- [INTRO] Welcome to SkyeTeam's People First with Morag Barrett.

- I'm excited to welcome Kim Smith who is a 14 year health care executive, author and executive coach. Who is changing the narrative around disengaged workforces. By helping leaders make the shift from employee to partner. We're going to be discussing her book People First Then Profit, five principles to build a people rich work culture. And I love the themes. I'm anticipating a great conversation 'cause there's so much synergy with your insights and research Kim, and the work that I did with cultivate the power of winning relationships. So welcome.

- Thank you so much for having me this is exciting.

- Yeah, well, let's actually go back to the beginning. So we know you're an accomplished coach, a thought leader, a speaker, and I know you're facilitating programs with your clients that's now but let's go all the way back to grade school. And as a mother of small boys, I know that this is close to your heart right now.

- Yes.

- What did you want to be when you grew up?

- It's so interesting that you asked this, as soon as I heard those words I just lit up because it's, I have a full circle moment now but I wanted to be a psychiatrist. I did. And I would so committed to the vision that I would use one of my mother's old briefcases and her chalkboard. And I created my own, client files and with my cousins and ask them what their challenges were and to give them advice. And I had this notebook that I kept their information in privately. I have no idea where this came from, because there were no psychiatrists in my family that I know of even now, but I had this thought of wanting to counsel people one-on-one and help them get through life challenges. And it's so interesting as I say that now, that's so much of what I do every day .

- I was going to say there were so many synergies with being an executive coach. 'Cause it's interesting what people choose to share with us but either way, it's the uncovering those challenges and barriers and helping people to be a better version of themselves or reach their goals. So there are some synergies there. So what is the pivot point then that took you from being the psychiatrist and then ending up as a leadership thought leader and coach?

- Right, so it's interesting I actually was, I carried it through college and I went to, I attended Wake Forest University with a thought of becoming a psychiatrist after graduating and going through the full process. But I took one course just out of curiosity, it's funny what curiosity where it can take you, right? I took one course in public health and it was led by the chief of staff with the local medical school. And I became fascinated with public health, population health and just this world of really seeing people and supporting others. So that led me toward the industry of healthcare, which I of course, spent so much time in, getting a master's and really focusing on the management and leadership side of how to have successful hospital systems. And in each role I found myself always creating development plans for staff, making sure that they were positioned for promotion, coaching them, building leadership academies. And even with that operational experience, I circled back to this passion of people, really seeing people and supporting their development journeys and the recognizing that when you do that well, the organization wins. They really do. And you create phenomenal experiences for them and learning experiences that they will take to other organizations. And that helps everyone, right?

- It's an irony isn't it? We always told, I mean, I know early in my career I was told, oh, it's not personal, it's just business but as you and I now realize it's people first that's hence the title of your book, and it's also the title for this podcast. So I love that.

- Absolutely. And it's amazing when you are fully focused on being president and providing value in your roles to the best of your ability. So much of you comes out. And for me, even though I enjoy the operational leadership, the financial management, what kept pulling me and excited me the most was the people and there. So I launched my consulting firm, The Positivity Academy in 2015, but there was a very specific thing that happened that really, really shifted me toward executive coaching. And there's a positive ending to this story, but it started with the loss of a child. My husband and I, we lost our first child, Lauren Kelly due a life-threatening condition. And during pregnancy known as HELLP syndrome. She would have been eight years old in July. And if she had lived, but I will say even with all the tragedy, all of the disappointment, my experience as the patient having been that administrator shadowing and supporting the needs of patients, then sitting in the hospital bed. My experience was phenomenal, the care providers, the nurses, the physicians, they, but what I didn't know until later was the reason why I had such a great experience compared to other people in other hospital systems perhaps was they created a program for cases like mine, people that suddenly were losing a child. And so my nurse, one of my main nurses she was at the table and help plan that program without the formal title. She had a passion for it. She was really good at what she did. They invited her into the table to help create a phenomenal program for patients years before I showed up to the doors. And when I think about people first and connecting to your people, ensuring that you're multiplying the brilliance, right? Within the organization, I realize more organizations, they need this. And goodness, what if they didn't know how to care for me, the way that I needed it, what would that have had? What would have happened? What decisions would I have made in terms of choosing to try to have children again? I mean, so much of that really happened. Those decisions really happened while I was in that hospital for a week, and I give so much credit to that experience but it was because they, it was by design. They brought their employees together to design a program and continue to get training on this program so that patients and families were cared for at a very very high level during the moments they needed the most. So these are the principles all those within people first where it matters. And that was the course of tragic. I have three beautiful sons now but I realize we need to teach these types of principles so that other organizations, they get how meaningful it is even if you don't directly interact with patients or your customers. Everyone plays a role in the success of the organization, but it starts inside. It starts by doing the work inside.

