Redefining Success: The Power of 'Little L' Leadership with Robert H. Johnson Jr

summary

In this powerful episode, TEDx speaker and bestselling author Robert H. Johnson Jr. shares his insights on "little L" leadership - the idea that we all have the power to lead and create positive change, regardless of our title or position. Robert discusses his journey from corporate success to finding authentic purpose, the importance of faith in small actions, and how creating inclusive spaces allows others to thrive. He emphasizes that leadership isn't about waiting for permission or a position, but about recognizing and acting on the power we already possess. Whether it's breaking generational cycles, pursuing new paths, or simply making meaningful connections in daily life, Robert reminds us that we all have the capability and responsibility to lead from where we are.

takeaways

• A life well lived is about continuous learning and teaching.
• Everyone has the power to lead, regardless of their title.
• Self-leadership starts with understanding your own values.
• Faith is an action that aligns beliefs with outcomes.
• Making bold choices can inspire others to do the same.
• Connection and community are essential for personal growth.
• Creating space for others enhances collaboration and innovation.
• Psychological safety is crucial for effective leadership.
• Empowering underrepresented voices can change workplace dynamics.
• Financial preparedness is key to living a fulfilling life.

Sound Bites

• "You can lead from where you are."
• "You have to resist fitting in."
• "We only get one thing called life."

Chapters

00:00
Introduction to Living Well

05:41
Understanding the Power of the Little L

08:56
Navigating Leadership and Self-Leadership

11:48
The Role of Faith in Leadership

14:30
Creating Space for Others

17:51
Collaboration and Innovation in Leadership

20:43
Advocacy and Empowerment in the Workplace

26:38
Empowering Others Through Mentorship

30:22
Knowing When to Move On

31:29
Creating Safe Spaces for All

32:28
The Importance of Sharing Your Voice

34:12
Overcoming the Curse of Comparison

36:27
The Need for Connection in a Fast-Paced World

38:24
Using Little L Power to Impact Lives

39:45
The Power of Simple Connections

42:16
Finding Purpose in Being

43:19
Living in the Moment

44:37
Cozy Moments and Simple Joys

46:51
Planning for the Future

47:59
Breath as a Tool for Life


Connect with Robert

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/roberthjohnsonjr
Website: www.rhjconsultinggroup.com
Instagram: @iamthecorporatedropout 
Email: info@rhjconsultinggroup.com

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To connect with and learn more about me and how I am Remembering to Live, you can find me on Instagram @coreancanty or at coreancanty.com.

To work with me and explore freebies, check out: https://coreancanty.com/links/

If you are ready to re-imagine, re-claim and re-design your life, book a possibility call today.

Transcript

Corean Canty (00:00)
Hello friends. Welcome back to the Remember to Live podcast. I am so excited to have my special guest, Robert H. Johnson Jr. today. He is an award-winning DEI strategist, a leadership coach, a bestselling author of the book Safe Seen Heard Valued, and now a TEDx speaker. Everyone needs to watch his TEDx talk. We'll get to that in a moment. But first, hello Robert. Welcome to the podcast.

Robert H Johnson Jr. (00:04)
Hello, hello, hello. Thank you. Thank you so much for having me. I am super excited to be here.

And for all the work and effort that we put into showing up today, your listeners, your community is going to get what I believe is going to be powerful and intentional nuggets. So thank you for having me.

Corean Canty (00:45)
yes. Yes, yes, yes. Call it in. So I like to start every episode with us just taking a breath and like, let's get present in this moment that we're here to have this conversation. So let's take a deep breath, bring our bodies to this space because as you know, we spend too much time running around in life and our brain is everywhere else. So I want to be here right now while we're in this conversation together.

And to kick us off, I want to ask you the same thing that I ask all my guests. And my first question is, what does it mean to live a life and live one well?

Robert H Johnson Jr. (01:20)
It's such a good question. What does it mean to live life and to live life well? So to me, I think we're born to learn lessons. It's literally a part of our purpose on this earth is to learn lessons, to become the person that we need to be, to fulfill purpose. And so I believe a life well lived is recognizing that I'm here to.

Corean Canty (01:43)
Yes.

Robert H Johnson Jr. (01:47)
not just teach lessons because we tend to be very okay and comfortable with teaching and not always comfortable with being a student. And so a life well lived is a life one remembering that you are to be the student until it is time for you to be the teacher. And even when you're the teacher, you are still confident and growing.

Corean Canty (01:56)
Mm.

I love that, I love that. And it's a cycle, right? We're always learning and growing, and then the best way to learn is to teach. And so as we learn these lessons and share these lessons with other people, it helps that we all kind of make each other a little bit better.

Robert H Johnson Jr. (02:24)
Well said, well said. That is literally, I think the purpose of life is what you learn, you teach. And as you teach, you become more comfortable and confident in the thing until it's time for you to move to the next level in the lesson, whether it's life, but it's all life, right? We think personal, professional, relational, it's still all life.

Corean Canty (02:44)
Yeah, yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. And we got to show up to it and we got to do the things that we want to do while we're here. And that's why I'm so excited to talk to you because you're one of the people similar to me who, you you did the shoulds, you did the prescribed life, you did the corporate, climbed the ladder, did all of the things, and then made some choices for yourself and started realizing that like maybe my life looks a little bit different than...

