MSMP 67: Zachary Pritchard on Communication

What Does MSMP 67: Zachary Pritchard on Communication Talk About?

In this episode of the Mads Singers Management Podcast, host Mads Singers interviews Zachary Pritchard, a financial coach who shares his journey from traumatic failures to building a successful business. The conversation centers on the critical role of communication in leadership and management. Zach emphasizes that effective communication requires honesty and vulnerability, both with oneself and with one's team. He argues that if you cannot be honest with yourself, you cannot be honest with your team. The episode also explores how building strong relationships through consistent one-on-ones can create an environment where employees feel comfortable disagreeing with their boss, which is essential for innovation and growth.

Mads and Zach discuss practical strategies for fostering open communication, such as not just having an open-door policy but actively making employees feel safe to share contrary ideas. They touch on the importance of understanding different communication styles, like DISC, and how personal issues at home can affect work performance. The episode also covers financial literacy, with Zach advocating for the Dave Ramsey method and lamenting the lack of financial education in schools. Overall, the podcast provides actionable advice for managers looking to improve their communication skills and build stronger teams.

If you can’t be honest with yourself, you can’t be honest with your team.Zachary Pritchard

Who Is Featured on MSMP 67: Zachary Pritchard on Communication?

Zachary Pritchard is a financial coach who helps people with their budgets. He holds an undergraduate degree in wildlife and previously managed water resources. After experiencing two major failures in communication and finance, he built a business from 3 to 12 employees. He now runs All Around Financial Coaching and is a proponent of the Dave Ramsey method for financial freedom. Zach shares his personal story of how poor communication cost him his job, which motivated him to become an expert in effective communication and financial management.

What Are the Key Takeaways From MSMP 67: Zachary Pritchard on Communication?

• Effective communication requires total honesty and vulnerability, starting with being honest with yourself.
• Building strong relationships through consistent one-on-ones helps employees feel comfortable disagreeing with their manager.
• An open-door policy is not enough; you must actively create an environment where employees trust that you genuinely welcome their input.
• Understanding and adapting to different communication styles, such as DISC, can significantly improve team dynamics.
• Financial education is often neglected in schools, but learning to manage money is crucial for personal and professional success.

If you can’t be honest with yourself, you can’t be honest with your team.Zachary Pritchard

Is MSMP 67: Zachary Pritchard on Communication Worth Listening To?

This episode is highly recommended for managers and leaders who want to improve their communication skills and build a more open, trusting team culture. Zachary Pritchard's personal story of turning failures into strengths is inspiring, and the practical advice on fostering honest dialogue and handling disagreements is invaluable. The discussion on financial literacy also adds a unique dimension that many management podcasts overlook.

Listeners will appreciate the actionable tips, such as how to conduct effective one-on-ones and how to ensure employees feel safe to voice opposing views. Mads and Zach's conversation is engaging and filled with real-world examples. Whether you are a new manager or a seasoned executive, this episode offers insights that can help you become a better communicator and leader.

Who Should Listen to MSMP 67: Zachary Pritchard on Communication?

• Managers and team leaders
• Entrepreneurs and business owners
• HR professionals
• Anyone interested in improving communication skills

What Are Listeners Saying About This Episode?

Sometimes what sets us on a particular journey in life is not a particular aptitude or knowledge of a subject, but a traumatic failure.  When you hit rock bottom you get a certain clarity of thought that can help you not only to avoid such mistakes in the future, but to share those lessons with others.

Zachary Pritchard, today’s guest for Mads Singers Management Podcast, is someone who dealt with two such failures and has made them strengths: communication and finance.  While his undergraduate degree is in wildlife, in which he was in charge of water management, he ended up building a business and growing it from 3-12 employees.  He now works as a financial coach, helping people with their budgets.

We started talking about communication right away and I shared how important DISC was for me to understand my employees and clients and how I can communicate with them.  I firmly believe that it’s not what you say, but how people hear what you say.  Zach agreed, adding that part of effective communication necessarily resides in honesty and vulnerability.  “If you can’t be honest with yourself, you can’t be honest with your team,” he noted.

Zach also talked about the importance of developing enough of a relationship with his team (something that can grow out of consistent 1-to-1s) that they could feel comfortable disagreeing with him in a professional setting.  I agreed, noting that it’s not enough to say you have an “open door” policy (which I hear so often), but to actually make your employees feel that that is really true.  If people don’t trust you, they won’t open up.  I also shared a technique to use to ensure that your employees will be comfortable sharing their ideas that might contradict your own.

Zach is a proponent of the Dave Ramsey method of financial freedom and I lamented that we spend all this time learning complicated math that we are unlikely to ever use, but aren’t taught even one bit of financial education in school.  Zach’s financial coaching practice is one way to correct that!

I enjoyed chatting with Zach and I think you’ll find his perspective helpful.

Key Learning Points:

1. Zach relates how poor communication cost him his job - 3:30

2. Zach notes that the most important part of effective communication is total honesty - 6:07

3. Zach wants that honesty to go both ways, so that his employees can overcome any hesitance to contradict him on a business strategy - 7:27

4. Mads agrees, noting that a good relationship is at the core of good communication - 8:53

5. Mads also shares an effective strategy to make sure your employees feel comfortable “disagreeing” with you - 10:21

6. Zach discusses the importance of being vulnerable in work conversations - 20:05

7. Mads points out the importance of learning your team’s communication styles - 21:35

8. Zach shares that what happens at home necessarily spills over into work - 29:45

9. Mads laments the lack of financial education in school - 34:15

Resources Mentioned:
 Webinars on Budgeting

Connect with Zachary Pritchard

 All Around Financial Coaching