- It's the human and the humane approach to business. And one can imagine and assume that it's explicit and in every interaction in a healthcare industry but that isn't always the case. And certainly as I think about my clients who are predominantly in finance technology engineering, very logical, pragmatic thinkers bringing that human people first approach I've seen how it can transform individual career and leadership reputations, transform teams, and the results they're able to give and also transform organizational cultures. When we give it a little care and attention, move it from this anonymous sort of gut check thing to something a little bit more tangible.

- Yes.

- And so that's what I loved about your book. So people first then profit, five principles to build a people rich work culture. So tell us about just the inspiration and the five principles overall. And then let's just talk about them in turn. So that those listening can start to think about how they are, or maybe not applying those in their leadership journey today. So tell us about the book and the five principles.

- Absolutely. So this inspiration again with people first is I just recognized there was a lack of knowing how to support your people. So we know what the data says. We've been mesmerized by this data by Gallop and Deloitte for years, that 51% of our workforce may be looking for a job at any moment that a small--

- 51%.

- 51% and that was pre COVID, right? The pandemic. And then also the numbers may be increasing right now. So we also know that a small percentage of employees feel as though their direct managers care about their wellbeing. These are real data points and data tells a story. So we've been mesmerized by this data, but yet there's still little movement in a positive direction. And what I recognize is that it's the word engagement has become overwhelming to leaders because it seems so intangible. How do I really engage people? And you might think of it is okay, well they just want that promotion. They just want something that's not possible. And that's actually not the case. So what I recognize is with this gap and this need, there needs to be a practical approach to just looking at the employee experience and what's needed. And I wanted to develop this book in a way that was easy to read and easy to unbook and apply within your team. So you can have your own team book clubs because it does tie in a beautiful narrative, which I'm excited about. That where you follow this phenomenal executive who is newly joined an organization and recognize us up, I've stepped into a people poor culture, again, just like the last one. Let me go on this journey of exploring. And in this process throughout the book, I unveil each principle. So in that, of course it has interviews with other executives, but so the first principle the first thing you do is you make sure that you're prioritizing people first, that if even in a part of your conversations, that's really the start. So that's the principle one, the world of work has changed, and it's easy to say well, there's an entitlement mentality even with younger generations, but that's not true. The reality is people are utilizing their voice in a way that maybe they haven't before in other areas. And they recognize, now, I bring some really great things to the table. I want to add more value. It's one of our core needs as humans to see that we're adding value. You spend how many hours of your life in an organization. And if you feel as though you have not contributed something what does that do for you? So there's a sense of fulfillment. Even if you don't get that big promotion, knowing that you're at the table, providing value is a really big deal. So working in organizations that focus on that people first mindset, that's the first start. That is a part of the conversation.

- So I'm curious, 'cause you talk about prioritizing being about intentionally including employee engagement strategies in the short term and long term strategies--

- Yes.

- For the organization.

- Yes.

- So how can leaders help move it from a traditionally HR problem or project to as you've described it a strategic priority for all leaders?

- Yes, absolutely. One of the things that I recommend that organizations do is make sure that the concepts of people first is outlining your specific goals in your strategic planning process. So for example if you are saying you want your employees to love their jobs, that sounds great. What does that look like? What specific strategic goal within your organization will allow you to measure, measure the impact that you're making on the employees. You need to be very clear because if in theory, you talk about it. You say this is important but if you're not connecting it to your strategic plan for your organization, the same way you talk about your other key performance metrics with financial growth, with market share. If you don't have a people component then you're missing something. How much do you talk about your people in your annual report? Is it even referenced more than a paragraph? And this'll be very eye opening to really look at what, how are we discussing people first? What does this mean within our culture? Does it mean that we create employee resource groups beyond the traditional design? Does it mean that we engage employees and create succession planning processes to make sure people feel like they're moving in a positive direction? What does it look like? So that's the step. And if you really look at your report, your annual reports if you think about your operational let's say your strategic planning meetings or your budget planning meetings, if you look at your operational plan or your strategic plan whether it's your three-year, five-year, 10 year and it's very minimal reference to your people, then there might be a telling moment for you, that might tell you that wow, this is an opportunity for us to think more deeply on how we are trying to create this people first mentality through our organization.

- Well, that links nicely then to the second point, which has serve. 'Cause you talk there in that example of how do we measure whether or not our employees love their job, love the organization. But if we're also going to focus on the second principle to serve, it's not just about whether they love us. It's how do we demonstrate that we love and value them? So tell me a little bit more 'cause I'm sure that that can be a conversation and a concept that is out of the comfort zone for a lot of leaders that you're meeting for the first time.

