April 29, 2025 • 49 mins
Hold on tights, as this episode is all about thriving as your authentic self during transformative times, and our guest, Tracy Nolan, Senior Vice President with Humana, is sharing her journey from growing up with prim and proper roots in upstate New York to leading through historic transformations, including the Sprint T Mobile merger during COVID and spearheading hurricane relief in Puerto Rico.
In this episode, Tracy shares:
- The critical leadership skills needed to navigate large-scale crises and transformations.
- Why women don’t have to choose between compassion and strength—and how embracing both makes you a more effective leader.
- How to build a strong, actionable culture that drives results far beyond PowerPoints and posters.
- And the power of taking risks, leaning into change, and believing in yourself to grow your career and your team.
If you’ve ever wondered how to lead authentically while driving transformation, Tracy’s insights will inspire and challenge you to embrace bold opportunities.
Key Discussion Points:
- Authentic Leadership
- Navigating Challenges
- Mentors and Sponsors
- Building a Culture Beyond Posters
- Taking Risks
Connect with Tracy Nolan:
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tracyenolan/
- Instagram: @10Benarski
For further insights, strategies, and guidance on becoming a powerhouse leader, don't forget to follow the show at ballafirecoaching.com/podcast.
Join us in this riveting conversation to learn how you can embrace bold opportunities and transform your leadership path by thriving as your most authentic self.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
How comfortable are you being authentically you in
the workplace and modeling toyour team members how to be true
to themselves through your ownbehavior and actions?
Today's episode is all aboutthriving as your authentic self
during transformative times.
Tracy Nolan, senior VicePresident at Humana, is a
(00:35):
powerhouse Fortune 50 seniorexecutive and board member who
have been at the helm of some ofthe most challenging and
rewarding transformations inmodern history.
From leading through thehistoric Sprint-T-Mobile merger
during the chaos of COVID tospearheading hurricane relief in
Puerto Rico.
To spearheading HurricaneRelief in Puerto Rico, tracy has
proven time and time again thatresilience and authenticity are
the keys to impactfulleadership.
In this episode, tracy shareswhy women don't have to choose
between compassion and strength,and how embracing both makes
(00:59):
you a more impactful leader.
The critical leadership skillsneeded to navigate large-scale
crises and transformations, aswell as how to build a strong,
actionable culture that drivesresults far beyond PowerPoints
and posters, and the power oftaking risks, leaning into
change and believing in yourselfto grow your career and your
(01:22):
team.
If you've ever wondered how tolead authentically while driving
transformation, trace'sinsights will inspire and
challenge you to embrace boldopportunities.
So grab your notebook and getready to thrive.
Stay with us.
Speaker 2 (01:39):
Welcome to Shedding the Corporate Bitch, the podcast
that transforms today'smanagers into tomorrow's
powerhouse leaders.
Your host, bernadette Boas,executive coach and author,
brings you into a world wherethe corporate grind meets
personal growth and success ineach and every episode.
With more than 25 years incorporate trenches, bernadette's
own journey from beingdismissed as a tyrant boss to
(02:00):
becoming a sought-afterleadership coach and speaker
illustrates the very essence oftransformation that she now
inspires in others with her tips, strategies and stories.
So if you're ready to shed thebitches of fear and insecurity,
ditch the imposter syndrome andstep into the role of the
powerhouse leader you were bornto be, this podcast is for you.
Let's do this, tracy, how areyou?
(02:20):
Welcome, welcome welcome.
Speaker 1 (02:23):
Let's do this Tracy how are you Welcome, welcome,
welcome.
Speaker 3 (02:25):
Thank you, Bernadette .
It's great to be here with you.
Speaker 1 (02:28):
I've been looking forward to this so thank you for
making time to have me on yourshow.
I am too, because I reallythink it is critical nowadays
for a very busy, chaoticbusiness professionals to really
understand what it takes, whatit really really takes to thrive
in their career and have thetype of career and life that
(02:49):
they want and that they'redreaming of.
