observe in you, Justin, is consistency. Like what you see is what you get

and I at least have never witnessed a different version of you.

And what that often means is authenticity. What do you think is contributing to your presence

“or your consistent way of being so invested in other people?”

- I guess at the core of that is there are times when I feel like maybe I'm imitating something or someone and it just doesn't feel natural, right? Like it feels, something feels off. I think when you try to extend yourself

to model a behavior and approach that it doesn't fit with who you are your personality. And so there are those moments without question where after a meeting, and by the way, and it happens frequently.

I can think of a meeting earlier this week where I just didn't show up right. I was on a Monday and I don't know, I just wasn't bringing the most positive vibe. It was a little bit of being cynical,

being down, and I can just remember post meeting, thinking to myself, "Geez, like that." That wasn't my best.

It's not typically how I show up

“and kind of, "All right, let me put it behind me”

and keep going." Yeah, the colleagues have your back. And they don't just have in the output and work product, they have it in detecting when something isn't right and sort of investing back in you,

or doing the check-in with you to make sure that, "Hey, is everything going okay?" 'Cause that meeting or that interaction wasn't where we usually are, you know? - Yeah, I think that's so great.

And we're talking about return on generosity and I don't think that we, most of us, don't give so that we can get, but inherently, there are rewards.

There are dividends, and that's one of them.

There's two things that I heard as rewards and what you just described. One of them is benefit of the doubt that when you have invested so consistently in these core relationships and your team

and your direct reports and your organization, that you get, I call it equity in the account. There's grace. And then the other thing that you talked about is that personal connection and that you create

genuine relationships and friendships, like people who really care about you and they see you and they recognize you and they want to make sure that you're all right. That's the best that I can imagine.

- No question, it's become somewhat common that, you know, people do change careers, they change teams, they change jobs. And I am struck within our area when that happens. How frequently people go back to the people

and the relationships is what made their experience special

or made their experience powerful and valuable.

And so yeah, I mean, what I do think what you're talking about is if we are all generous with each other and we're all making those deposits, ultimately we all do have to tap that equity at some point in some way when things get tough

when there are challenges whether that's at the business or in your life generally. And there's a return on that generosity. I actually think that's exactly why you invest in the culture, you invest in the approach.

Because ultimately, I do think this is a rising tide of generosity raises all boats within. That's what I found and I think that's what our organization does found over time. - You're responsible for five or six hundred people.

So you get a chance to witness a lot of leaders in action. So talk to me about serve and leadership.

“- Yeah, I think some of the mentors I've had”

and the people that I've looked up to most and that I feel most connected to as leaders sort of embody that principle of serve and leadership. I think at the core, it's really about the idea that the leader or manager, their job is not

about making themselves look good. The essence of serve and leadership for my perspective is that the job of the leader is to make sure that those who work on the team have an opportunity, not just shine, but are not too to do their job

to have the hurdles cleared to be able to work efficiently and effectively so that at the end of the day, they feel like they have accomplished something and they feel a sense of purpose. And it's not just in service of elevating the manager,

the leader themselves. It's really in service of elevating the organization by clearing the hurdles for the team to be able to get the work done and the job done.

“I think it sort of boils down to who do you work for?”

You work for your boss or do you work for the people that you manage and lead? And I tend to think that the answer that is both, but you really should be spending your time and your focus on working for the people

that you manage and lead, period. And your peers, your commitment to and attention toward your peers, the lateral team that you have because I think there's so much that you all are responsible for and it might feel like there is competition

or that you're maybe more like the United Nations where you're all representing your own constituents. I think one of the things that stifles performance in a major way is when people protect information when they aren't forthcoming, they don't share it.

where knowledge and wisdom is an information is power.

And the idea is, how do you share that? How do you share that across the organization so that people can work more effectively more efficiently, but also make the best decision because the information is shared

and the expertise is shared to get you to an outcome that's better than you otherwise might get to. To the extent that people are hoarding that information. Again, it maps the generosity, but that idea of being collaborative, being open and sharing is important

and it's not natural. I think some people view information and they view expertise as maybe the special sauce or the secret sauce that will allow them to excel, potentially the expensive others

“and you have to figure out a way to break that down”

in order to have the information flow horizontally across your organization. - What do you think is the reason why people hoard information? And I also wanna know how do you overcome that?

'Cause I think this is a very common challenge. - Yeah, look, I think there are two or three things in there. What one is that people will do that at times out of self preservation, right? If they are the expert in a particular area,

if they're indispensable with a particular piece of knowledge, there is a sense of security there, right? That they are needed or necessary for the extent they are the only people with that information.

That's one. Two is at times people are rewarded for that, right? They are rewarded for their expertise. And so they feel like if they are conferring it on others, they potentially lose a bit of control

as it relates to doing that.

