Leading Forward

By Christie BergerBusiness Careers

Leading Forward episodes

March 29, 2021Leading with Care from a Distance and Redefining Success with Chris Bird, EVP & COO at Life Care Services
Episode #14: Leading with Care from a Distance and Redefining Success with Chris Bird, EVP & COO at Life Care Services
In today's episode, Christie sat down with Chris Bird. Capitalizing on his reputation as a change agent, Chris Bird brings his expertise to the communities LCS serves. By leading operations, building community occupancy, fostering capital partner relationships, and developing new business, Chris implements strategies to deliver on the expectations of owners and shareholders. As executive vice president, chief operating officer, Chris oversees Life Care Services, CPS, asset management, procurement, and onboarding operations. His ability to analyze issues, devise continuous process improvements, and incorporate business process initiatives drives performance improvement for the overall operation.
Highlights: "Leading with Care from a Distance and Redefining Success"
Life Care Services put a team together to start crisis planning for COVID in late February when the first cases were being reported in the West Coast.

Communication and recognizing the organization could experience burnout from their employees.

It is important to ask yourself as leaders, “How can I help my team with the small things?”

If your organization has great leaders, the leaders likely hired great people and you need to make sure you take time off. This shows that you trust your team(s).

If your batteries die, you will not be able to meet the needs of your team.

COVID has shown a greater rise in employee burnout because our brains need to focus harder on video calls. We may have had the same number of meetings pre-COVID, however it was easier for our brains to focus.

Leaders need to stay focused on the need in the present. With so many potential distractions, it is important to center yourself so that you can make better decisions.

You can only do the best you can do with the information in the moment.

Listening can also be practiced by asking lots of questions to truly understand what your team members are saying.

Education never ends and thinking you have nothing left to learn is going to stop a leader from growing.

Storytelling is powerful and can include your story or someone else’s story, and lay out new perspectives or lessons to the listener.
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LEADING FORWARD breaks down professional assumptions through meaningful conversations that remind us all that leading, effectively, can and often does look different for each of us.
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Subscribe to the Thread at https://www.christieberger.com/
30 min
March 15, 2021Communications, Marketing and Leading Through Change with Suzanne Reed, CMO at LBMC
Episode #13: Suzanne Reed, CMO at LBMC- Communications, Marketing and Leading Through Change
In today's episode, Christie sat down with Suzanne Reed. Suzanne is currently the Chief Marketing Officer for the LBMC Family of Companies, the largest professional services firm in Tennessee and ranked in the top 20 across the southeast. She has more than 25 years of experience in the financial services, professional services, and payments industry. Suzanne is an executive business leader with a proven track record of enhancing brand equity, revenue and market share. She champions growth by using an integrated approach to marketing and sales that produces profitable results. An innovative entrepreneur, Suzanne has created new lines of business, new processes, ground-breaking policies and procedures for profit as well as not for profit organizations. Inquisitive from birth, she believes in challenging herself and those around her and continually striving to be better. And has a personal passion for giving back by helping others in their careers through networking and sharing life lessons.
Leading Forward with Christie Berger
Highlights: "Communications, Marketing and Leading Through Change"
Marketing is constantly changing and evolving and touches the operations of an organization.

It is all about the personal touch with marketing. Technology is just a tool we can use.

There are always lessons learned with crises.

Blending and being innovative helps an organization pivot and navigate change, this leads to building a new path forward.

Even if you are around certain messaging, by osmosis, something is going to sink in.

Leading through COVID and adapting means that a leader must meet their team where they are at.

At LBMC, the opportunity to meet in person was met with hesitancy from several team members and others were more than excited to be back.

Strong leaders encourage their team members and help them feel comfortable in a hybrid work environment.

COVID has equipped organizations with new tools and moving past the pandemic, organizations will use Zoom, Microsoft Teams, etc. in new ways to benefit the workforce to build a new type of team.

Marketers need to believe in the brand’s purpose in order to be successful.

Leadership is all about supporting others and recognizing the impact of our words to build people up.

