“On A Mission” showcases leaders who are going the extra mile each and every day. Each of the people we interview is on a mission to serve, inspire and educate. Our hosts highlight their impact and explore what motivates, engages and fulfills individuals and teams to be more productive, more effective, better at what they do, and happier to do it. Today our hosts, Tony Davis spoke with Priscilla Berry.
Priscilla Berry
Owner at Berry & Associates
Website Address: berryleadership.com
Short company description:
Consulting Practice providing management training and leadership coaching. Help small to mid-cap companies vet employees for both recruitment and retention.
What is a tip for success that you would provide someone in your same industry?
Understand yourself first before you try to understand others.
What volunteer experience has impacted you the most?
Currently volunteering with Team Nitro which trains and coaches young boys and girls from poverty areas and beyond in MMA.Education
What’s one cause you’re passionate about?
Education
How do you encourage your team to make a difference?
Care!
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Transcript:
Speaker 1
Welcome to another episode of Making a Difference. I’m your host, Tony Davis, and I own Crestcom Leadership Development here in Northeast Florida. Making a difference to me is helping people grow in their leadership so they can positively impact their world. And notice, I didn’t say workplace leadership transcends the four walls of the workplace. And my guest today loves the space that I love, and that’s helping people grow in their leadership.
Speaker 1
I’m with Priscilla Berry of Berry and Associates. Priscilla, welcome. Let’s talk a little bit about that philosophy of leadership and self leadership.
Speaker 2
One of the most important things in leadership is first of all to know yourself. Know yourself like yourself and be true to yourself. And do self-examination. You know, a lot of people go through their entire lives without doing any deep dive into who they are, and their life is so much, in the minus category. When they do that, they miss one of the big important parts of the journey.
Speaker 2
Knowing yourself, and I think is one of my favorite analogies is like the travelers on the yellow brick road, right? They’re going to Oz. They’re looking for answers out here, but the answers are always in here. So here we are. We’ve got the Tin Man that wants, brine and the snow. Scarecrow wants a bright courage. No, that the Tin Man wants a heart.
Speaker 2
This guy.
Speaker 1
Wants a.
Speaker 2
Career. And the, scarecrow needs a brain. Right and right. And Dorothy needs to go home. She does. And here all along. What did the good witch tell Dorothy? All you have to do is click your heels and you can go home. So they’re going to Oz. Some imaginary place where, like, those travelers, we are always looking for something outside of ourself, when really our purpose and who we are is found through an internal journey.
Speaker 2
But so many people never do that. It breaks my heart because that’s what makes life rich, connects the dots, explains the things that happened to us along the journey. Because the universe is not random.
Speaker 1
It is not. And we control a lot of our own universe with the six inches between our ears. And it’s really about having you describe perfectly about having that growth mindset and not just trying to be self-aware, but also be self-aware and self-manage. Because if you’re if you’re self-aware with no self-management, what’s the point? Right. So what do you do for companies here in Northeast Florida?
Speaker 2
Well, number one, I have an entree to most of them because I was born here and I’ve lived here, and I know people through teaching at universities. I know them through my relationships with the chamber. And so I, I know people and that I think is the biggest part because Jacksonville, in a lot of ways is a good Ole boy town to some extent.
Speaker 2
And I love it. I love the people. But and we’re not branded as a city, we look to the north. We don’t want to be Atlanta. We looked at the South, we don’t want to be Miami or Orlando. But question mark, who are we? Okay, great. And I, Corbett’s with my friend Karen Mathis daily record. And we say we have every single bumper sticker that has ever been made.
Speaker 2
Jacksonville, where Florida begins. Jacksonville, the bonus city of the South. And yet, you know, it’s never a brand. And I say to my friends in the chamber particularly, why isn’t it water, water, water everywhere. That would be a great bumper sticker, right? Beautiful beaches and intercoastal that will take you any place in the world. And a great river that is one of two that flows north in the world.
Speaker 2
I mean, how impressive is that? And, I had, a client once say, you know, I don’t know. Jacksonville is a kind of a dull place. I want to go to, a big city. And I went. Jacksonville is a city of a million people with the largest land area of a city in the free world.
Speaker 2
Welcome to a big city. And the diversity. And you know, this in this city is unbelievable. Mandarin and the beaches like two different planets. Oh, yeah. We have such richness with our diversity. So I’m. I’m baffled. Except I do think there’s a little bit of provincialism here, and I love it. However, it’s like we don’t really want any more people to come.
Speaker 2
We’ve got all the people that we can handle.
Speaker 1
That’s a good point, especially since Covid, when there’s migration of people coming down from the north. And it’s almost like we want to, okay.
Speaker 2
We’re right.