So we'll get into all of that,but before we do, I love our
viewers and listeners to get anidea of our guests on a personal
level, so could you share alittle bit about?
Speaker 3 (03:01):
Tracy, absolutely so, bernadette, I never expected to
do what I'm doingprofessionally and what I'm
doing now.
I grew up in upstate New York,had, you know, a very prim and
proper mother and father and Ithought I would be teaching
school and stay at home mom partof the time, and I actually
(03:24):
fell in love with challenges.
And it started at an early agefor me, where I you know
everything I did if my familywas really big in tennis, I
wanted to do somethingcompletely opposite because it
was different and hard, and Iwent to.
My first real outing of that iswhen I went to college and I
went to an engineering school,even though I didn't want to be
(03:45):
an engineer.
It was up in really coldupstate New York in a town,
clarkson University, where itwas six males to every one
female and very few of us thatwere in the management classes,
and I really, really fell inlove with taking on challenges
(04:06):
and throughout my career,whether it be in retail or then
I got into, through retail,being good in retail.
I had to.
I got recruited into wirelesswhen it came to, you know,
cellular technology and how doyou make it consumer friendly.
And so I just have always beensomeone who runs and thrives to
challenges in both my personaland my professional life.
(04:30):
I take classes constantly.
I am one during the pandemicand we're going through a merger
acquisition.
I'm taking Spanish because 70%of my team spoke Spanish.
You are.
I'm always taking classes.
I'm always challenging myselfto do something different.
I have participated in atriathlon, a mini triathlon, and
(04:52):
I am not really, I would say,active athletic ability, but I'm
always doing something and Ijust love a challenge.
And I'm not working, I'm withfamily, I'm at a beach and I'm
giving back.
I most recently am very excitedabout the fact that I just got
a name to be on the board forWorldwide Dress for Success,
(05:16):
which is really giving back toindividuals who have had a hard
time and helping themre-acclimate into the business
world.
And it's not just aboutclothing, it's really about all
of getting somebody's mentalwellbeing, health wellbeing,
physical and getting themconfident to get back into the
workplace to be able to takecare of themselves.
(05:38):
So I'm super excited about that.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
That's absolutely beautiful and thank you so much
for doing that.
Thank you so much for doingthat, because serving that
community, but serving as awhole, just makes us better
people, humans and even leaders,wouldn't you agree?
Speaker 3 (05:58):
I do.
I feel like I've been veryfortunate with some great
mentors and sponsors which Ididn't even know what a sponsor
was for a long time who put mein uncomfort zones or pushed me
hard, both personally andprofessionally whether it be a
coach that got me to do thetriathlon, or whether it be Ron
(06:19):
Boylan who put me in front of aCEO before I thought I was ever
ready to present to one.
But those being able to giveback to me is what is so
critically important in what Ido.
So it's one thing to lead, butanother to give back.
That is where my passion is.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
That's sweet.
Now, based on all of that, Ihave a number of questions I'd
love to ask about.
We are talking about someonethriving through transformative
times, and we'll get into,certainly, that with your role
at Humana and you know your pastwork that you've done in
mergers, acquisitions and justchaos overall.
(07:01):
But before we do, let's go backto your love for education, or
your love for learning.
What role does that play in aprofessional's career and their
success when it comes toleadership?
Speaker 3 (07:21):
Well, bernadette, the one thing I've learned as a
leader is you're not perfect andyou always need to challenge
yourself to learn.
Some people you know reach it.
I remember the first time Ireached a VP level and I went
back to take a basictelecommunications course and
then I followed it up by apersonal development class,
(07:43):
which I asked for 360 feedback.
And when people hear 360feedback, the first thing that
they do is, oh, I don't want todo one of those.
