Leadership shows up in many forms at FOX Rehabilitation, and on this episode of The FOX Five, we’re diving into what it really means to lead with intention. Host Jim sits down with Manager of University Relations, Josh Bills, to unpack his FOX Five: The Five Best Practices of an Effective Leader. Rooted in principles passed down from his dad and shaped by his own leadership journey, Josh shares a thoughtful, people-first framework that spans heart, mind, hands, soul, and spirit—offering insights that resonate far beyond any single role or title.

Jim: Welcome to The FOX Five, the show that explores FOX Rehabilitation through an original list created by a FOX colleague. That FOX colleague today is Manager of University Relations, Josh Bills. Josh, welcome to The FOX Five.

Josh: Pleasure to be here, Jim. Thank you for having me.

Jim: So, we were emailing in preparation for this episode and you said, "Could I talk about leadership?" And I said, "Absolutely." I think that's perfect for The FOX Five because there are so many ways to become a leader at FOX—on a big level, on a smaller level, regional level, in your senior living community. So, without spoiling too much, Josh, what is your FOX Five today?

Josh: The Five Best Practices of an Effective Leader. I'll start by saying this is not original content to me. My dad actually created these principles by taking the word LEADERSHIP and breaking it into acronym. It's just ways in which when I started my leadership journey, adopted and have used within my work-life. I’m excited to share these.

Jim: This is cool. It's a shout out to your dad.

Josh: One hundred percent. Yeah, shout out Jeff Bills for this.

Jim: Your dad's not going to sue us, is he?

Josh: (laughs) I'll have to call him; I’ll have to get a release.

Jim: All right, so Josh, what is Number One on your FOX Five?

Josh: The “L-E” within the word LEADERSHIP, which is love everyone. This is the heart of the leader. I'll start by saying that in a secular space, I know this one can probably come off as the most uncomfortable practice to have to talk about or think about, but 100% is foundational when thinking about leadership. When we think about, “What are the implications of loving everyone?” There are a few things that we could look at. One, is as a leader, like you want the very best for those that you are leading, which I would hope is genuinely true for anybody in a leadership role. And two, and in a way, we also talk about it here at FOX is “servant leadership.” So, it's not about being the boss or at FOX we talk about it's not about wearing the sash. A quote from Simon Sinek that I like is, “Being the boss isn't about being in charge, it's about being responsible for the people that are placed in your charge.”

Jim: That was Number One on your FOX Five? You could give a TED talk on your Number One. Holy heck. Where do we go from here? Josh, what is Number Two?

Josh: Number Two is the “A-D” within LEADERSHIP, which is address dysfunction. So, this is really the mind or the head of the leader. And when you're thinking about addressing dysfunctions, right, that could be multifaceted from systems to individuals to the team. It really requires the leader to be willing to engage within conflict, because if a leader ignores the dysfunctions, they can only get worse and they'll hinder the progress of the organization and get you off the rails from what the vision and the mission.

Jim: Yeah. In Back to the Future, George McFly says, "I'm just not good at confrontations,” but as a leader, you have to be good at confrontations." Josh, what is Number Three on your FOX Five?

Josh: Number Three is the “E-R,” to equip and resource, which is the hands of the leader. This means to invest in your people who are in turn invested in the mission because as your people get better, your organization is going to get better. Then, when we think about it within the world of talent acquisition with FOX, if a recruiter has a win, the first thought from the leader is we need to share that with the larger team. And the heart behind that is it's in an effort to equip and resource the bigger team so that they have new and innovative ways to be successful within their roles. We know that as great as it is to be able to equip and resource, there are going to be those seasons, at times, where as a leader we feel like resources aren't as abundant as we would prefer. So, in those seasons, it becomes that much more important to then remember the fourth principle.

Jim: That brings us to Number four on your FOX Five?

Josh: Yes, and so Number Four is the “S-H,” which is stay hopeful. That's the soul of the leader. How you stay hopeful is truly the internal work that you're doing as a leader, and because it's work that's not seen by anybody, it is absolutely the easiest aspect of leadership to ignore, but the consequences of ignoring this work can definitely lead to catastrophe for the organization and for the leader. The reason for that is because the leader's attitude influences everything.

Jim: That's a great one because as you were going through that, I thought of three past jobs I had where it became hopeless and because it was hopeless, I was gone. So, as a leader, if you instill that hope, it'll keep you there. That brings us to Number Five on your FOX Five.

Josh: Perfect transition to the fifth one, Jim, which is “I-P,” inspire progress. This is the spirit of the leader. If we view leadership as movement, we want to take a group of people and move them to someplace different than where they've been, and if you're a good leader, you're moving them to someplace better. Inspiring that progress is about moving in a positive direction and hopefully towards the vision of the organization. As leaders, we have various tools to inspire people. So that's things like vision casting, pointing to examples of progress, creating opportunities to celebrate the wins no matter how big or small those victories may be. That really kind of reminds me too of a quote my mom used to hit me and my brother with all the time. We would roll our eyes at her every time she'd say it, which is, “Attitude is everything.” So, when we come home with that negative attitude about something going on at school or sports or whatever activity we had, you just go, "Well, remember attitude is everything."

Jim: I'm almost afraid to post this episode because you could become the next social media influencer, go out on speaking engagements, and not work with FOX anymore. You could be the next Ryan Holiday.

Josh: I don't know about all that.

Jim: Josh, that was fantastic. Thank you for joining us on The FOX Five. You'll have to come back.

Josh: I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you, Jim. Thank you for the invite.