Robert H Johnson Jr. (03:06)
You articulated it a lot better than what it felt going through it, right? But you're right. There was a point in my life in which the edges, and you know this, corporate America has, which again,

Corean Canty (03:13)
what they're telling me it should look like in order for me to feel fulfilled in my purpose and happiness.

Robert H Johnson Jr. (03:35)
I enjoyed my experience. grew from my experience. But the reality is corporate America's job, the very essence of what it means to be in corporate is to be shaped, molded, and directed into who you are, into who you can become. And you climb the ladder. And this is what that climb looks like. And don't skip a rung on the ladder because you will not be worthy or valuable. And so for me, that enlightening moment, that light bulb moment,

Corean Canty (03:56)
Yeah.

Robert H Johnson Jr. (04:05)
happened in sort of my mid 30s almost 40 and I think for most of us, you know, the closer we get to midlife the more we realize Wow, look where I've come and then where do I want to go with the rest? And so I was very blessed to build a diverse career from retail to financial services Climbing up the ladder of financial services and then one

I won't say one day, over the course of a year or two, I got clearer and clearer that what I love about this work, which is the people building, the people engaging, the people connected, I wanna do more of that. And so I began to make shifts and pivots to direct me to doing and living the purpose.

Corean Canty (04:54)
love that. And I think one of maybe your biggest takeaways in that journey led you to your recent TEDx talk and this idea of the little L, which I think is huge in corporate, but also in life. So do you want to share a little bit more about that concept and what made you want to kind of help others understand this idea and the power of it?

Robert H Johnson Jr. (05:21)
Yeah, I was literally just having a conversation with a family member recently about the little L without calling it the little L. And so basically the little L is the reminder that we all are leaders. And quite often we wait for positions to deem us worthy of being a leader when the reality is

You with your little self have the power, the capacity to stand up, step up and speak out in a positive way to affect positive change for yourself, for your family, for your community, for the workplace and most certainly the world. And so once I realized, wow, I have power, right? What am I going to do with it versus how am I being allowed to use it? And...

we wait for permission versus taking action or seizing control. And so for me, my big bold mission is to inspire people through this talk, the power of a little L to remember, whether it's in your family, whether it's in your community, whether it's in your work, but most certainly in this world, you have been given a set of abilities, passions, values, things that you stand on that you have an.

obligation, not just an opportunity to live out. And so I just hope when people listen to the talk, they take the action, which are the three steps to get clear on what your little L and by the way, little L is little leader. We all have leadership qualities and capacity. It's just that we can't wait on the big L positional leaders to give us power to operate in our personal, right?

leadership capacity.

Corean Canty (07:06)
Yeah.

Yeah. And you know, it can be a journey and it can sometimes feel hard to figure out like, how do I find my space in a place that might have so much structure and like step by step, this is how you get to the top. You're being told, to be a leader, you have to A, manage people, it like have a big team, have a certain title with certain little letters behind your name. But like the same thing I...

Robert H Johnson Jr. (07:28)
you

Corean Canty (07:37)
coach my clients on is like leadership starts with self and you can lead from where you are. And leadership is more about impact and influence than it is number of direct reports or the letters behind your name or the size of the P and L that you manage, right? You can be a leader in any organization or any space that you're in just by how you show up in that space. So what would you say to someone who's struggling right now in their journey to feel like they don't have

the power to make the change or the impact that they would like, or they see that they kind of feel like stuck in the system.

Robert H Johnson Jr. (08:15)
Yeah, I would share this story that I hope will illuminate the answer to your question. And I didn't share this in the talk, so you're getting some more, some insider information.

all of your listeners. So when I was middle of my career, there was something in me that said, at the time I was living in Chicago and I had relocated to Chicago from Atlanta, so my family was in Atlanta, even though we're originally from Miami, we migrated North. I was building a great career because I was doing what I love to do. I was doing what I was curious about, passionate about, willing to be a student.

Corean Canty (08:27)
yes.

Robert H Johnson Jr. (08:56)
at right? So that's almost the first thing. You gotta be willing to be a student of what does power look like? What does leadership look like? And sometimes you see it in your immediate view. Sometimes it's in the peripheral view. Sometimes it's in a distant view. But I remember I made a decision to move back to Atlanta and I had a conversation with the leader and she when I told her, hey, I'm going to be leaving Chicago. My family's in Atlanta and I feel it's time for me to

Corean Canty (09:04)
Mm.

Robert H Johnson Jr. (09:26)
to head back south. She said something that I'll never forget. She said, Robert, think that's such a junior move.

Corean Canty (09:35)
Mmm

Robert H Johnson Jr. (09:36)
It's stung because she was someone that I trusted who had enabled my success, right? But what helped me to realize is the moment you step outside of someone's designated role for you, someone's ambition and hope for you, that is the first example of your taking ownership of your little L. You have to resist fitting in. You have to resist

Corean Canty (09:43)
Mm-hmm.

Robert H Johnson Jr. (10:05)
the path that's been blazed. And as Robert Frost says, I believe taking the path that isn't there and creating it. And so that for me was the first recognition. you were used to saying yes. People are accustomed to you saying yes because they think the second point, they think your definition of success is the same as theirs. And my definition of success became more about

Corean Canty (10:18)
you

Yes.

Yes.

