- Just ahead on "Leadership Lessons for Home, Work and Life."

Have you heard the phrase permacrisis?

It's tonight's critical conversation, bringing discussion and advice for more great Central Illinois leaders, and it all starts for right now.

(bright inspiring music) Good evening.

Thanks so much for joining us, I'm Amy Burkett.

Are you familiar with the term permacrisis?

It's an extended period of insecurity and instability, which is exactly what we're dealing with these days.

HuffingtonPost.com states: "The stress that comes along in this environment leads to some quiet quitting, which means stepping away from work responsibilities, looking for a better quality of life."

We've got a great panel to discuss the issue and offer some suggestions.

Let's meet them right now.

First, we have Rachel Berchtold, owner of Eli's Coffee Shop, and Anthony Marotta is the executive director of the Peoria Symphony Orchestra.

Folks, thanks so much for your time.

When you hear the phrase quiet quitting and permacrisis, it's a little scary, but Rachel, talk to me a little bit about how you manage leading during these challenging times.

- Yeah.

Absolutely.

I do have quite a young team and it has been quite a tumultuous season for them.

I mean, imagine growing up in an environment like this where you're coming to the age of adulthood with so much uncertainty around you, they're making all sorts of difficult decisions in this moment and just doing their best.

So I try to do my best as their leader, encourage them where I can and just continue to lead our team well through it.

- Anthony, talk to us a little bit, leading a symphony orchestra, which we know in most cases were pretty much shuttered during the pandemic, but now we're back, but it is not the same old symphony orchestra as it has been in the past.

Talk to us a little bit about what you've seen as change in your leadership.

- Well, definitely there's a lot of insecurity on behalf of the musicians that have made their career as professional orchestral musicians, but they've been very adaptive and, you know, many of them during the pandemic tried to do their best to do performances over the internet and social media.

And now that we're back, there's issues with, you know, masking and having full audience participation in the hall.

So we are just kind of going with it and trying to make audience members, first of all, feel comfortable in the hall and trying to make our musicians also feel comfortable on stage and hoping that they will continue to be musicians and bring classical music to Peoria, the Peoria community.

- Have you seen your audiences return to pre-COVID capacity?

- No, they have not returned entirely.

There's been some, you know, real behavioral changes in society.

We feel, you know, optimistic that things will continue to get back to normal, but there's several segments I think, of society, people that were really dying to get back to their normal lifestyle and get back to, you know, forms of entertainment, going to coffee shops and all of that.

And then there's ones that never wanted to leave their house again, you know, so there's a whole range of what people feel comfortable doing and there's the people that are in between, you know, that are sort of, you know, taking month by month and seeing what they feel comfortable going forward.

So we're hoping to eventually get back to pre-COVID numbers, but we're not quite there yet.

- Rachel, let's build off of what he mentioned, normal.

- Yeah.

- I've heard the phrase "the new normal."

And that the old normal may never be the same again.

People love to congregate at a coffee shop and hang out and just be around each other.

How have you seen the new normal in your business change?

- Yeah, absolutely.

Definitely a lot of different behavioral changes manifesting over the last couple of years.

I think we are seeing quite a snap back to that need to gather inside of a coffee shop, meet up with friends, host your book club, your bible study, whatever that looks like for you.

So there is a lot of that happening again, and it's great to see.

But I will say our in-and-out traffic, those curbside orders, the to-go orders are definitely here to stay.

There's a big portion of that, and I think we see it across fast food and restaurants in general, that indoor seating just isn't the priority that it used to be before.

People are taking things to go.

Our lives, as low-key as we kept them during the pandemic and that slower pace, that's kind of gone.

We've snapped back pretty quickly to our busy schedules and our on-the-go lifestyles, and I think people do, that that's showing itself in the coffee shops as well, where there is that side of things where people enjoy meeting up and hanging out, but there's very much a mobile element to it.

- Rachel, let's talk a little bit about the service sector that you are in.

And many service sector restaurants just can't get enough staff.

Have you been impacted that people didn't want to return to that type of work anymore?

- Yeah.

Yeah.

I do think that that different kinds of work are being rewarded in different ways now.

Here in Illinois, we are on our way to a $15 minimum wage, which with the way inflation is going, no longer looks quite as generous as it did six, seven years ago when it was first enacted.

But we're currently working our way towards that.

And so it's, I think that it is a draw to have those higher, just hourly base wages happening in the service sector.

But yeah, I think at the end of the day, an employee should look for the quality of life and the best wage that they possibly can.

So in the service sector, that looks like for us being just as competitive and offering great wages, great benefits, honestly expecting enough out of our customers to treat them well.

I think that was a big piece during the pandemic that service employees kind of bore the brunt of everyone's tension and frustration.