Strong leaders know that “everyone doesn’t need to look like me” and leaders build off of other’s strengths.
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LEADING FORWARD breaks down professional assumptions through meaningful conversations that remind us all that leading, effectively, can and often does look different for each of us.
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Subscribe to the Thread at https://www.christieberger.com/
34 min
March 01, 2021The Connection Between Vulnerability, Reflection and Building a High Performing Team with Jenny Butler, CPO at Ingram Barge
Episode #12: Jenny Butler, CPO at Ingram Barge- The Connection Between Vulnerability, Reflection and Building a High Performing Team
In today's episode, Christie sat down with Jenny Butler, CPO at Ingram Barge. Jennifer has 30 years of professional Human Resource experience. She started her career in Organization Development and eventually became HR leader for companies in the transportation, distribution, and professional services industries. Currently, Jennifer is Chief People Officer for Ingram Barge Company headquartered in Nashville, TN. In her role, she oversees Human Resources for 1750 inland waterway mariners and 500 shore associates who provide logistics and transportation services.
Jennifer’s expertise is in managing organizational change efforts like ERP implementations, M&A transactions, and business transformation. She leverages her unique capabilities in talent assessment and change leadership to drive the success of these initiatives. She received her B.S. in Psychology and M.S. in Organization Communication from Murray State University.

Leading Forward with Christie Berger
Highlights: "The Connection Between Vulnerability, Reflection and Building a High Performing Team"
Leading with perspective and creating plans while leading with your heart.

It is important to understand and appreciate where customers and manufacturers are coming from. Understanding both sides is critical.

“Lead with passion” and “not try to be what someone else is expecting you to be as a leader.”

It is okay to be vulnerable with your team and to accept vulnerability as a leader

Mentors are important because they help you “see yourself differently”

“As the pace of change accelerates, we don’t have to run faster; we need to lead smarter.”

The organization needed to be more patient and listen while being more flexible.

Continuing to enhance the organization’s appreciation was necessary to stay active in the community.

Communicating better as a team: transitioning to video communication and rolling out an internal social media platform to have more personal interaction.

Weekly check-in with team members and leadership and a “pulse survey” has helped the organization pivot based on team member feedback

Moving forward after COVID-19, the organization will have a more flexible work schedule. Managing balance in work and life is important and the pandemic has shown ways to be more intentional with communication.

Opportunities facing the natural gas industry: to continue to invest in technology and infrastructure to utilize natural gas in different ways that are more environmentally sound.
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LEADING FORWARD breaks down professional assumptions through meaningful conversations that remind us all that leading, effectively, can and often does look different for each of us.
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Subscribe to the Thread at https://www.christieberger.com/
33 min
February 22, 2021Team Communication, Vulnerability & Being a Flexible Leader with Jimmy Staton, CEO at Southern Star Central Gas Pipeline, Inc.
Episode #11: Jimmy Staton, CEO at Southern Star - Team Communication, Vulnerability & Being A Flexible Leader
In today's episode, Christie sat down with Jimmy Staton. Jimmy D. Staton serves as the President & Chief Executive Officer of Southern Star joining the Company in December 2016. Mr. Staton has extensive experience in the energy industry. Before joining Southern Star, he served as the Executive Vice President and member of the Board of Directors for Venture Global LNG. Prior to his work with Venture Global, he served as Executive Vice President of NiSource and the Chief Executive Officer of the Columbia Pipeline Group, Northern Indiana Public Service Company and the Columbia Distribution Companies.
Mr. Staton served in several Senior Executive roles with Dominion Energy where he led Dominion’s Natural Gas, Electric Transmission and Distribution and Telecommunications operations. Prior to joining Dominion Energy, Mr. Staton was President, Regulated Operations, for Consolidated Natural Gas.
Leading Forward with Christie Berger
Highlights: "Team Communication, Vulnerability & Being A Flexible Leader"
Leading with perspective and creating plans while leading with your heart.

It is important to understand and appreciate where customers and manufacturers are coming from. Understanding both sides is critical.

“Lead with passion” and “not try to be what someone else is expecting you to be as a leader.”

It is okay to be vulnerable with your team and to accept vulnerability as a leader

Mentors are important because they help you “see yourself differently”

“As the pace of change accelerates, we don’t have to run faster; we need to lead smarter.”

The organization needed to be more patient and listen while being more flexible.

Continuing to enhance the organization’s appreciation was necessary to stay active in the community.

Communicating better as a team: transitioning to video communication and rolling out an internal social media platform to have more personal interaction.