Robert H Johnson Jr. (10:34)
impacting people, not just earning a great income. And guess what? Both things can be true. When you make impacting people your priority, you'll always, you know, as I say, great people will always have an opportunity, right? I firmly believe that. So for me and for anyone out there listening, if you are in a place in your life where you are accustomed

Corean Canty (10:39)
Right.

Yeah, yeah.

Robert H Johnson Jr. (10:57)
to saying yes and going along because you feel like it's what you have to do. And maybe it's what you wanted to do, but now you're in a place where I no longer want to do that. That doesn't serve my future self. Do your current self the honor of acknowledging that and make decisions that align with it.

Corean Canty (11:10)
Yeah.

Yeah. And just even think about just the phrase that she said to you. That's such a junior move that you want to go back to a space and a place where you have community and family and you can thrive as if we're supposed to sacrifice that to seem like we have more leadership qualities, right? As if there's one way and one way to do things. And if you don't do it, then you're not on the right path, which

Robert H Johnson Jr. (11:41)
To do to do the same and let's make it even more personal. Let's make it about family.

Corean Canty (11:48)
I think it's so important that we recognize the power of self-leadership, in that when we make these bold moves, we're actually giving others permission to do the same.

Robert H Johnson Jr. (12:10)
because there's someone out there listening like me, like you, who maybe the first time that they will or did demonstrate the power of their little L is they decided to finish high school. They decided to go to college. They decided to manage money differently. They decided to treat people differently. They decided to break a generational cycle in their family that they know they've been called to do. That's another thing about owning your little L. You will get clearer and clearer

the more you go, the more curious you are about who you are meant to be in this world, right? You will get more clear. Cause everybody's not called to be the CEO of a company. Everybody's not called to be an entrepreneur, but everyone is called to do something to change positively the trajectory of their life. And therefore their family, their friends, their community, because you do realize when you lean into your little leadership power,

Corean Canty (12:51)
Bye.

Yeah.

Robert H Johnson Jr. (13:09)
You set the example as you said, right? You help someone see, if Robert can do that, I can do that. You create the space for people to be curious about their own little L power when you walk step by step until you can run in your own little L.

Corean Canty (13:13)
Yeah.

I love that. One of the things I talk about a lot is how do we put the living back into making a living, right? And a lot of these choices are about how do we want to live our lives? And there's not one way. Like sometimes there's a lot of people who feel like, there's the corporate camp and the entrepreneurial camp. And it's like, well, those aren't the only two ways to make a living in the world. Ask my son who makes his living off of TikTok. Like...

Robert H Johnson Jr. (13:38)
Yes.

You

Corean Canty (13:57)
things still need to be built. People still like to be outside and use their hands. Like there's a lot of different ways to make a living in the world. And I think the key to what you're trying to help people understand how to do is find alignment with themselves. And through that alignment, then showing others that you can live in a way that allows you to thrive, that allows you to be happy, that doesn't...

Robert H Johnson Jr. (14:01)
Yeah.

Corean Canty (14:24)
build a big old pile of regrets at the end of this thing, wishing you would have made different choices earlier.

Robert H Johnson Jr. (14:30)
Yeah, you again, you said it so very well. We only get one thing called life from my personal belief system, right? And I tell people all the time I tell God this. I said God when I when I do leave, you're going to say he burn that faith thing to the ground because every step that we make every day outside of our houses outside of our homes outside of our comfort zone is a step of faith. Even when you get in your car.

to go to the grocery store, you believe it's gonna start, you believe it's gonna get you there, you believe you're gonna get there safely, you believe you're gonna find what you want, you believe you're gonna get back in your car, you believe you're gonna make it back to your apartment, and you're gonna do what you say you're gonna do. So to seize the power of your little L, you have to have faith that I believe I'm supposed to be doing this, and life will line up for me in the way that it needs to, to ensure that...

Corean Canty (15:12)
Yeah.

Robert H Johnson Jr. (15:29)
I fulfill it, but it's not gonna happen by accident.

Corean Canty (15:32)
Yeah. Let's talk a little bit more about faith. I think that that word can mean a lot of things to a lot of different people, right? And if we just use the word alone in the example that you gave of, I think sometimes people do not even realize, like when I wake up and get out of bed and walk down to my car, that that is an act of faith. Thinking that when I, push the button, I was going to say put the key in, but we don't really do that anymore. That's it. When I push the button.

The car's going to start. When I flip this light switch, the light's going to come on. once in a while it doesn't, but you don't automatically assume it's not going to happen. if we walk through our days with this much faith in all of the little things, why are we so afraid to have faith in the big things?

Robert H Johnson Jr. (16:11)
Listen.

from my faith and my belief system, it says, all I have to do is have a mustard seed of faith. A mustard seed of faith to yield a harvest that will last beyond me. And when I tell everyone that's listening this afternoon, this evening, this morning, wherever you might be, the middle of the night listening to this, is there's one thing that you can do that's outside of your comfort zone that's an intentional act of faith, right? Faith is a...

conscious and unconscious, right? It's kind of like bias if we're talking about the people business, right? But faith is an adjective. It's not a noun. My sister's middle name is Faith, right? but faith to me is the actions that we take that align what we believe to what we believe the outcome will be of what we believe. If I believe I'm gonna be the first person in my family to graduate college,

Corean Canty (16:56)
Yeah.