Speaker 1
You don’t pass, go right away. We’re going to check and see. We don’t want all of you coming down here and changing what we are because you’re so right. Jacksonville is amazing. It is. I love it and I grew up down south in Lauderdale. Oh, okay. And that’s a whole different world. You’re right. I mean and even Lauderdale from Miami.
Speaker 1
Different world. Right? I mean, a lot of those great. Miami’s great in their own right, but they’re two totally different. Right. And then you come up here, we’re completely different. And Orlando, mass.
Speaker 2
Yes.
Speaker 1
Right. Nobody. Nobody. Everybody’s like, oh wow. You live two hours from Disney and Orlando and and these are non Floridians. And I say, yeah, but nobody that lives in Florida likes Orlando. Right. Right. But anyways that’s a tangent.
Speaker 2
Yeah. But it’s it’s all observations that make the experience rich here. You know, I, I look at downtown Jacksonville and believe me, I, I, I walked to grammar school, okay, I could walk. That’s the kind of world that I came in, right? Couple of junior high. We get on the city bus and ride it to downtown Jacksonville to shop.
Speaker 2
Quote unquote. Okay, I have I have some unbelievable stories about this segregation. And when I saw that coming as a very young person anyway, it’s, but but it’s, if we buried cable, coaxial cable in downtown Jacksonville. Tech would come tomorrow. Just saying. For those who are listening, it would be an option. I’m just not sure it’s an option the city wants to pick up on very.
Speaker 2
It’s a no brainer.
Speaker 1
It is. You’re so right. Now let’s segway. You have let’s talk about leadership. You have a book.
Speaker 2
Okay. Yeah.
Speaker 1
Talk to me about this book.
Speaker 2
It’s interesting because you emphasized in the videos that I watched, the, the, importance of leadership and value to us as a society. And Bennis says in his book, he says that three things that will destroy our country as we know it nuclear war. And hold your breath out there, I mean it, you know, it seemed like a fantasy when I was young.
Speaker 2
Now it does not seem that fanciful. And then, the, a pandemic which we’ve seen, a pandemic.
Speaker 1
Thankfully.
Speaker 2
Thankfully.
Speaker 1
Lasted a month in Florida.
Speaker 2
I know that that and that there was a reason for that. But yes, thank you, Ron DeSantis. And then the third thing is lack of leadership. Those are the three things that stand to destroy civilization. And I believe that’s true because, you know, without a vision, the people perish. And the only people that can carry forth the vision are people that are real leaders.
Speaker 2
And so and he also discusses, you know, that age old question our leaders, born or made you know, that’s debated and my take is some of both. Do you agree.
Speaker 1
Absolutely.
Speaker 2
Yeah.
Speaker 1
Absolutely.
Speaker 2
Yeah. There are people that come with some characteristics of leadership and their personality is geared for it. And then there are people that are kind of thrust into it through functionality and grow into it because they are meeting a great need. And so I think it’s I think it’s a combination of both.
Speaker 1
Oh for sure. And the ones that aren’t necessarily and it’s really about perspective. It’s about how you view yourself. Yeah. Because you don’t have to manage people to be a leader.
Speaker 2
No.
Speaker 1
No. We lead ourselves every single day we lead regardless of who we manage. And there’s a big distinction between being a manager and a leader. Right. And that’s really about how we view ourself and goes back to the self leadership conversation that we had. So Priscilla tell me as we wrap up the show here, how can they get Ahold of you.
Speaker 1
Because you have a lot of great insights, a lot of great wisdom, perspective stories.
Speaker 2
I I’m you can find me easily online. Just Google Priscilla Berry and you can find me on LinkedIn. You can find my, website at Berry leadership.com. And I am in the market for helping people. And I like you. I know my purpose, you know, and I can help people out there find their purpose. You think?
Speaker 2
Well, my purpose is I’m a doctor. I’m a lawyer. An engineer. Oh, no way. Okay. That is what your path. But knowing your real purpose helps you connect the dots. And purpose. Usually takes. And it’s inside of you. You already know it, but it takes someone like one of us, to listen to you because, you know, in general, the world, they, they look, but do not see.
Speaker 2
They hear, but they do not listen. And so somebody that really listens and can ask poignant questions because, see, you know, you know, your purpose and then finding somebody like us who will help you find your purpose can change your life forever.
Speaker 1
So true, so true. I love how you just phrased all that. Priscilla, thank you so much for being on the show.
Speaker 2
I’ve enjoyed it.
Speaker 1
Well, good, good. Well, we can keep this conversation going on forever, but.
Speaker 2
I we could be.
Speaker 1
Short on time, so thank you. This is, been making a difference, and I’m your host, Tony Davis. And until next time, make it a great day.
