• Better People Podcast

  • By: MEA
  • Podcast
Better People Podcast By cover art

Better People Podcast

By: MEA
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  • Summary

  • Providing insights to HR leaders around their greatest challenge - their People
    @ 2022 MEA
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Episodes
  • Growth and Equity: A Nonprofit CEO's Journey

    Growth and Equity: A Nonprofit CEO's Journey
    May 14 2024
    Join host Holly DePalma as she enlightens us with the extraordinary journey of Franklyn Baker, CEO and President of the United Way of Central Maryland. Franklyn unveils the secrets behind doubling the organization's outreach, fostering a culture of equity and growth, and the thrilling prospects of taking their practices nationwide. Tap in to learn how a passion for community turns into transformative success!Here are a few of the topics we’ll discuss on this episode of Better People Podcast:Doubled United Way’s impact.Infusing best practices to enhance impact.Prioritizing culture over strategy.Nurturing equity and fostering growth.Garnering top awards through success.Resources:United Way of Central MarylandMidAtlantic Employers’ Association (MEA)Connect with Franklyn Baker:LinkedInConnect with our hosts:Holly DePalma - LinkedInQuotables:01:44 - So, when I walked in the door November of 2016, I really thought this organization has lots of potential, really incredible people, a nice set of disciplines in place, very much passionate about the work in the community. But the thing that I readily noticed, because I came from a background of shepherding and managing various programs, interventions, initiatives, and other organizations, I thought we could probably use a shot in the arm of increasing our level of impact and touching more lives.08:14 - So one out of four, one out of five individuals that walk into a nonprofit around the country will walk out the front door in a year or so of being there. So what's so powerful, because our culture, and as you've many of your listeners have heard, Peter Drucker says, has said many, many times over, and as many, many people like me who repeat it often culture, it always will eat strategy for breakfast. And so for us, there's a reason why for the last three to four years, we've hovered between eight and 12% on our staff. Oh, that's incredible. On staff turnover as compared to the industry of 20, 25%.10:38 - Prior to my onboarding and I got this information from others who had been there prior to me coming online, prior CEOs were not necessarily doing skip-level meetings. What I mean by skip level meetings for your listeners is in addition to my direct reports, I have, you know, eight direct reports or actually nine direct reports. In addition to meeting with them every two weeks. one-on-one, I also meet with their direct reports. So all of the vice presidents and some select associate vice presidents, I'm meeting with them once per quarter. And when you have the slogan trust and verify, the verification point is very important as it relates to me as a president, CEO meeting with my direct reports. Direct reports. Because I'm having a conversation with someone in development and my senior vice president, chief development officer tells me X, Y, and Z, and I'm talking to that person's vice president. Right? And we're, I'm asking the exact same question to both two answers. Sometimes never. The twain shall meet. Right. And other times there's an exact match. So when the, you have those moments where never the twain shall meet, you have an, an opportunity for inquiry and a very, very humble, curious perspective, not in a sort of blaming or accusatory, it's none of that. It's more of just trying to seek first to understand then to be understood, you know, Steven Covey’s principle. So I think that's extremely important. 24:05 - I tell them all the time that every single one of them in their own right could leave United Way of Central Maryland and become a executive director, presidency of another nonprofit. Right? So they are so valuable in our decision-making. So I'm one of those leaders where I'm not totalitarian, totalitarian in my process. I'm very much a consensus leader. I'll make the final call, executive call when need be, when there's a stalemate or we can't move forward. But they understand that their voice matters. And I consider very sincerely what they're saying. 32:22 - We were a good organization when I started. We had gone from good to great. Right now it's gone from great to excellent. How do we go to that very next tier, right? Top, top, top tier. And I knew then we needed to have someone in the role of chief of staff that can help not only the executive management team with our strategic work and some of the day-to-day blocking and tackling, but most importantly get more mileage out of that middle-level sort of that we call it an organizational management team.
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    41 mins
  • Mastering Your Path in Sales and Leadership with David Mattson