Robert H Johnson Jr. (17:20)
Life will begin to line up the steps so that I can do that, but it's not going to line up if I don't own the belief, if I don't speak the belief, and then I don't take the steps to get good grades, to apply for college, to be flexible, to build the relationships. All of these things are steps and actions of faith. Here's another great example of faith. When you approach someone you're interested in.

Corean Canty (17:25)
Yeah.

Robert H Johnson Jr. (17:51)
Most will say that's rejection or acceptance, but that's an act of faith that this is someone that I would like to get to know better. I believe this is someone I would like to get to know better, right? And you know, if it is and they reciprocate, great. If it's not, and they reject me, great. Because the real thing that I'm having faith is that there is someone out there that is meant for me that I'm meant to build a life with. Do you see what I did there?

Corean Canty (17:58)
Mm-hmm.

Right.

Mm.

Robert H Johnson Jr. (18:19)
Sometimes we get focused on the specific thing instead of faith being a journey and a process to get us and attract to us the very thing we not just want, but that we need.

Corean Canty (18:20)
Yes.

Yes. And I love how you put that in the faith is in the action, right? And the actions are what you do every day because so many of us have this someday list. Someday or one day list. One day I'll do that or someday I want to do this or someday I'm going to be that or after X, after I reach X, after I do Y. And it would keep all these things in the future as if, if we just don't take any action or do anything towards it, it'll magically happen one day.

Robert H Johnson Jr. (19:00)
.

Corean Canty (19:03)
When none of us know how many days we have or how much life is promised to us. And that's one of the main reasons I wrote or started doing this podcast is because watching my mom come face to face with it, there isn't such thing as too late, right? Like someday is never promised. So how do we take these little acts of faith

these little actions, these little steps every day to start creating the life we want right now, because end of life regrets is an epidemic. It's an epidemic and we don't talk about it enough, right? We don't want to get to the end of this life wishing we had showed up to it, no longer having a chance to.

Robert H Johnson Jr. (19:36)
my goodness, that again.

That is the power of the little L. It is the person that recognizes that one of the most finite things is time and where I invest that time, who I invest that time with, how I invest that time, whether it's my vocation, my relationships, I have to make the decisions, right, to allocate the time in the right places to get to where I believe, going back to faith.

I am supposed to be or we can be as a community or we can be as a workplace let alone in the world. That's why I tie faith to the power of your little L because it's one thing to recognize that I have power. It's another thing to not allow imposter syndrome or or being undervalued, underappreciated, undercompensated distract you from actually walking in the power of the little leader.

Corean Canty (20:29)
Yeah.

Robert H Johnson Jr. (20:43)
Because guess what? Every big L leader that does it well, that is one of the greats, they started first walking in their little L power by faith.

Corean Canty (20:54)
Yes, yes. And I want to touch back on like when we step into that power, how we not only give other people permission too, but how we start to hold space for others. Because I know a lot of the work you do is around not only how we hold space for ourselves and recognize our own value and our self-worth, but how we create these spaces so others can thrive as well.

Robert H Johnson Jr. (21:22)
Yeah, it's it's I was just talking to someone about this recently about why I do what I do and why I approach the work the way that I approach it one someone made space for me and And anyone that ever made space for me not every one of them looked like me, right? So making space also means not thinking that the thing is going to again look like what you expected to look like when you actually

you know, get the help, the support, the opportunity. So that's always important for me to call out too, is that, you know, the power of your little L is not in a silo. It's not relegated to a specific gender, you know, age. so, or orientation or identity. So for me, I make space because someone made space for me. I make space because...

Corean Canty (22:06)
Yeah.

Robert H Johnson Jr. (22:20)
I don't have the best ideas. I have an idea, but if I open up the space to folks from different backgrounds with different perspectives and different experiences, we're gonna walk away from the table with the best idea, the most innovative idea. And guess what? We're gonna feel better about it, which is where they use the word in corporate America a lot, but they don't deliver the experience of collaboration. Collaboration isn't, know, well, know, Ms. Canty,

Corean Canty (22:25)
Mm-hmm.

Mm.

Robert H Johnson Jr. (22:49)
You really have a phenomenal idea, keeping it in the corporate context, right? Because you have an amazing story and you've led and done phenomenal things at various senior levels. And so people respected you because of your position sometimes because they don't know you as a person, right? And so some of the spaces that you were allowed to enter were based on your big L positional title, but you leverage those spaces to create space for others. And...

Corean Canty (23:15)
Yes. Yes. Yes. No, I was saying, yes, that's so true. And that's also one of the reasons I brought improv into work. Because once I reached a certain level and I wanted to open up the door and hold space for others, people don't recognize that all these things that companies want, right? We need you to be creative. We need to be innovative. We need new ideas. We need to figure out how to differentiate ourselves in the market. All of these things require

Robert H Johnson Jr. (23:18)
Go ahead, I'm sorry.

Corean Canty (23:45)
creativity, fresh ideas, innovation, but that doesn't come from a bunch of people sitting at the table with the same background in similar ideas. It comes from putting a bunch of people at the table who have very different lived experiences, who have very different backgrounds, who have different ways of thinking, and then utilizing the concept of yes and so when someone puts an idea out there, we're not instantly negating it because we don't accept anything that doesn't match our own idea.