Weekly check-in with team members and leadership and a “pulse survey” has helped the organization pivot based on team member feedback

Moving forward after COVID-19, the organization will have a more flexible work schedule. Managing balance in work and life is important and the pandemic has shown ways to be more intentional with communication.

Opportunities facing the natural gas industry: to continue to invest in technology and infrastructure to utilize natural gas in different ways that are more environmentally sound.
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LEADING FORWARD breaks down professional assumptions through meaningful conversations that remind us all that leading, effectively, can and often does look different for each of us.
------------------------------------------
Subscribe to the Thread at https://www.christieberger.com/
33 min
February 12, 2021How Mission Guides Decision Making and Culture with Ray Brocato, CEO at The Next Door
Episode #10: Ray Brocato, CEO at The Next Door- How Mission Guides Decision Making and Culture
In today's episode, Christie sat down with Ray Brocato, the CEO of The Next Door. The Next Door is a non-profit organization dedicated to serving women in crisis, equipping them for lives of wholeness and hope. The Next Door provides services to women who are impacted by addiction, mental illness, trauma and/or incarceration. In recognition of the common need among residents for mental health and addiction counseling, The Next Door provides an integrated model to address the co-occurring disorders. A professional team of counselors, case managers, nurse practitioners – both medical and psychiatric, medical doctors, masters level social work interns, mentors, and job coaches complete the staff to provide comprehensive coverage to residents’ needs.
Leading Forward with Christie Berger
Highlights: "How Mission Guides Decision Making and Culture"
Addiction is a ripple effect that impacts everyone around them.

Recovery never ends, it is a lifelong process.

Reminding team members to take time off and to take care of themselves is crucial to fight burnout.

Addiction treatment is hard and a pandemic has led to an additional layer of stress.

Knowing what to look for and normalizing “it’s okay to be burned out” is important.

Changing an organization’s culture takes consistent work and a leader must be patient.

Non-profits do not work for shareholders, they work for the people they serve.

The pandemic has forced non-profits to get creative and to find new ways to fundraise, to continue serving their cause.

A mission is what benchmarks tough decision making and it should guide every decision that needs to be made.

Leaders must rely on the organization’s purpose to guide team members and inspire them, especially during a pandemic.

Adjusting as you go is a natural part of leadership and these three questions can help in navigating decision making, “What is best for our clients? What is best for our staff? What is best for our facility?”
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LEADING FORWARD breaks down professional assumptions through meaningful conversations that remind us all that leading, effectively, can and often does look different for each of us.
------------------------------------------
Subscribe to the Thread at https://www.christieberger.com/
31 min
February 05, 2021Authentic Leadership and the Value of a Diverse Team with Leila Bryner, SVP at Change Healthcare
Episode #9: Leila Bryner, SVP, Employee Communications & Employee Experience at Change Healthcare- Authentic Leadership and the Value of a Diverse Team
In today's episode, Christie sat down with Leila Bryner, Senior Vice President of Employee Communications & Employee Experience at Change Healthcare. Leila provides the vision, strategy, and leadership that deepens engagement with stakeholders. Repeatedly, she has been called upon to build teams and capabilities that support communication, engagement, and experience improvements for internal and external stakeholders. A trusted advisor to several Fortune 500 CEOs and executive officers, Leila is passionate about reimagining the role of communications to drive creative and lasting results.
Leading Forward with Christie Berger
Highlights: "Authentic Leadership and the Value of a Diverse Team"
Change can present an organization the opportunity to be agile and try new things, by trusting your team to navigate through the change.

Leadership skills should focus on being: transparent, honest, vulnerable, and having a two-way conversation.

When building a team: Finding people who not only have the skills you need but the right attitude. A candidate should have an open mindset, be prone to growth, be willing to take risks, fail, learn and move on.

A team that has a growth mindset and is diverse (demographically and in thought) is important.

Being purposeful: What can someone new bring to the team that will “fill in the gaps?”

Hire people that want to have fun. These are the people you will be spending lots of time with. You want team members you can laugh with, and liking your team members is crucial.

Knowing your role and being confident in your expertise and speaking with professionals that are experts in their own fields, is a balance that leaders must learn.

“Leadership does evolve over time.” As you progress as a leader, you will find that you are less focused on day-to-day task-oriented skills but more focused on the soft skills.

Relationships really matter in upper management. Not looking to please people but to build relationships and build trust.