Right, like, oh, I don't wantto hear it, but it is such a
gift to learn how you areperceived because there are so
many times that you don'trealize your impact to others
(08:08):
and what it does to the resultsat the same time that if you're
not constantly learning andconstantly challenging yourself
to learn to be better and showthat vulnerability too, that
you're willing to take thatfeedback, I don't think you get
to.
You know your greatestpotential or your, you know your
(08:30):
organization's greatestpotential, so I like to share.
I always say I cast the shadowof a leader.
I like to try to cast theshadow of a leader and I make it
very public when I'm takingclasses and when I earned a
certificate or that I'm learningSpanish and I'm willing a
certificate or that I'm learningSpanish and I'm willing to be
vulnerable if I have to try tohave a conversation.
I'm really good atunderstanding Spanish, but
(08:52):
speaking it is much harder forme, but, like, that's okay.
That vulnerability is importantin business and in your own
personal development, and isn'tthat?
Speaker 1 (09:02):
an example of setting an example, being a model for
others, you know, especiallythose that do have aspirations
and ambitions and they'reseeking, even though they might
be doing it quietly.
They're seeking for thoseexamples of what should I be
doing, who should I be doing,what you know, where should I be
doing it, why should I be doingit?
And what you're doing sets that, sets that path, sets that
(09:27):
guide for others.
Speaker 3 (09:30):
It's so true and I learned.
The other thing I learned,really, is that I always thought
and I, you know this comes fromthe background, you know, of
how I grew up but, likeeverything, I needed to be
perfect at right.
Like I have that wholeperfection, complex, right, like
you can't show don't, when I'myoung, when I was younger, be
perfect at right.
Like I have that wholeperfection, complex, right.
Like you can't show don't whenI'm young, when I was younger,
in my career, it's like, don'tshow vulnerability, you know,
(09:51):
make sure that you're showing upstrong in that way.
But what I have found is whenyou're human, like when you,
when you show humility andyou're showing that you're
authentic and that you're notperfect, that helps people at
ease and will help them takethose risks and help them
actually buy in, versus lookingat a boss and thinking they're,
(10:13):
you know, trying to be perfectall the time, right, right.
Speaker 1 (10:18):
Now, that's an interesting statement coming
from a woman, right?
Because we're often ingrainedfrom a very early age that we
have to show, you know,so-called strength, you know,
and in the mannerisms of theother gender, where a lot of
(10:38):
times vulnerability is strength.
Speaker 3 (10:41):
It's so true, and I'll give you, like some of my
favorite examples and thingsthat I say when I mentor other
women is so this one.
You know, I grew up in theplease and thank you, and
somebody came to your house, youserve them, whatever.
So I early, you know, again inmy career we would go into a
meeting and the first thing if Iwent up and got a bottle of
(11:04):
water or whatever, I would askthe whole room if they wanted
one and I would serve the wholeroom.
Right, because that's what Idid at home.
Like that's how I learned.
Like you served it, I would goand sit at the table and I would
make sure that I put all mypapers in my little area,
bernadette, like I would onlytake up so much space.
(11:24):
Right, because that's what youdid.
And then I started lookingaround the room and going wait a
minute, the men in the roomthey just get up and get their
own bottle of water, and notjust only men, but a lot of
other successful women weren'tlike serving and being hostess
of the mostest.
They were in there because theywere invited to the meeting.
(11:45):
Like I'm invited, like everyoneelse, I don't have to take care
of anybody else in a businessmeeting.
And when I go in now I spreadmy papers out and I take up my
room around the table and I sayhey, if you're invited to the
meeting, you're not there tohost the meeting, you're there
to participate and be present inthe meeting.
And I learned very early onlike, hey, you got to show that
(12:09):
you own it and it's your spaceas much as anyone else and you
don't have to take care ofeverybody, you don't have to
serve everybody and make sureeverybody's sitting in the right
space.
Like, own it because it's your,you achieved it.
