That's Leadership!
Inspired by Energy Transfer’s recent “That’s Gas!” commercial—where a narrator pops up in everyday situations to inform unsuspecting folks that the products they’re using are made with natural gas—Episode 112 of The Energy Detox challenges you to spot everyday examples of leadership and say (to yourself or others), “That’s leadership!”
RELATED CONTENT
Check out Energy Transfer’s “That’s Gas!” commercial that debuted during The Masters in April 2025.
Transcript
(AI training in progress; please excuse any errors)
So have you seen the new Energy Transfer video titled "That's Gas?" Well, if you haven't seen the video, then please stop watching or listening to this and immediately go to YouTube, search for Energy Transfer That's Gas and watch, ideally, the 60 second video. There's a 30 second one as well. And enjoy watch it a couple different times. And then come back to this episode of The Energy Detox.
00:23
But that being said, if you're driving or not in a position to head over to YouTube, then I'll at least give you a quick synopsis of that video, which entails a man who pops up in front of people while they're performing everyday tasks and informs them "That's gas!" In other words, when people are buying clothes or are enjoying their backyard swimming pool or participating any sort of sporting activity, he jumps out and says, "That's gas." And what he means by that is not that's cool or that's radical or something like that, which is the initial implication, but what he means is that, literally, what they are doing is powered by natural gas. The things that they're using, well, they're made with natural gas. And again, that's the that's the hook, that's the humor, if you will.
01:07
And another element of the "That's Gas" video is that it was released on Masters Sunday, so championship Sunday of the Masters golf tournament in Augusta, Georgia. And it was released because part of that video, at least the 60 second version, spends a lot of time pointing out all of the various things in golf that are gas, from golf balls to fertilizer to clothes. Well, that's gas. They're made with natural gas. And so today on The Energy Detox, we're going to take that very effective, enjoyable video spot from Energy Transfer, and as we always do, translate it into a short leadership tool that you can use to become a more effective and more conscious leader.
01:50
And to do that, I can think of no better location than here in Oakmont, Pennsylvania, site of the US Open, another major golf tournament that will be coming here to Oakmont in just a couple of weeks. So just a mile or two up the road from where I am, you can enjoy the world's greatest golfers, and hopefully you can enjoy Energy Transfer recycling that golf related energy video, "That's gas," as a reminder again, that the US Open, in many ways, is powered by natural gas. But as I said a couple minutes ago, the point here is not to continue praising that Energy Transfer video, but to help you become a more conscious leader. So how are we going to do that today on this relatively brief episode of The Energy Detox? Well, we're going to take that concept of "that's gas," looking around you each and every day, and identifying the 96 or 97% of products that are made in some way, shape or form, with oil and natural gas, and translate that to leadership. And in your personal and professional life, looking around and saying, "That's leadership" when you see things and people doing things, and companies like Energy Transfer, investing time, energy and money, and videos like that, saying, hey, "that's leadership," "that's the type of thing that I as a leader, hope to emulate, and that I would want others to do as well."
03:04
But as simple as this tool is, and again, I do encourage you to use it, because again, I can promise you that you will find more value opening your own two eyes and looking for opportunities to say, "hey, that's leadership" than listening to leadership podcasts or reading leadership books or going to leadership seminars taking those little bite sized chunks. And speaking of bite size, I'm also a stone's throw away from Oakmont bakery here, if you happen to be in the area, for the US Open here in a couple weeks, to stop by and enjoy a bite sized treat there (or not so bite sized treat). But I digress.
03:34
How do you use this tool? Well, it's not just to identify those small moments of leadership, those small tools that you can replicate, but to also identify those times where "that's leadership" doesn't necessarily apply universally. And what I mean by that is, and we'll start with a golf analogy, sometimes in leadership, you do need to step down and become the caddy, right? You know, there's all kinds of talk about servant leadership, being that servant leader who's not afraid to get his or her hands dirty, to figuratively carry clubs, if you will, to be on the shop floor, and on location. Servant leadership, there's absolutely a time and a place to model that, but it's not always. And unfortunately, what I see all the time in this world of leadership coaching is leaders who unconsciously, unwittingly follow a very simple script and find themselves going down a path, say, of servant leadership and being the caddy at all times, when really what their team needs, often is for you to be that golfer, to be the face, if you will, to be front and center, to be highly visible as the golfers are at these major golf tournaments. Sometimes you need to be out there again, not being behind the scenes and not operating, if you will, below your pay grade. Sometimes you need to be the golfer, not the Caddy.
04:49
So too, another great example here, as we get closer to summer and summer vacations as a default, it's great to model the importance of taking a vacation for your various stakeholders. Show them that it's important to use up your vacation, to recharge yourself, to connect with your family, to get away and to be away from your computer, away from emails, maybe even unreachable. There's a time and a place to be that. Sometimes that is leadership, right? But sometimes leadership is not taking your vacation, moving your vacation because something is going on that's maybe more important, or taking one of those working vacations. Sometimes it's better for your family, sometimes it's better for you as a leader. Sometimes it's better for your team to not model that, hey, I'm gonna take a vacation and get away, but you know to say, hey, look, I'm gonna consciously get away, but not 100%. Again, leadership is recognizing that there's no one size fits all tool. But in this day and age, quick weight loss approaches, and, you know, get rich quick schemes, the same, unfortunately, can apply to leadership, and it's easy to pick up these concepts and run too far with them, unconsciously, unwittingly, which, again, is what we're trying to address here, on The Energy Detox, on each and every episode, for you to be a more conscious leader, for you to be the leader that says, hey, look by and large, when you see a leader sitting back and listening in a meeting instead of being the first one to talk, you might find yourself saying, "hey, that's leadership," that's modeling how to be a good leader, to listen to speak last and not speak first.
05:35
But I would argue a more effective, more conscious leader is the leader who says, sometimes that's leadership, but sometimes you need to set the tone, sometimes you need to speak first. Sometimes you need to say, hey, look, we're done talking, and here's what I think, here's what I see. Maybe that's not the default, but again, the most effective leaders that I work with are the ones who recognize that there is no one size fits all leadership tool, and in essence, not ironically, that is leadership. Leadership is bringing the right tools for the job, the right clubs, if you will, for what's in front of you at that moment, and then executing. And so with that being said again, I challenge you to go forth today and look for those opportunities to say, "hey, that's leadership," big and small, personal life and professional life.
06:17
And finally, the last thing I'll encourage you to do is take a page from Energy Transfer and recognize that again, what they did and what they continue to do with videos like the one that was released recently. Well, that's leadership. Advocating and educating for our industry, well, that's leadership. And if you are a leader in the oil and gas industry, I would argue it is your responsibility to go forth and do the same in whatever capacity you can. That's leadership. Does it make sense at all times to always have on your advocating hat? Well, not necessarily, but it's a pretty good default. It's a pretty good way to make sure that you have the opportunity, and you take advantage of those opportunities to say, "Well, hey, that's gas! That's what we do, that's what I do, that's what my team does, and here's why it's so important."
07:54
So that being said, thank you to Energy Transfer for the video. Thank you to you, as always, for checking out this video or listening to this podcast, and again, I always welcome your feedback on small things that you see day to day in recognizing that, "hey, that's leadership!"