Be deliberate as a leader to reflect and fight team burnout. Take time off on the weekends, don’t send emails late at night.

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LEADING FORWARD breaks down professional assumptions through meaningful conversations that remind us all that leading, effectively, can and often does look different for each of us.
------------------------------------------
Subscribe to the Thread at https://www.christieberger.com/
32 min
February 01, 2021How Values Anchor an Organization during Unstable Times with Rob Ivy, CFO at Lee Company
Episode #8: Rob Ivy, CFO, Lee Company- How Values Anchor an Organization during Unstable Times
In today's episode, Christie had the opportunity to speak with Rob Ivy. Mr. Ivy is a strategic all-purpose executive with 25 years’ experience across a diverse set of industries. He has extensive experience managing various administrative and support services functions and has a track record of driving results by creating clarity, developing staff, and leading change. Rob leads Lee Company’s Support Services group, composed of five departments: Accounting & Finance, IT, People Services, Learning & Development, and Risk Management. He works alongside other senior executives to develop and implement financial and operational strategies across the organization. Rob also serves as a member of the company’s Board of Directors.
Leading Forward with Christie Berger
Highlights: "How Values Anchor an Organization during Unstable Times"
Anticipating change is necessary for any leader, while it is difficult to predict a pandemic, a leader must have a contingency plan and be looking for change indicators on the horizon.

Learning to delegate and trust while monitoring team member performance, is a skill every leader must master.

Achievement alone isn’t good enough: the end doesn’t justify the means in leadership.

Listening to care is greater than listening to solve a problem.

Lead from your role and “rolling up your sleeves” is not always the best approach.

Everyone on your team should participate in how we [the organization] got there, to have true success.

Creating Clarity: Making complex things simple; through process & improvement and managing the data.

The lack of skilled labor is a major hurdle that anyone in the skilled trade faces.

The southeast migration, people moving to the southeast, is the largest advantage that skilled labor has an opportunity to serve.

Not everyone needs to go to college, and young people must be exposed to this opportunity.

The TED platform is centered around informing and making people think, without politics, in a concise manner.
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LEADING FORWARD breaks down professional assumptions through meaningful conversations that remind us all that leading, effectively, can and often does look different for each of us.
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Subscribe to the Thread at https://www.christieberger.com/
38 min
January 25, 2021How to Reframe and Celebrate Success during COVID-19 with Jackie Blanchard, VP at HCA
Episode #7: Jackie Blanchard, VP, Infection Prevention, HCA Healthcare- How to Reframe and Celebrate Success during COVID-19
In today's episode, Christie had the opportunity to speak with Eunice “Jackie” Blanchard. Jackie joined the HCA family in September 2017, as the Assistant Vice President, Infection Prevention, and reports directly to the Chief Epidemiologist and Patient Safety Officer in the Clinical Services Group. Jackie is responsible for assuring that standards of care in infection prevention are met throughout HCA facilities, and leads the HAI reduction initiatives in partnership with key stakeholders.

Leading Forward with Christie Berger
Highlights: "How to Reframe and Celebrate Success during COVID"
Jackie Blanchard started as a school nurse and worked her way up to their role as the Assistant Vice President of infection protection at HCA Healthcare.

Change in the process: Always learn from what we received yesterday and implement that into the next opportunity and into the next phase to what we can give our customers.

Leveraging technology to stand up very quickly: The only way to support and be there for our leaders is to never disengage from the one on ones. In that setting, no one is afraid of an audience, to say something first because it’s intimate so that they are able to open up and if they need to cry, they are allowed to.

We need to identify ourselves by many different types of accomplishments.

Know your colleague’s baselines: The picture of someone who is completely disengaged can look like the exact same picture as someone who is absolutely exhausted. Being that we can’t just walk into someone’s offices, because everyone is remote, we need to check in on each other.

Being there for a colleague or a loved one is a huge accomplishment, and that is more important than a checklist with a multitude of tasks.

Reframe accomplishments: Figuring out how to define our success and the impact we are making and our fulfillment amidst the volume and the change.

Monotasking: You have to be fully there for your colleagues. They know if you are talking to someone else on the call or are being distracted in another way.

