Authentic Leadership, Culture, and Connection with Chief People Officer Yvonne Burke

MYOB Podcast

Join us as we discuss talent, attraction, and employee retention with Chief People Officer and HR Veteran, Yvonne Burke. Learn tips about how to create bonds and build trust with your team. Get a look inside the day-to-day operations. We discuss how to be an open and vulnerable leader (and what that means for your organization). Why Gen Z employees are struggling with a virtual environment. What it’s like to be the only female on an all male leadership team and keys for getting a seat at the leadership table. We discuss why allyship, sponsorship, and visibility help you to foster an inclusive workspace and why it’s our responsibility to create great leaders for future generations. Welcome to the show!

Highlights:

• Recognizing challenges your team may be having (especially in a virtual environment)
• Keys for getting a seat at the leadership table
• Why daily check-ins can set your team up for success
• The challenges of working during the pandemic and who’s been struggling the most
• The inner workings of company operations and HR
• How to build loyal employees and great teams
• A cascading messaging methodology
• Tips to stick within work hours
• Running a company with no barriers from the top to the bottom
• Allyship, sponsorship, and visibility
• Fostering an inclusive workspace
• The impact of isolation and lack of social connection
• The importance of mentorship and asking for advice
• How to foster great leaders for our future generations

Show Notes: S1, E9:

00:00 - Intro

04:37 - What is authentic leadership?

08:06 - The difference between being in an office and being fully remote. The challenges of working during the pandemic.

09:50 - Managing an organization with 160 employees.

11:00 - Inside all of the daily morning check-ins, we made sure that half of the meetings were of a personal nature. “How are you doing? What’s going on in your world? What are the things you need from me? What do you need from each other?”

14:05 - The advantage model - “Team-n-ars” - bridging the gap between executive leadership and every other employee. A cascading messaging methodology.

15:50 - Retention and turnover rates.

17:10 - Growing a firm from 200 to 1500 employees.

18:05 - If the merge and integration doesn’t go well, the business will likely not survive.

23:00 - The growing pains and integrations of mergers and acquisitions and the importance of showing that we care.

24:30 - Have you taken your work home with you?

27:35 - Where do you start to create your work ethic?

28:50 - Biggest takeaway from one of my mentors is to listen. Listen and hear, not just listen (you need to hear too).

29:05 - Being the only female on an all male leadership team.

30:00 - Women in leadership roles and the importance of lifting up other female leaders.

32:20 - What does allyship mean and why is it important?

39:20 - Important questions to ask your team.

40:00 - Having a difficult conversation.

45:40 - Keys for getting a seat at the leadership table

46:00 - If you see someone you respect or admire, don’t be afraid to ask those individuals for mentorship and help.

48:00 - Don’t wait to be asked, be bold, be compassionate. Be prepared to give of yourself fully.

49:50 - How GEN-Z employees are struggling with virtual environments and the impact of isolation and lack of social connection.

56:10 - You can create a separate work environment to boost your morale.

60:00 - Tips to stick within work hours. Ie. scheduling your emails to go out.

64:23 - Looking at the big picture and how you are spending your time and how to streamline systems and manage expectations.

66:40 - Death by meetings.

68:00 - Effective vs. efficient and achieving maximum productivity.

71:20 - Riffing on the Four Agreements and future generations

Clips:

28:42 - Women in leadership

33:52 - You can’t underestimate the development of your people. (38:24) (40:24)

53:08 - “I expected GEN-Z to adapt quickly, surprisingly it wasn’t that way.”

Resources:

• The Advantage: Why Organizational Health Trumps Everything Else In Business by Patrick Lencioni
  
• Unlocking happiness at work by Jennifer Moss
  
• The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin
  
• The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey
  
• The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz
  
• Cortana (virtual assistant developed by Microsoft)
  

Quotes:

• “People are the success of an organization. Without people, how would you grow a business?”
  
• “[Employees] are not only a number in my organization.”
  
• “It’s really important to love what you do. If you don’t love what you do, then you’re not engaged, and that shows.”
  
• “We don’t recognize that our first mentor is our parent.”
  
• “Be bold, be compassionate, be prepared to give of yourself.”
  
• “Don’t wait to be asked. Be bold”
  
• “Never be afraid to ask lots of questions and don’t be scared to be different”
  
• “People are often thinking, I don’t have the time to make the time.” - Elizabeth Upton
  
• “The more we pass on, the greater leaders we can create for the future.”
  

Contact Info:

Guest: Yvonne Burke (LinkedIn)

Host: Elizabeth Upton (on Instagram, Facebook, & LinkedIn)

www.elizabethupton.com

@myobpodcast, @elizabethuptoncoaching

https://linktr.ee/MYOBsocial

Email us to be a guest on the show: [e-mail]

Discuss your business strategy with Elizabeth: https://calendly.com/elizabethupton/strategy-call

PA/Admin Support: Yasmin Senouci (on Instagram)

@yasminsenouci

Original music by Adrian Vaca (on Instagram & Facebook)

[e-mail]

Duration : 87 minutes