We could really feel everyone's... - [Amy] Unrest.

- Yeah, unrest, absolutely.

Yeah, that manifested through unkind comments and rude interactions and things like that.

So keeping your head above that, making sure your employees know that you as a leader value them and want to reward their good behavior goes a long way.

- Let's go back to what you mentioned, raising the minimum wage, and in order to recruit talent, going to that $15 an hour that you mentioned, I suspect you've had to raise the price of your coffee to be able to offset your increased operations expenses.

- Absolutely, yes.

Yeah, and I wish I could say that the payroll side of things was the only way that we are feeling pinched, but you can go to the grocery store and look at your price of eggs at 6$, $7 a a dozen and know that that's all being passed on to local shops and restaurants as well that manifest in all sorts of ways.

- Anthony, let's talk about going back to the symphony.

- [Anthony] Yes.

- So symphony was not the price of a coffee to begin with.

- Right.

- Have you seen increased, have you needed to pass along increased rates for people to attend?

- Well, we are actually, we are a union orchestra, so we're subject to negotiations with the musicians' union.

So, and we actually just sort of, I should knock on wood, or we sort of have completed our latest collective bargaining agreement with the musicians.

So we will experience greater costs to the symphony as far as, you know, paying our employees.

So- - And passing those along to the patrons?

- Pass those along to our customers as well.

- Because there's real, I mean, until we find a money tree in the backyard, I mean, we're all dealing with it.

What are some other things that you think can help bring a calm to society in each of your little pieces of the world?

And I'll start with you Anthony.

How can we help people feel comfortable again, because that's part of leadership during this permacrisis?

- I think with encouraging news, you know, and also adapting as businesses.

I think sometimes people don't know what to expect when they go back to a coffee shop or to the concert hall.

And I would encourage people to contact those organizations and say, you know, "I'm feeling a little nervous.

What can you do to accommodate me in a concert hall?

And I would love to hear your performance, but can I sit in an area that maybe is not close to other people?"

We're, you know, very adaptable and we're open to accommodating those types of needs, as I'm sure you doing in your business.

So I would just encourage them to take the leap of faith and go back to what might be considered quote, unquote "normal behavior" and ask for help when needed.

And I think you'll find that people are very welcoming to that and accommodating.

- Rachel, you shared a little bit ago that customers haven't been very kind to the workforce in your area.

Have we seen them relax a little bit with that or is everyone still on edge?

- Yeah, it's definitely come in waves and I don't by any stretch of the imagination wanna say we don't have the kindest customers because out here in small-town America, we are known for kindness and 98% of the time that is what we experience.

But we do seem to just be that barometer of tension in our communities a little bit more.

I'll say over the last probably couple months, as we've watched inflation kind of tick up for everyone around the holidays, that has kind of surfaced again.

But again, we're working through it.

- Is it hurting business?

Are you seeing a decline in the amount of customers?

- I would say yes, I think we are.

We are experiencing that a bit as people rearrange their spending priorities.

Naturally, you have to put food on your table over buying a latte every morning.

As essential as I wanna think coffee is in all of our lives, there's priorities that have to be placed there.

I think having a level of vulnerability with our customers though, goes a really long way.

So inviting them into the process of looking through the issues that we are facing and how we are doing everything in our power to keep costs down, to improve their experience in our shops, to reward our employees and treat them well.

I think inviting them into that process just gives them a sense of being there with us and that's always good.

- So next steps.

And I know none of us has a crystal ball, but as we look at moving forward, what do you see coming next, Anthony?

As we are leaders in a constantly changing world, permacrisis or not, we can't tell what the next crisis might be, but what do you see as the next step in the evolution of helping your industry?

(Anthony chuckles) - Well, I think that we've learned a lot during this crisis, how to adapt.

It was completely foreign to us before now.

So now we have a lot of different tools that we know we can actually survive and make it through to the other end of a pandemic.

So we've learned a lot of those types of techniques during this crisis.

Where this all leads, it's difficult to know.

I mean, I think everybody is always going to seek entertainment.

They're going to seek community.

I think that's mainly what it is.

We're social beings.

We want to be part of a community.

We want to enjoy going out and being with friends.

We want to go to restaurants and bars and all of that.

So I think just our human nature.

We will get through it.

It just might take a little longer than we had expected to begin with.

But it's been a real learning experience and I think we're all stronger together with tackling difficult problems.

- Absolutely, we're gonna be back to more conversation with our panelists, but first, "The Huffington Post" has these suggestions for coping with permacrisis: "Build and maintain your social network.

Do the opposite of what you want to do."

You know those days when you just want to stay in bed and pull the covers over your head?

Don't.