Robert H Johnson Jr. (23:47)
Yeah.

Corean Canty (24:13)
but we're looking at that idea and exploring it and saying, okay, yes, and how could I add to that? How could I take a piece of my lived experience and my knowledge and my expertise and see if we can improve on that idea? And when you get a table full of people all adding value in that way, that's real collaboration. That's where real innovation comes from. That's how you succeed. Everyone gets to participate and belong and thrive.

Robert H Johnson Jr. (24:13)
Yeah.

plus 1000 to everything that you said, right? And so for me, that's why as a leader, once I recognize that, and this is going back mid 2000s, know, and I listen, I'm a big old age, not old, I'm a big age of 47. So I have a 25 plus year career at this time where 2018 plus those years were corporate America and six only my business, but they were, they're all,

Corean Canty (24:57)
Hahaha!

Robert H Johnson Jr. (25:10)
filled with unique experiences all 25 of my career years in my career. Once I recognize, I don't care who you are. And I wanna speak transparently. I heard someone say, I wanna speak honestly. what's the alternative, right? So, but transparency and honesty are two different things, right? For me, because I've seen women in particular, black women, my mother, her mother, my cousins.

Corean Canty (25:14)
Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Robert H Johnson Jr. (25:39)
colleagues be undervalued underappreciated. I have a purpose and a calling to advocate sponsor mentor and ally for women all women in particular and especially black women because I see what the effect of the marginalization right on being undervalued and underappreciated and under leveled and under all the things the impact of that on the economics. Right?

Corean Canty (25:59)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Yes. Yes.

Robert H Johnson Jr. (26:08)
There is an economic impact for black women in the workplace who make, I believe it's around 63 cents or so for every dollar that a white man makes. This isn't a conversation about breaking the, eliminating the pay equity gap. But for me, it's a part of my mission. If I can create an opportunity for a woman who is ready, has been ready, been set, is just waiting for the opportunity to go, I'm gonna do that.

Corean Canty (26:16)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Robert H Johnson Jr. (26:38)
If I can mentor, you know, or coach, what am I losing? I'm only gaining because I'm helping you enabling. I'm not helping. I'm enabling what's already there. So for me, I make space because I've seen in my life personally and even positionally, professionally, too many underrepresented groups, particularly women and particularly black women, continue to be.

Corean Canty (26:51)
Yes.

Robert H Johnson Jr. (27:07)
asked to do more without being reciprocated with the more in economic value.

Corean Canty (27:13)
Yes. Yeah. We see that all the time as being someone who's been a double only in a lot of spaces in my life in corporate. That's real. It's a real thing. And you make me think of, so my co-founder for Shift to Play, who's a black man who had a 20 year career marketing similar to me, and we both reached quote unquote the top of the ladder, right? And one of the things we had a real conversation about before leaving corporate was

Robert H Johnson Jr. (27:34)
.

Corean Canty (27:44)
the fear of giving up the spot. We felt this immense responsibility of, I got the spot and if I leave, it's not gonna go to someone like me. And so I think people don't recognize that there's also this pressure of even if you decide you wanna move on or you wanna do something else with your life, we have to stop and think about how much it means to even have this spot.

Robert H Johnson Jr. (27:55)
Yeah.

Corean Canty (28:12)
and not give it up in how we're carrying this weight of not only am I working on being successful in my own career and my own life, but now I feel like I've opened a door that I need to stand here and hold and make sure that it doesn't close again. And so I appreciate the fact that you called that out and that this is part of the work that you do and that you care so much about it and knowing you've experienced your own fair share.

Robert H Johnson Jr. (28:23)
You

Corean Canty (28:41)
as a black man in this country, it just is what it is. not, we're going to speak transparently as you said, you know, there, there are things that we go through that make this faith and resilience mean even more.

Robert H Johnson Jr. (28:56)
You know, Corean what matters so much about what you said is an experience I think everyone should have. unfortunately, there's only a small few people that will hold VP level positions or director plus positions just based on where we are as a country, if not a world, based on what the future potentially looks like. But it doesn't mean that you stop.

It doesn't mean that you stop persisting. It doesn't mean that you don't give up the position because I've had to think of that myself. Do I leave this when this has been such a gateway entryway for folks who deserve the opportunity but wouldn't have the voice at the table, wouldn't have someone in the room advocating for them? But here's my belief is that when it's time for you to move forward,

Corean Canty (29:40)
Yes.

Robert H Johnson Jr. (29:52)
you will feel it here before it makes sense here, right? Your heart has to embrace that, you know what? I have fulfilled my little L and big L responsibilities because the big L is the, what is the role and responsibility of the job? The little L is what are the things not written on the paper that I see that I can influence change that don't exist that I can create to be an enabler of sustainment, right?

And so when you can walk away from something knowing you've given it your all, you've spoken up for the right things, like character and integrity and impact, you can walk away knowing this is hard to do, but I have to believe that I've fulfilled my purpose here and it's time for me to do that elsewhere. Do you know what I mean? Because staying in a corporation for so long,

Corean Canty (30:22)
Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah.

Robert H Johnson Jr. (30:49)
you actually begin to diminish your effect and impact on what you even purpose to do because then you get into comfort. I'll be honest. I got to a point where in my corporate job I could do it like this and I had a great team. I circling back to even just how we got here is holding space is essential. Knowing when.