And then, look, third, there are times where certain people

want to look like the smartest person in the room in a moment, right? The extent they're the only person with that information, that's the way in which they can grab a spotlight, again, momentarily.

And so some combination of those dynamics are a play, the opportunity, and I see it again and again, and again, it's that when you open up and you share that information, it actually invites others to do the same.

It creates a sense of trust, a sense of collaboration.

“It cuts down on the number of times that you have to say,”

well, geez, in light of that information, now let me reconsider the decision set that fit in front of us. Look, you reduce cycles, you create efficiency, and then sort of last but not least, if you can create that loop and make it sort of virtuous,

you can increase not just the efficiency, but you can increase the capacity to make decisions, the ability to move quickly, to produce results. All of those things come from it, but it's not easy, because I do think human nature

is at times to be protective. And that protective gene is not necessarily aligned with sharing out of the gene. - So, before we wrap, what is one of your favorite quotes? And what does it mean to you?

- The one that's been with me for a long time, and this was, again, a mentor and friend, actually ran the school I attended, growing up, and he used to say, to whom much has given much is expected.

And I always love that, and there are different versions

of that, you know, to whom much has given much is required, but he was intentional on to whom much has given much is expected. Look at the core, right? It really does dwell on the notion that, you know, some of us are blessed with good fortune

and have a lot of gifts that were provided to us that weren't necessarily earned, and were blessed, were fortunate, and we have to take those blessings, were those gifts or that good fortune, and figure out a way to confer that on others,

and pay it back and pay it for it. And so that one's always stuck with me, and it's one that, look, I think it is the essence of, of how you build a better community, a better organization, et cetera, you can't just take your benefits,

and you can't just take the gifts that were given to you, and keep them for yourself, you've got to figure out a way to have them multiply.

“And that's why I love this whole concept of generosity.”

The other one, which is a little different, it's actually not quite about generosity, but I'm really fondness to be true, especially recently,

has many parents and failure is an orphan.

And it doesn't have to do with generosity per se. But I am watching in terms of successes and folks who attach their name to success, and whether they had a hand in it or not, and then, you know, how failure is quickly,

not just push to the side that people run from it, and the reason I like the quote is, is I actually think it sort of poke that notion that within failure, I actually think

“great success can come, and I think at times,”

people fear failure at the core. But it's part of life, it's a part of reality, and I think that all of us have to be comfortable with the notion of failure, and not sort of run from those failures,

but own them as much as we own any success that we're a part of in trying to shape who we are, and trying to shape the organization, and the people we work with, in terms of creating that safety net for failure,

and also, and I like the idea of success having many parents sharing the success equally in across the board. - Thank you for investing your time, and sharing your wisdom and experience with us, Justin,

I'm really grateful for you. - I appreciate it, Shannon, and thank you, appreciate everything you do in connecting with our organization.

I always enjoy catching up with you,

so I appreciate it, thank you. (upbeat music) - R-O-G, take a way, Tim.

“How do we apply what we've learned to our own work and lives?”

See why I admire and appreciate Justin? He's the real deal. What you just heard is the tone and transparency you always get with him, and that's the theme of our takeaway tip,

be consistent, consistency earns trust. If that's not yet a strength of yours, consider these reasons why you may not be consistent, and I don't mean this to say that you can never have a bed day,

because we all have days of stormy weather. Rather, the people in your life, professionally and personally, don't have to look up the forecast in anticipation of interacting with you.

You know what I mean? You may be asking yourself to be something you aren't. You're trying to roleplay a character that you don't naturally vibe with, or maybe you're emotionally triggered

“and relinquishing some of your emotional self-control”

in a certain situation or with a select few individuals. And then another reason may be ego. You may be tempted by the allure of recognition and reward for your own contribution. So what are the opposite of those things?

Number one, authenticity. As St. Francis Dicell says, be who you are and be that well. You're the only one of you that we get. So be you.

Number two, emotional intelligence. It's the competency each of us must develop to manage how our feelings affect our behavior. We're human and part of being human

is that we feel first, not some of us, all of us.

The signals reach our limbic system that causes to feel something and then it travels to the front deloe where we have rational thought. Becoming more emotionally intelligent

will give us the capacity to pause before we react if we're being triggered. And then third, servant leadership. As a leader, your role and responsibility is to enhance and encourage the best in others.

Justin described it as, "Who do you work for?" Prioritizing the people that you're responsible to and investing in them takes the focus off of us. It's not about our individual achievements and productivity.

Our role is the investment in an encouragement of individuals and teams. Until next week, stay generous, everyone. - Thanks for listening to ROG. Return on generosity podcast.

Please help us grow by subscribing and reviewing us on your favorite podcast player. And for more information, visit bridgebetween.com. We grow when we give.