Instead get up, do something productive that will give you a sense of accomplishment.

"Take care of your physical health and your hygiene."

You know you need to exercise and eat right, but you also need to brush your teeth and do laundry and practice some deep breathing along the way.

We've gotta "limit negativity, try new hobbies and relaxation methods."

So back to our panelists, when we talk about those little nitpick pieces of advice we often forget, but I have a 22-year-old son at home, home from college, and sometimes he literally forgot to brush his teeth and he has grown up and did it his whole life.

But when you spend much of your time at home, sometimes you forget the basics.

How do we help people?

And what both of you do by, we are coming together when we're at either of your organizations, that sense of commitment and togetherness, Rachel, in addition to the fact that the lattes are fabulous, the community is fabulous too.

Help people understand that a little bit.

- Absolutely, yes.

There's such a key element that we all realized we needed through the pandemic of connection, physical or virtual, doesn't matter.

We need to speak with people and be with people.

I hope that every time you come into my coffee shop, a barista is gonna ask you how your day is going.

If you come in a couple times, I hope that we'll figure out what you like to drink, maybe what tee-ball games your kids have coming up this weekend.

Just all those little moments of connection that happen in a small town where you know someone is caring for you, looking out for you.

It doesn't have to be this great big deep thing.

You don't have to share anything wildly vulnerable.

Just let people in the little and share a little bit about what's happened in your life.

- You know, Anthony, one of the things I love about going to the symphony is getting dressed up a little bit, but it seems in every industry now, because people worked from home for a couple years, even the last time I was at the symphony, people didn't dress up quite as much as they used to.

Are you seeing that change?

And now that doesn't have to be a barrier for people to come and enjoy the symphony?

- Yeah, and it's really never been a barrier.

I think people get a little bit intimidated thinking that they need to dress up at the symphony, but you don't.

There's people that love that and, you know, spend a lot of time, you know, looking amazing to come to a symphony event, but others just, you know, just casual and that's totally fine.

But you know, the symphony is more- - Have you seen it change since the pandemic a little bit that more people are choosing to be a little more casual perhaps than they were before the pandemic?

- Perhaps.

Yeah, I, you know, I think, you know, I never, I guess, thought that it was something to be exclusively dressed up in.

It's more of a perception, a public perception.

So, but yeah, probably there are people that feel a little bit like they don't want to... (chuckles) - We've all gotten more casual, I think.

- Maybe a little more casual.

- Just in life.

- Yeah.

Yes.

- All the way to the fact I'm gonna share 'cause I'm still a little old school and I love my blazers.

You can't go to a store and find as many blazers anymore.

I mean, people on the job are wearing business casual.

Khakis and a polo shirt seem to be the new normal as opposed to before it might've been a tie.

Ties seem to be gone these days.

But I didn't mean to cut you off Anthony and just wanted to share a little insight.

- Yeah.

And I don't wear a tie usually ever- - Ever?

- During the day, no.

I mean, you know, maybe at a symphony concert.

- [Amy] I was gonna say, maybe when you go to the symphony.

- (laughs) Occasionally, yeah.

(Amy laughs) - Well, you know, half of this is finding our internal joy and letting it flow through us as leaders to kind of create that sense of normalcy for those who interact with us.

Anthony, have you been able, what are the tips that you have that have been able to share that with the people who work with you?

- Well, you know, the symphony is not just about performances, it's also a lot of volunteerism that goes along with it.

So we've created a community with the Peoria Symphony that not only is our concerts, but you can be part of the Peoria Symphony Guild.

You can volunteer in a lot of different ways.

You can go to other events that we host that are not concert related.

So it's all part of trying to create a community and making people feel comfortable that they can go out and enjoy their day, volunteer if they want to, come to this, our lovely office, and do a variety of different activities and also educational activities that we do throughout the community to educate children and adults alike.

So we're doing a lot of things to try to get people enjoying life again and loving classical music.

- Rachel, when we head back to the coffee shop, what are you able to do to help your employees feel just the comfort and I'll even say the joy of what it is they get to do every day?

- Yeah, very much so.

I think we've had to make so many tough decisions in the last couple of years, and so ultimately, to have a level of self-awareness about what does bring you joy, having a deep-seated faith or just an internal sense of your own value structure, it's impossible to know what the best decision is gonna be every day on all the crises you have to face, but knowing a deeper why behind the decisions you make is really key.

So helping my employees instill that in them through my management team.

Just a, yeah, level of self-awareness is key.

- And it's just so important to understand the why.

- [Rachel] Yep.

- For all of us.

Why do we get up in the morning?

Why do we come to the symphony?

Why do we go to the coffee shop?

Let's talk about that why in your organization as well, Anthony.