Every single colleague has life outside of work and if the conversation has to shift to just listen to them, it makes you a better team. We need to truly listen.
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LEADING FORWARD breaks down professional assumptions through meaningful conversations that remind us all that leading, effectively, can and often does look different for each of us.
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Subscribe to the Thread at https://www.christieberger.com/
37 min
January 19, 2021Continuous Learning, Humility and Organizational Mindset with Matt Burnstein, Partner & Chair at Waller
Episode #6: Matt Burnstein | Partner and Chair of the Firm, Waller - Continuous Learning, Humility and Organizational Mindset
In today's episode, Christie spoke with Matt Burnstein. Matt has served as chair of Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis, LLP since 2014. In this role, Matt focuses on driving the firm's growth, vision, and strategic planning. Waller has grown to more than 275 attorneys in five offices and earned numerous workplace, civic and diversity awards under his leadership. Matt’s legal practice focuses on transactional matters involving healthcare companies, private equity, and venture capital funds. He also works with emerging companies and investors across a range of sectors. Matt has been recognized by Chambers USA, Best Lawyers, and other publications for his experience leading corporate and commercial transactions. Matt earned his J.D. from Vanderbilt University Law School where he graduated Order of the Coif. He earned his B.A., magna cum laude, from Vanderbilt University.
Leading Forward with Christie Berger
Highlights: "Continuous Learning, Humility and Organizational Mindset"
“Bigger is better” and “Profitability and Success” are not truly the most important goals for an organization.

The only asset a law firm has is its talent.

There are two main points to keep in mind with talent acquisition: retaining the talent when you have it and bring the right talent in.

Matt’s job is to make sure that people want to spend their time at Waller because without that, nothing else matters.

Leadership begins with self-recognition, humility and a genuine love of the organization.

Being able to learn from the mistakes you make and to learn from the patterns is important.

The best leaders realize they are always learning.

It is up to the leader to have a “pro-firm” approach before they can ask their employees to do so.

“Urgent” and pressing matters of the organization require putting on the breaks and pushing the organization to move toward the “not urgent but important” long term things.

“Reading the room” and perspective checking to see if what you’re “reading” is important.
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LEADING FORWARD breaks down professional assumptions through meaningful conversations that remind us all that leading, effectively, can and often does look different for each of us.
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Subscribe to the Thread at https://www.christieberger.com/
37 min
January 12, 2021Music, Mentorship & Leading Through Change with Jim Catino, EVP at Sony Music
Episode #5: Jim Catino | EVP, Sony Music - Music, Mentorship & Leading Through Change
In today's episode, Christie spoke with Jim Catino, a 22-year music industry veteran. Catino first joined Sony Music Nashville in 2001 after graduating from Belmont University. The Cleveland, Ohio native previously held posts at DreamWorks Music Publishing, Giant Records, and MCA Music Publishing, working closely with songwriters and securing copyrights. He serves on the Board of Belmont’s Music Business Department and is a member of the Academy of Country Music, Country Music Association, Leadership Music and The Recording Academy, including the P&E Wing.
Leading Forward with Christie Berger
Highlights: "Music, Mentorship & Leading Through Change"
The music industry is constantly changing, and the “way” talent is found is different from how it was years ago.

“If you can’t expose it (the music) to fans, they don’t know it’s there.”

Being a fly on the wall can teach things that words cannot.

Mentorship and the diversity of mentors empowered Jim to become successful.

Transitioning into new career opportunities can be scary…but patience can bring a sense of peace.

Thinking about the long term when presented with new opportunities can protect a person from making the wrong short-term move.

Sometimes transitioning upwards in an organization means you may no longer be directly involved in the day to day (in the “thing you loved”) yet your ability to impact "it" on a larger scale increases.

Hopefully, the roles will reverse, and YOU will become the mentor.

If you feel nervous about a new position, dive in. You were chosen for a reason, so “bet on yourself.”

The past ten years have been very difficult for the music industry. As of three years ago, music sales have started to make a comeback and now COVID has really devastated the industry.

Finding your “favorite” thing in your career is relative to where you were at that time.
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LEADING FORWARD breaks down professional assumptions through meaningful conversations that remind us all that leading, effectively, can and often does look different for each of us.
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Subscribe to the Thread at https://www.christieberger.com/
35 min

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LEADING FORWARD breaks down professional assumptions through meaningful conversations that remind us all that leading, effectively, can and often does look different for each of us.

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