    Mastering Your Path in Sales and Leadership with David Mattson
    May 7 2024
    Dive into an electrifying chat with CEO David Mattson of Sandler Training on The Better People Podcast. In this episode, we uncover the fusion of potent leadership, savvy sales strategies, and the art of personal career cultivation. Captivating stories and razor-sharp insights make this a playbook for anyone hungry to excel.Here are a few of the topics we’ll discuss on this episode of Better People Podcast:Career progression requires personal drive.Effective leaders tailor communication styles.Building business & team growth go hand-in-hand.Honing your craft is essential for leaders.The power of self-awareness in leadership.Resources:Sandler Training MidAtlantic Employers’ Association (MEA)Connect with David Mattson:LinkedInConnect with our host, Holly DePalmaLinkedInQuotables:06:35 - And so to me it was how do you build a business that's scalable and bring good people around you that you don't have to quote unquote babysit and, and let it run? And that's what I did. And so we've, since 2012, I think we've gone, we've grown almost 30 times, and that's how much we've grown in that amount of time by letting people do what they should be doing and staying out of the way, to be honest.07:26 - I believe you should create a plan. Then you should create the positions that are necessary to fulfill that plan. The third thing that you should do is go find the right people. I think the big mistakes that leaders make is they look at their current people and say, where would they fit? I think that's a huge mistake. And that actually helped me because, you know, once you develop the plan and figure out, okay, well these are the positions that I need to actually fulfill it, then it became very apparent that I had some people already that would be great. And I had huge, huge holes. And so my current structure would be, you know, we have a whole group that supports our channel. 15:57 - Holly: what do you do in your interviewing process to make sure that you know, that right steps to vet your search process is followed through? Because one of the things I love about Sandler, and I have taken Sandler is process. I'm bad at process. So putting one in place can be really helpful.David: So for us, I use the search model, right? I do use the skills and I'm going through those, those questions I do assess. So I assess early, you know, I don't, I'm a big believer in looking below the iceberg in that I am a big believer in having multiple people interview. Yep. However, multiple interviews without a good pre-brief and debrief is worthless. So if you're not gonna share information, like, okay, Holly, here are the two or three areas that I think maybe an issue, but I didn't uncover enough, you should pick up on that topic. If I don't tell you that, you're gonna ask the same questions that I asked. Right? And we're all gonna fall in love for the same reasons. And if it's, it's an important job, I like to fly in and take, if they're, they have a partner or spouse, I'll take them all to dinner because I learn more there. Then I learned anywhere.28:34 - When you're doing these guardrails, like, well, what did you do well? Like, what went well? Right? What could we do more of? Right? And then we have the other one is, what would you do differently? What would you do differently? So it's more better. What could you have done better? What could you do more of? And what would you have done differently? If you ask those questions on all the scenarios, people learn very, very quickly. And they self-discover. I think when you tell them all the time, this is what you need to do different, better, whatever. They don't, they don't, it doesn't absorb, it doesn't kick in. And then you always get frustrated as a leader because that person's doing the exact same thing you just told 'em not to do last month, but that's because they were listening to you, your voice versus, well, what would you have done differently? Well, I would've done this differently. I guess what they would've, they're not gonna do that again because their ears heard what their mouth said. And it's their idea. People never argue with their own data and guardrails. Allow them to have their own data and not for you to micromanage them.31:51 - That's something that takes years to learn, right? And normally we've making all the mistakes. I think the first thing that we have to do is not lead by ego. You really have to leave your ego, you know, in the other room or in the car, or wherever you're gonna leave it. But I think most people are leading by that ego, but also telling them indirectly without knowing actually doing it, that telling them how great they were as a leader, you know, this is what I used to do, this is what I would do. To me, I've always learned that I would always take time. Like if there was an issue, like for whatever thing, it just didn't go well. I, I always look things at buckets. So my behavioral style is I'm a bucket guy, so I look at it in ...
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    52 mins
  • Culture in the C-Suite: A CEO's Take on Engaging Workplaces with Kevin Robins

    Culture in the C-Suite: A CEO's Take on Engaging Workplaces with Kevin Robins
    Apr 30 2024
    In this episode, Holly DePalma kicks of a shift in perspective as we hear from guest CEO Kevin Robins. Insightful monologues & real-life leadership lessons make up this candid chat on reinventing workplace culture, building successful teams, and making sure everyone is on board and not left at the station. Here are a few topics we’ll discuss on this episode of Better People Podcast:CEO’s perspective on workplace culture.Culture as a business growth driver.Workplace flexibility and trust in employees.Culture fit is crucial in the recruiting process.Resources:MidAtlantic Employers’ Association (MEA)Connect with Kevin Robins:LinkedInConnect with the host, Holly DePalma:LinkedInQuotables:21:21- And that's what I say all the time when people ask about why are you successful, I say because I have a great team. My job's easy I just, I'm here to support. And I think that's how real leaders and real culture people think about it because you know whatever that saying is culture eats strategy. You know it's true If you get the culture right you know things happen.18:31 - I don't like babysitting people, but I also, when I trust people, I want them to live the lives they wanna live and do the job. And you know, a lot of talks out there about hybrid and virtual, I think it's about flexibility and doing your job. You know, I used to, in high school, I was a painter, I painted, that was the way I made money in high school. Go paint, you know, schools, buildings, whatever. And my approach was work as hard as I can for five hours and do what someone else does an eight hours so I can just take the rest of the day off. And like for someone it doesn't appreciate that but says, no, I want you to be here eight hours, so go slower. I thought that was the stupidest thing I've ever heard of. So I kind of, I think is a vibe I always have like, work hard, play hard, like do your job, do what's expected, meet your goals, and then do what you wanna do. And I think that makes for healthy employees, healthy members, members get that vibe too.16:47 - Holly: So you know, kind of share what are things that you wish you could do but you can't do or what would you like to do? But the smaller organization is inhibiting the opportunity. You mentioned earlier we couldn't go too fast with change. But is there something you wish you could do that you feel you used to feel empowered to do and you don't feel that you can do here?Kevin: Well I think the biggest thing would be budgets and how much we spend on sales and marketing versus another organization, you know, a larger organization. I think we have the same commitment to providing excellent service and relationships as any organization does. I think that's also part of being a nonprofit association. You know, it's about the membership. You know, I wish, the thing my wish, like we did better, that I did better was bringing new members on. Because I think what we do is amazing and we bring 60 to 80 new members a year. I wish it was 150.09:30 - So I think, you know, I was just talking to a CEO before this and I think our past always informs our future. And so I think to understand my feelings on change, I kind of have to go back 30 years when I left the law firm and joined this company called SCI came from a very large law firm. We did things that lawyers do, very structured, went to this company that I was a client, but I didn't really know too much about them. And when I got there, they were in the midst of a reinvention, which I didn't know what that word meant, but it meant that they were changing their whole organization. But it was around the business is why they were doing it. And I came, you know, spent 15 years there and realized every year we did a reinvention because that's what we do. But, you know, to be, to come from the outside into an experience where everything's up for grabs, where the organization, the people are moving, it's changing, was very hard for the first year.20:00 - We're doing so many cool things in this region with companies that are using culture to kind of get every, get through the generational transfer that's happening out there. And I think it's awesome, but you have to work it. It's not just gonna happen. You just can't. I just talking to somebody, you can't tell people you have to talk to people, which means you gotta just, you have to listen and kind of figure out what's important to people and but also make sure they know what's important to you. And then I think you create a two-way relationship.
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    23 mins
Management Career Success Economics
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