Corean Canty (31:03)
Yeah.

Robert H Johnson Jr. (31:14)
to release the space and embrace a new space for yourself is just as critical and important as holding space and creating space for others at the table.

Corean Canty (31:23)
Yes, yes. I think that's a great segue to talk a little bit more about your book as well.

Robert H Johnson Jr. (31:29)
safe, seen, heard, and valued a resource, a guide that I wanted to offer because I believe we all have gifts and talents and ideas and products and services that are offering for the right community. And for anyone out there listening, you have an idea, you have a tool, you have experience that you can translate into an idea.

Corean Canty (31:33)
Yes.

Robert H Johnson Jr. (31:59)
a book, a talk, right? Notice we're talking about a talk and a book that have similar themes. You don't have to be radically different in the things that you put out in the world. Get centered into who you are and you will create the solutions that help the world to move forward. And so for me, safe, seen, heard and valued is a, it's a solution to a problem that because I've been able to work with leaders at every level from CEO,

to front to entry level and recognize challenges exist at all levels. Psychological safety, it's a big word, but it is lived in the small actions that we take, respecting people, caring for people, listening to people, being curious. so Safe Seam Valid and Herd is really, you know, again, a guide that any leader, whether you're aspiring, emerging or existing,

Gen Z or boomer can pick up and say not only what I should do, but how do I go about doing those things?

Corean Canty (33:07)
I love that. And as you know, because I did help to coach you a little bit on your TEDx talk, I feel that people don't recognize that because we're the only ones that can live our lives and we're the only ones that have had our exact lived experience, we all have a voice. We all have a story to tell and we all have something to contribute to the world. And I think now more than ever, we need to find that voice.

Robert H Johnson Jr. (33:12)
Good day.

Okay.

Corean Canty (33:34)
And we need to be brave in using our voices for the things that we believe in, for the things that even though we think, you know, I'm not the person to talk about this. Everyone's talking about this. No one has your experience or your perspective. And there are billions of people on this planet. And a lot of them are waiting to hear the thing, the way you say it for it to click and resonate with them.

Too many of us hold it back, right? And we're not only hurting ourselves, but we're hurting the world that could be so much better once we learn to use our voice and amplify it.

Robert H Johnson Jr. (34:12)
Well, let me give you a real live example of that. book, I wrote the book in January. I didn't release the book until October 7th. I wrote the book in January. I didn't release it until October. And I can tell, here's why you really outlined it.

I had the curse of comparison. When we compare our lived experience, our offering to the world, know, whatever our talk, our book, our artwork, when we compare it, Picasso wasn't comparing, you know, himself to whoever of the Michelangelo or whomever at the time, right? Think of everyone who's done something impactful in the world. You know, they didn't...

Corean Canty (34:51)
Mm-hmm, mm-hmm, yeah.

Robert H Johnson Jr. (35:00)
really compare. were crazy enough to believe that whatever it was that they were this artwork, this masterpiece they were creating was what the world needed. That's what the look the power of the little L you are. You are bold enough to believe that what I'm supposed to be speaking up about standing up for and even walking out in some instances about is important enough for me to risk it all right? And so one day I said the book is done. I had gotten good feedback about it.

Corean Canty (35:23)
Yeah, yeah.

Robert H Johnson Jr. (35:29)
Before I released it, but I was saying well, it's not a hundred and seventy five pages and you know, it's not this But when I read it and when others read it the biggest piece of feedback Wow, this is so actionable and it's digestible One of the reasons I don't read a lot of books is because they're I don't have the time My attention span is short. And so this helps me. This is an easy simple read with applicable

Corean Canty (35:53)
Mm-hmm.

Robert H Johnson Jr. (35:58)
techniques and strategies.

Corean Canty (35:59)
Yeah, I mean, we all now unfortunately live in a society that goes way too fast. We live in the distraction society. It's hard to sit down and even feel like we all absentmindedly scroll. We all can't sit still. Like it's really kind of scary when you think about it because people don't know how to be bored anymore. And that's where you find your imagination. And so we need to get back to...

discovering what it is in ourselves that we want to share instead of always consuming what do we want to create? Seth Godin is one of my favorite authors and he's constantly using the phrase ship your work because we all have it inside of us, right? We're not meant to just sit here and consume from the time we wake up until the time we go to sleep, right? We are all creators and the more that we recognize that and realize that and it doesn't mean we're all going to create

Robert H Johnson Jr. (36:36)
Now.

Yeah Right Yes

Corean Canty (36:57)
big world changing things, right? The smallest little everyday things can change a life. And if you're changing one life, if you talk to one person and change one life, that matters.

Robert H Johnson Jr. (37:09)
And it matters even more today because we're in, I love the word pandemic and epidemic. We're in an epidemic of isolation where people feel the loneliest they've ever felt, yet we have devices that are supposed to connect us unlike we've ever been connected before. And it breaks my heart because I've fallen victim to it. You mentioned kind of the mindless,

Corean Canty (37:31)
Yes.

Robert H Johnson Jr. (37:38)
scrolling and had to ask myself how am I using this to really connect versus to be a voyeur because really we use social media for voyeurism to peek into the light.

Corean Canty (37:48)
Yes. Yes. To feel better about our own life. Like, well, my life, I got to find somebody to make me better about my life instead of living our life, right? Instead of living it. Yes. Yes.