- It can be, this concept of serving leadership, depending on your industry it can be very foreign and depending on the culture of the country that we're in it can be very foreign. So it's interesting having conversations around serving leadership and the truth is it's not natural for every leader to have that in their mind that I'm here to serve my employees. But the old model of leadership is in just work is the employees are there to serve the leaders. But what I present is the opportunity to look at that in reverse. So I believe one of the models I talk about is really acknowledging the brilliance of those around you. Do you know, who's in, do you even really know your team? Do you know their experiences? Do you know what they bring to the table? Or are you so allowing them to be confined to that one seat, one role, and you may need something for a project, for an initiative and you just may have it in the house but because you haven't built that relationship then that's one part of it. So knowing who you have in your team, in your organization, and then also creating ways to give them opportunities to succeed. So when you serve, it's not, again just, it's not about benevolence is positioning them for success. So I acknowledging their brilliance, creating opportunities for them to thrive. So giving them project opportunities, allowing them to test the waters in some ways. I believe a lot of my success in my career was attributed to people allowing me to just jump out there in the firry water as I would define it and try and create a safe place for people to fail. Where failure is not punitive, but it allows them right? And that's hard. It's not about negligence and being incompetent, it's about creating a safe place for people to land and learn while they're growing. Because when you're doing that, you're serving them not just in their role, but within their career, within your organization. And leaders that do this very well they tend to have teams that connect with them years after they've left their organization. They create such an impression on the individuals they've served and supported. That it really was a team environment. I have a few individuals that I worked for, who they had that servant leadership mentality where they position me for success. Of course my thought was, I should be serving you. And I did work to provide value but they created so many opportunities for me to really fly, to spread my wings and fly that it allowed me to build the confidence I needed to move forward successfully within the next role and leaders don't always do that. Sometimes we're thinking about just me, me, me, right? Especially in those competitive spaces but your greatest advantage. If you're smart is to build a team of people who are so committed to the vision, because you allow them to thrive, that they're going to make you look good. They're going to help you win. They're going to help you meet your performance metrics, right? That is actually how you multiply brilliance. You serve those people around you and allow them to have room to express their brilliance in different ways that benefit the organization.

- And the experience I've had is that when you do that you're never at a shortage of talent because the other mistake that leaders can make when they're less confident is to hoard talent. But instead to your point, we want to equip people, your third principle for success today and tomorrow. And if you're seen as that person who helps others learn and grow, you've got people knocking on the door to join the team. So as you released talent to that next opportunity there is a steady flow of talent that's coming in to join you. And what I like about your equip as well you're not just focused on the people here and now who tend to get all the care and attention, you include onboarding, it's right from day one that this matters

- It is and I have a significant amount of experience with onboard and especially with acquisitions and what I called the arranged marriage of business. When you are in a organization where you're acquiring a lot about their businesses and you acquire their culture, you have to adjust to these new siblings, so to speak that you have within the company, because they have a different culture than you, maybe the the main organization that acquired those businesses. So I do have experience with that. And what I've found is if you have a very broken onboarding and training and development process, the people first principle is hard to really see that truly happen. So it's so important that you make sure that you are in, first before you even onboard, you're hiring the right people. We can start there hiring the right individuals that will fit this culture that have that mindset, but then also making sure that you are providing the right training, the education and then going on to the skills-based training and then the leadership development and then promotion opportunities. You should be seeing movements within your employees and seeing them grow. But if you don't have this strong employee kind of cycle solidified within your organization you're not going to be able to truly equip them to provide the success that you need as an organizational leader. So equipping is critical. That's one of those foundational things to me.

- So the next topic is the importance of relationships. And you mentioned it very early in our conversation. That is that foundation of trust. So I'm curious especially now, when we're in a work from home environment, how does one go about and how are you going about connecting that sense of connection with the professional relationships in your life?

- Right. It's so important to, in moments like this recognize that people are people. And if you are trying to adjust to this new normal that we call it, then so is everyone else. And so for me, I take moments to just go beyond just the business and ask genuine questions. I check in, I want to know how if there are new mother, how has your child doing? Because I know they're home with a baby and I've been there. I have a young one in my house right now. So I ask those types of questions. How are you adjusting? What do you need? And give them space to respond. And if there's something that you can do to support do that, even the small things, even if it's just an ear and it may be five minutes but those genuine check-in moments, those what I call temperature checks, they go a long way. And people appreciate those. Especially knowing that everyone is a bit overwhelmed with meeting their own needs and trying to adjust and keep their stress level down. But just checking in, asking questions, being genuine, it really pays off, it really does.

- So the fifth principle is commit, which is all about till now, it's talk, but how do you hard wire it into the habits of the organization and part of how we do business? So what are some of those first steps that a leader can take even at a local level or an organization can take to start hard wiring a people first approach into their organizational culture?

