Kris Reyes currently serves as the Director of External Affairs and Strategic Development for the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk and parent company Santa Cruz Seaside Company. In his role, Kris directs the company's political engagement, government relations, community outreach, internal and external communications, and press strategy. On behalf of the Boardwalk and Seaside Company, Kris manages public policy engagement on sensitive coastal matters and complex development projects. During his career at the Boardwalk, Kris also launched and leads a leadership development program called Leadership Boardwalk — an annual program supporting and developing the Boardwalk's current and emerging leaders. Kris has served as board chair of the California Attractions and Parks Association (CAPA) for nearly ten years.

Most leaders want the same thing: for their people to understand the business. But what if the thing that actually changes how people work together isn't understanding the org chart — it's understanding each other? My guest today, Kris Reyes of the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, built a ten-month leadership program around exactly that idea, and the results speak for themselves: forty applications a year for fifteen spots, year after year, in a company of around 300 people.

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU'LL HEAR ABOUT:

• How Leadership Boardwalk came to be. Kris carried the idea for years before he put pen to paper in 2017, drawing on his own experience in Leadership Santa Cruz County — a great community program that, in his view, was missing real leadership development.
• A ten-month structure built around three goals. Kris designed the program so participants would understand the totality of their dynamic company, get to know colleagues they might otherwise never meet, and do real introspective work on who they are as leaders.
• Hands-on days that put people in each other's shoes. Maintenance day means real coveralls, welding, and power-washing. Technical services day means programming animatronics. Security day means (optionally) firing a taser at a target. Participants also shadow a manager on duty for four hours in the fall and a security officer for four hours in the spring.
• The bold decision to build in 360 feedback. Every class opens their own personal 360 feedback report together in December — a vulnerable ask that Kris and Claire agree many organizations shy away from. Kris talks through why he built it in as a given from day one, and what he's watched it do for participants' willingness to seek out feedback going forward.
• Understanding each other, not just the business. Kris pushes back gently on the common leadership refrain of "I just want my employees to understand the business." His take: what actually helps is when people understand each other's day-to-day work well enough to be kinder and easier to collaborate with.
• What it takes to get buy-in. Kris's advice for any leader who wants to build something similar: find someone willing to own it, get leadership to trust the vision instead of demanding an ROI projection up front, and expect it to be a heavy — but worthwhile — lift. 

THIS WEEK'S CHALLENGE

Pick one department or team in your organization that you personally don't understand well. This week, ask someone on that team if you can shadow them– sit in on a meeting, or just grab twenty minutes to hear what a normal day actually looks like for them. You don't need a ten-month program to start building this kind of understanding. You need one conversation, and the willingness to listen to what's hard about their work. That's usually where the real appreciation — and the real collaboration — starts.

RESOURCES MENTIONED

• Leadership Boardwalk: https://beachboardwalk.com/leadership-boardwalk/
• Leadership Santa Cruz County: https://www.leadershipsantacruzcounty.org/
• The Gifts of Imperfection by Brené Brown
• Wisdom Takes Work by Ryan Holiday
• Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

Ready to go deeper? If you want to build real clarity, trust, and cohesion into how your team operates, reach out for a free consultation. Schedule a Consultation.

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Until next time, lead the way!