- They come to the symphony 'cause they want to be entertained, they want to be educated, they want to be inspired by what we're doing on the stage.

And there's so many reasons to come to the symphony to enjoy those things.

I think anybody that does attend a a live performance of any music or any theater or any arts group really understands that.

That brings you so much life, brings you so much joy that you can't get otherwise.

You're certainly not gonna get it being afraid to leave your house.

I think that you really need to enjoy aspects of society that do bring you joy, that uplift you and inspire you.

And we try to do that every day at the symphony.

- Do you think it's that joy for your patrons and participants that can fuel your employees and staff that they know why they get up in the morning because they're bringing so much joy to those who sit and see a performance?

Do you feel like the team realizes it?

- Absolutely.

It's 100% of why we all get up in the morning and there's, you know, we're lucky that we can present music that has inspired people for centuries.

That this is something that speaks to peoples' soul.

So when you can wake up in the morning, know that you're bringing that to the public, that you're really providing a service and providing an art form for a community of which to enjoy and an aspect of life in this community that makes Peoria a better place to live and Central Illinois a better place to live.

That's great.

It's not just so much of just, "Okay, we're gonna put this concert together this week," but, "What are we doing here?

Why are we doing it and how are we helping society as a whole?"

- Helping society is such a challenging thing these days because before we used to think, "Oh, there's this type of person and there's that type of person."

Maybe the introvert and the extrovert.

These days there seems to be 28 different kinds of people and how can we serve them all, or meet them all where they are, so that they will feel comfortable coming back into your establishments?

Rachel, let's talk a little bit about what is kind of what you see as the key ingredient, not necessarily in the latte, but in the recipe for your success at your business.

- Yes.

Yeah.

Espresso never hurts for sure.

- I'll take a double.

- Yeah, that's right.

You're right.

Meeting people where they are is so key.

Leaving your expectations at the door.

I think we do more harm than good when we put our expectations out onto someone else, whether that's an employee or team member or a customer or a patron.

They're their own person going through their own experiences and so to greet them with a smile, listen with an open mind.

That's a beautiful place to start and really no better place to start.

- Let's talk about the commitment to excellence.

There've been some talk in businesses that because of all the changes, because of going from one crisis to another, that a commitment to excellence has been lowered in some industries.

Do either of you feel that that's hard for you to keep your high quality at where you had it before the pandemic?

- I think maybe our efforts to excellence has even grown.

You know, you have to adapt and when you're adapting, you're really making your product even better, more, you know, you have to make that extra step to convince people to come and, you know, patronize your business and to enjoy concerts.

So if anything, it has inspired all of us to do a better job and to look at what we're doing internally.

Look at, you know, really taking a hard look at ourselves in the mirror and go, "Okay, what can we do here?

What are things that we've maybe have ignored about our business in the past that we can no longer ignore?"

And so I think definitely excellence has gotten even more excellent.

(laughs) - Rachel, your perspective?

- Absolutely.

I think it's a really refining process going through, I mean, obviously, global pandemic, but pricing changes and all of these staffing issues, all that kind of thing.

Yes, you're right, you can't ignore the issues that once were just, you either didn't have time for, they were just swept under the rug.

Pandemic gave us lots of time to deal with all of the things that maybe, projects we just hadn't bitten off 'cause we didn't have the time or weak links in the chain that just couldn't be addressed.

So I think all of that is a very refining process.

I think for us how that's looked through a lot of different staffing changes, turnover with the type of employee I'm attracting has been a real change so to make sure we keep our our standards high while seeing so much change has been a really key part of it.

But you're right, customers absolutely see and notice and in a world where there's ever an endless amounts of other options, keeping your standards high is the only way to make it.

- Final word.

I wanna give each of you an opportunity before we run out of time to kind of share what you think would be helpful for other leaders to be successful in our constantly changing, often turbulent times.

Anthony.

- I think don't be afraid to really, to change, to change the way you've done business in the past.

To enjoy your patrons, to value your patrons.

You know, each person now that comes and patronizes your business is so unique and important, but don't be afraid to adapt because you might find a new way that was even better than before.

And so it's a great way to explore how you're gonna do business.

- Running out of time, Rachel, a couple sentences.

- Absolutely.

Yep.

I'll echo that as well and just say, if the only reason you are continuing to do something is because that's the way it's always been done, that's not really good enough.

Your customers can adapt with you.

- Thank you so much, Rachel and Anthony.

We so appreciate you sharing your expertise with us tonight.

And folks you won't wanna miss next week's show as we explore ways to help our teams develop a growth mindset.

Hope to see you then.

Thanks so much for joining us.

We appreciate your time.

Goodnight my friends.

(bright music)