If your teams are spread across markets, personalities, and ways of working, this episode explores how leadership, empathy, and clear communication can turn complexity into stronger alignment and better performance.

Resources Mentioned:

2026 On the Pulse Report: Insights on Employee Benefits Trends – Download this free report for forward-looking trends in employee benefits, including leadership, collaboration, communication, and organizational change. [https://imacorp.com/insights/hr-insights-on-the-pulse-report-2026]

Visit imacorp.com to connect with the IMA team and learn more about building smarter employee benefits.

Listen and Subscribe: Share this episode with a fellow HR leader and subscribe to On the Pulse with IMA on your favorite podcast platform for more practical insights. Have questions or topics you'd like covered? Reach out to John Dodson, Senior Marketing Strategist for Employee Benefits, [email protected].

Episode Description: Kelly Bowman sits down with Jacqueline Roth, President of Employee Benefits at IMA, for a wide-ranging conversation about what it takes to build alignment across distributed teams without erasing the local expertise that makes each market successful. Jacqueline shares lessons from leading through national growth, partnership integration, and change, emphasizing that people want to be seen, heard, and understood no matter where they sit. She explains why strong leadership is not about imposing sameness, but about creating clarity, alignment, and commitment while drawing out quieter voices, making space for disagreement, and helping teams move through friction with curiosity instead of defensiveness. The conversation also explores empathy in leadership, the role of communication norms, how teams can collaborate more effectively across regions, and why clear structure matters even more in moments of rapid change. From practical language for repairing hard conversations to advice on meetings, AI adoption, and team accountability, this episode offers actionable guidance for leaders trying to connect people, improve performance, and scale culture in a way that actually works.

Guest Bio: Jacqueline Roth is President of Employee Benefits at IMA, where she helps shape national strategy, drive growth, and bring together teams across markets, states, and leadership structures. Based in South Pasadena, California, Jacqueline is known for her people-first approach to leadership, with a focus on clarity, empathy, trust, and collaboration. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her two daughters, riding bikes, and jumping on the trampoline with her kids.

Host: Kelly Bowman

Key Timestamps:

00:00 - 01:25: Introduction to the challenge of creating alignment across markets, regulations, and ways of working.

01:25 - 03:13: Jacqueline shares where she is based, life outside of work, and a glimpse into family life with her two daughters.

03:13 - 06:26: Overview of Jacqueline's role, IMA's growth journey, and how she came into national leadership in employee benefits.

06:26 - 09:22: What Jacqueline has learned about bringing teams together across states, markets, and regulatory environments.

09:22 - 10:53: Collaboration, clarity, alignment, and commitment, and what becomes possible when teams truly connect.

10:53 - 14:59: How leaders can honor local market nuance while still creating unity, accountability, and shared standards.

15:02 - 17:46: Friction, conflict, and Jacqueline's leadership approach of replacing defensiveness with curiosity and “tell me more.”

18:15 - 21:27: Practical language for difficult conversations, do-overs, stating intention, and building trust in the room.

21:29 - 24:44: How empathy shows up in leadership, especially during change, and why clear information builds confidence.

24:44 - 26:24: The connection between empathy, safety, candid dialogue, and stronger team performance.

26:24 - 29:17: A cross-market collaboration example that led to a better workload measurement process across the organization.

29:31 - 34:59: AI, communication norms, and how leaders can introduce innovation without losing authenticity or trust.

34:59 - 36:16: Where leaders should start when trying to create stronger alignment across locations.

36:16 - 38:24: Common leadership mistakes, including interrupting, unclear meetings, and failing to define a goal.

38:49 - 40:06: Jacqueline's closing advice: clear is kind, state your why, and follow through on the basics.

40:06 - End: Closing thanks and show outro.