Robert H Johnson Jr. (37:54)
Yes!

how we started this call. We gotta live our lives today because we don't know when this life will come full circle, right? And you have an obligation to own your little L power in your home, in your community, in your workplace, because that's how you're gonna change the world. Here's a simple example of how to demonstrate your little L power.

Corean Canty (38:08)
Yes.

Robert H Johnson Jr. (38:24)
In today's world where you can walk into a Starbucks or can walk into a Dunkin Donuts, not going to start that war with Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts. I'm a Dunkin Donuts person myself. You can walk into that place and just stand in line patiently or impatiently waiting for your order to take your order, make your order and then get your coffee. Or you can make that an experience. Engaging with the person in front of you or the person behind you, the cashier.

most certainly asking simple questions like how are you feeling today? Because you know that how are you doing versus how are you feeling are two different questions that are going to yield you two different responses. And so if I take the time to care about Corean and her experience to say, how are you feeling today? If you're having a bad day, I've really given you permission to say, you know, I'm all right. But guess what most people will do? They will share a little bit.

Corean Canty (39:16)
Yeah.

Robert H Johnson Jr. (39:21)
of the negative quote unquote or the truth. But then usually I'll flip and say, but you know what? I'm actually good. Thank you so much for asking. I've had so many people that that say thank you for asking because most people don't lean into their power to change someone's day that could change that person's perspective and perception about anything for the better.

Corean Canty (39:40)
Yes.

Yes. And you even make me think of, Matt was recently on the podcast with his talk and his question of who are you being today? Right? Like asking it and asking yourself that when you wake up in the morning and recognizing like the amount of times that like I walked down the street and intentionally smile at everyone, the people who are kind of like, wait, you're not looking at your phone. Like you're looking at me like, let me smile back. Like you can just see.

Robert H Johnson Jr. (39:50)
Yeah.

You

Yes. That's why I wrote the book and why I did the talk because people just need to be connected and we're too often. Thank God that's not me. Versus wow, that had to be hard. How can I help you during that simple simple question? But people are so afraid because in the corporate.

Corean Canty (40:14)
that people are like, connection. I haven't gotten that in a minute.

Robert H Johnson Jr. (40:42)
You know world sometimes you can suffer consequences in your attempt to demonstrate humanity and support and your little L. And here's why I tell my mom told me this the other day. She watched the talk. She said I watched your talk. I love it, but here's the thing. I need you to also let people know you have learned over your career. To literally stand, speak up, stand up and walk out of rooms when you know.

your voice, your power, your impact is not appreciated, recognized, or you're not able to have it. Not everyone has those skills, Robert, or experiences, so just be mindful that don't just tell people what to do. Give them the steps, and that's what the talk does at the end is you gotta ask yourself certain questions to understand when, how, but most importantly, why and who am I called?

to impact positively positively when I use my the power my little L does that resonate?

Corean Canty (41:46)
Yeah. Yeah, it does. I mean, so many times when I'm coaching people and people are trying to find their purpose and they start talking about what to do, like, like what job they should do or it's always a doing thing. And I have to stop them and say, your purpose isn't what you do. It's who you be. So who do you want to, who do you want to be in this world? And when you figure out who you want to be and then how you want to live your life, the answer to everything else gets way easier.

Robert H Johnson Jr. (42:04)
Yeah

You know, it's so funny because you know, the first question is who am I called to be? How am I called to be who I am supposed to be? And then outward. So you notice it starts with self. And then how do I do the thing? And then it's outward. So many people are like, I want to change the world, but you haven't identified your how, let alone your why. Passion is phenomenal. But if you can...

Corean Canty (42:30)
Kiss.

Robert H Johnson Jr. (42:44)
Combine your passion with your skills, your expertise, and the power of your POV, your perspective. That's how you change the world.

Corean Canty (42:54)
I think that's the best button. That's like the best button for this conversation. And speaking of who we are and who we be, to wrap up the episode, I do have some fun questions just so people can get to know you a little bit more on a personal level. And I just think they're fun. So I'm going to ask them, currently, what's the favorite part of your day?

Robert H Johnson Jr. (43:11)
Let's do it.

Question currently the favorite part of my day is at around seven or eight It's dark outside at this point and the Christmas Remember when it was dark at four or five When it was just nine o'clock getting dark, but for me my favorite part of the day is to sit on the couch with my partner and the Christmas tree is up and it's lit and just to

Corean Canty (43:29)
Yeah. Like four or five. Yeah.

Robert H Johnson Jr. (43:48)
appreciate the beauty of a simple Christmas tree. It brings me joy. It reminds me of my eight-year-old self who could sit for hours looking at the Christmas tree. So that's my favorite thing to do these days.

Corean Canty (44:06)
I love it. Joy of the little things and always tap into your eight year old self. They knew what was up until people told them different, right? We just got to go back there.

Robert H Johnson Jr. (44:12)
This.

That's where your true little L-power resides is in the eight-year-old you that the world said, ha, stifle.

Corean Canty (44:24)
Yes, yes. So I think maybe the answer to the second question is married to the answer to the first question because the second one is what's your current cozy as we get into this winter season?