- Absolutely, this is the action I feel as though any great book of phenomenal principles and theories that's wonderful but if there's no action, then it's just theory and it's not helpful, not fully helpful for you. So one of the things that you can do and I actually have a tool available for teams that can assist with this is create actionable steps for your team and not even just the organization. Let's just narrow it down to your team, your people. What based on this assessing where you are because in the beginning of the book, there's a scorecard. You can kind of gauge where your gaps are as a team leader, based on these gaps and what you know about the principles what is just one thing that you can do that's actionable, whether it requires budget dollars or it's an expense neutral or budget neutral activity. What is just one thing you can do within the first 60 days within the next 60 days to make these principles real? And I would say, just pick one thing because going in and trying to implement all of these principles, if you are very behind, it can be overwhelming and then you stop. But if you just pick one thing and perhaps one of those things is to create perhaps a task force within your department, where you're bringing people to the table to discuss a new project. And usually the only people at the table are your directors and your senior executives. But what if you bring in people that have a passion that have experience but may not have had the title, but you invite them into the conversation for several reasons, you're grooming them for their next level. You're getting their ideas because they're closer to the employees that may have to implement it than you are now. And you're also creating a champion for your effort in this process. What if you created a change how you approach your work by bringing people at the table that didn't otherwise wouldn't have otherwise been invited. If that's not a part of your culture, that's a part of connecting and equipping. And really it touches on serving as well, people first. And if you try that and test it and see how that works perhaps you can not only do this with more employees, but perhaps you can also spread this as a best practice within your other organizational teams. So committing is doing the work, identifying an action ,an actionable item that you all can commit to as a team and executing. If it involves adding some staff support or something related to the finances, then you would pull together a justification to your senior leadership and explain the return on investment that this initiative will have on the organization overall. But either way committing means you're taking action whether that's small or that's large.

- So would you share for me, I'm sure you must have many stories about the impact that the book People First Then Profits have had for individuals and teams, but what's one that jumps to mind about where you've seen a transformation and a change as a result of somebody implementing the concepts.

- I've heard some amazing story so far, and this is even early in the process, and it's very fulfilling to know that a project you've worked on for two years is having such a incredible impact on individuals. But one example I would give is of that of a new executive that I happened to coach who loves the book and was focused on how maybe other leaders needed the book. But what they recognized was they had some opportunities themselves to make sure that the individuals within their team, that they properly tapped into the strengths of their people. They had a tendency to kind of have this. They had a tendency to want to jump in and be the hero and take on more work than they needed to. Our conversation started with boundaries and we realized oh, well, you're the one violating your own boundaries by wanting to hoard the work because you didn't trust that your people will get it done. And what we found by looking at the principles in the book, we found that they needed to build relationships with their employees and really know who was in the room, what gifts and talents and strengths do your employees have and build relationships and communication strategies to help engage them. So I'm so proud of, and this is even a recent example, that's closer to home. I'm so proud of what she was able to do. It was out of her comfort zone to do this but she really stretched herself to create a framework of three step framework when introducing new initiatives on how she can educate them on the ask and engage them based on what their gifts are and have a proper follow-up process on the work. So that she's less stressed and she has more balance and she owns her time again, right? So that's just one example of people that can take the principles in the book and create action around it. And it helps them both in the workplace and at home.

- Yeah, it's amazing, isn't it? I love those stories 'cause it really brings it alive as to what the potential is. So you mentioned earlier on that there was a tool that people could use. How do they find that? And I'll make sure it's in the show notes around this video. And also how do they learn more about the different ways that they can engage with you either one-on-one through coaching or as a speaker or as a facilitator in the broader organization?

- Absolutely, well, you can find these resources and includes, a score card, a team assessment an action plan, and some conversational cards all free on my website. And you can go to kimasmith.com and download those right now. So you can certainly find those tools. It's under the book section People First Then Profit and then it has a section just for digital resources. In the website of course also kimasmith.com, you can have access to more information about the services that I offer including executive coaching, workshops, support for organizations and keynote speaking, and getting contact with me there. And I would love to hear from you and support your organizational needs.

- Well, Kim, thank you for sharing the insights from your book People First Then Profit. I've loved it. Please consider me as your ally and anything we can do to continue to support each other. I look forward to our next conversation.

- Absolutely, absolutely.

- [Announcer] Thank you so much for joining Morag today. If you enjoyed the show, please like, and subscribe so you don't miss a thing. If you learn something worth sharing, share it. Cultivate your relationships today when you don't need anything before you need something. Be sure to follow SkyeTeam and Morag on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. And if you have any ideas about topics we should tackle, interviews we should do, or if you yourself would like to be on the show drop us a line at info@SkyeTeam.com that's S-K-Y-E team.com. Thanks again for joining us today and remember business is personal and relationships matter. We are your allies.