Robert H Johnson Jr. (44:35)
I love a good, to be honest, first thing in the morning. So it's the opposite. I love a good cup of coffee with probably too much cream and too much syrup as I try to reduce sugar by having sugar-free cream and sugar-free syrup. But my favorite warm and cozy is just to have that one of my favorite mugs, coffee cups with a cup of coffee and one of my...

Corean Canty (44:43)
Hmm.

Ha ha ha.

Robert H Johnson Jr. (45:04)
many options of creamers.

Corean Canty (45:07)
I love that everyone knows I love me a good warm drink. I'm constantly talking about it. have, I always have one with me and I always have a mug I like. So we are definitely going to have to get together at a coffee shop this winter and talk about our new ideas and combine some things that we love. Right now, what's your favorite feel good song?

Robert H Johnson Jr. (45:12)
You

I love that.

Yes.

So my favorite feel good song would be Kendrick Lamar. You know, there's this whole rap beef battle between Drake and Kendrick Lamar. And in my humble opinion, Kendrick is winning. No diss to the Drake fans. But what I love about, and I guess I'll have to say two people, Killer Mike and Kendrick, the K's. Don't ask me why, it's just...

Corean Canty (45:58)
Yeah.

Robert H Johnson Jr. (46:00)
Killer Mike is a phenomenal storyteller of his real experiences in his music. So I love Killer Mike and I love Kendrick Lamar's weight with words, his delivery, and then the beat. just, it hypes me up and it gives me great energy. So I'll just have to say K and K. Kendrick and Killer Mike, those are my musical, I'm huge fans of theirs right now.

Corean Canty (46:03)
Yes he is.

Yeah, I love the work that Killer Mike's doing in the community too. It's such a great thing to see and as someone who started their career in music and who has a son who does music, there's nothing better than a great beat. Nothing better. You gotta have a good beat, right? Yes, yes, it is. Okay, so what's one thing you do now for your 80 year old self?

Robert H Johnson Jr. (46:40)
Yeah. You have a good beat. It's a rule for life.

For my 80 year old self, the honest thing that I do now is manage my finances in a way that I didn't grow up learning, if I'm being honest. Because I don't want to be forced to work at 80. I want to be in Maui or on a beautiful beach somewhere, not doing a thing. So for my 80 year old self, I am managing my finances, being intentional about saving, budgeting and all of those things.

Corean Canty (47:19)
Amen to that because right now as someone who's a caretaker to two elderly people in this country.

Robert H Johnson Jr. (47:28)
God bless you.

Corean Canty (47:28)
y'all better, y'all gotta understand to listen to this man and prepare those finances. Cause it might not just be you. You never know who else you might need to take care of. So that's a whole other podcast episode.

Robert H Johnson Jr. (47:40)
Well said, well said. It's a whole which we need to have because I too am a caregiver to my mother. So I understand half of what you're going through.

Corean Canty (47:51)
Yes, yes. Okay, final question. How do you remember to live?

Robert H Johnson Jr. (47:59)
I remember to live by how we started this call. And I've taught it to my nephew who's two. Let's take some deep breaths. Let's just inhale.

and exhale because that resets your nervous system. Those deep breaths do so much more than just add oxygen to your blood, which increases your energy because you know, you know this as a breathing expert or someone who's a practitioner of this work. A lot of times people are tired if not feeling exhausted because we take short breaths more than we take deep breaths. And so for me,

Corean Canty (48:25)
Yes.

Yes. Yes. Yes.

Robert H Johnson Jr. (48:42)
The reminder that I'm this gift of life is to take intentional deep breaths throughout the day.

Corean Canty (48:52)
I love that. Breath is life. Breath is the thing that facilitates our life and it's a free tool that we carry around. I tell people all the time, like when I'm coaching my clients, I'm like, if you're stressed out in that meeting and that person across the table is making you feel like you're going to explode, you know what you can do in that moment? You can breathe. You can breathe right there and nobody even has to know that you're using your tool and it's always on you. So I love that. Three deep breaths can change your whole day.

Robert H Johnson Jr. (49:11)
I love that. Your whole day and guess what? Some people, some persons life was saved because someone else decided to take deep breaths. Do you know what I mean? Someone's life was saved. Someone's day was not ruined. Someone's, you know, positive stay positive.

Corean Canty (49:30)
Yes, yes, yes, yes.

Robert H Johnson Jr. (49:39)
because someone decided to take ownership of their breathing and to regulate. I love that. I'm so happy we started with that.

Corean Canty (49:48)
so good, so good. Okay, Robert, tell the people how they can connect with you. Where can they find you?

Robert H Johnson Jr. (49:54)
Well again, thank you so much for having me. It's been an honor, a privilege and a pleasure, but I'd love to stay connected. You can connect with me on LinkedIn Robert H Johnson Junior. I am on Instagram. You can find me at I am the corporate dropout on Instagram. You can also check out my website www.rhjconsultinggroup.com and if anything that you've heard me say, if you've heard Corean and I discussed today resonates with you, email me. You can email me at.

info at rhjconsultantgroup.com

Corean Canty (50:29)
Awesome. I will put all of that in the show notes for everyone as well and let them know where they can connect with you. Watch your Ted Talk. All the good things. Again, thank you, my friend. This has been an amazing conversation. So happy to have had it with you today.

Robert H Johnson Jr. (50:43)
Thank you so much and Namaste.