But sometimes that wholeperfectionism and taking care
(12:30):
would come into play and I wouldneed to be very mindful not to
let it take over because you'relooked at differently then.
Speaker 1 (12:37):
Absolutely.
Now what if someone's beenoperating in that mode and you
know, and the audience is thesame, how can they make changes
after they've been accustomed tokind of, you know, being
insubordinate or serving others?
(12:58):
What changes can they make thatare subtle but yet powerful?
Speaker 3 (13:08):
make that are subtle but yet powerful.
So you know, for me I had to do.
I do this before I go into ameeting.
I set in a very intentional.
Now I just don't go into themeeting because it's such a
natural habit to want to do allthose things and if I have
people at my house it's going tobe served and I'm going to do
it.
But when I'm in business it'scompletely different, right?
But I have to have that and Ihave to have it.
Step back and I'm veryintentional on hey, what am I
(13:30):
going to?
Why am I?
Why am I invited to the meeting?
What am I?
What?
You know, obviously I'm here.
I have to tell myself becauseI'm an expert in X, y and Z and
I need to be part of thismeeting.
I'm not here to serve them.
So I like have to do someself-talk and I have to set my
priorities for the meeting,which is like one, two and three
(13:51):
.
And if it's not one, two andthree, then I come out of the
meeting and go.
I kind of failed because I wasdoing all this other stuff.
That doesn't really matter, butit's the way people perceive
you.
That is so like that wholepiece.
And when I was doing it, what Iwas finding is I had other
(14:12):
women and people who would do itin the next meeting with me.
So I might do it in a meetingwith my boss, but then I would
find Angel Gomez or I'd findDiana Vonderheide following what
I was doing and I'm like, no,we can't do that anymore.
Right.
Speaker 1 (14:29):
Yes, you have to carve your path and you have to
own the room, as you say.
I absolutely love thatSelf-talk.
Just vital, wouldn't you say,to just one's growth and sanity
(14:53):
now is the way I've done it.
Speaker 3 (14:54):
But I also was at that whole perfectionist stage
where I used to judge myselfafter every meeting and I was
critically hard.
So you know, I come out of themeeting and go well, that was a
day that you know.
And then I would think of allthe things that went that I
didn't think were I did right,and that is that.
That is not great.
(15:15):
Like I now subscribe to thething called best actual.
Like I go into a meeting, Ihave my three items or so I come
out and say you know what I did?
My best, based on X, y, z, andI move on, because there's so
many people who can do that butso many of us who are, you know,
perfectionism, will sit thereand we will.
(15:36):
We don't thrive when we'relooking backwards and looking at
all the little things Like Isaid too much.
Okay, well, that's something Ican work on going forward, but
it's not being that critical,right.
So that's the other piece of it, and you aren't going to thrive
if you are going through thatnegative self-talk.
Speaker 1 (15:56):
Right, so we have to rid ourselves of the negative
self-talk.
Talk to ourselves veryoptimistically, very uplifting,
because it'll minimize thenegative, wouldn't you say?
Speaker 3 (16:08):
Yes, it's like you move into.
Everyone has strengths andeveryone has weaknesses.
There's no one who is perfectand that that it is okay to show
that you know you beingauthentic and you being you,
like I had to get to that stagewhere I'm Tracy and I am going
(16:28):
to you know I'm going to have alittle fun right, like I am
going to, you know, joke arounda little bit.
I'm still going to accomplishwhat I'm going to do, but I'm
not going to take it soseriously that you know it
becomes debilitating to myselfor not setting the example that
needs to be for others.
(16:48):
And when you are real, peoplewill foul and people will want
to get on board and they'regoing to want to emulate what
you're doing versus not.
Speaker 1 (16:58):
Right, right.
And so what would you say ifthere was someone because I was
that person who was like a robot, very rigid, scared to open up,
scared to be vulnerable?
What would you share as far aswhat they could do easily to
kind of start breaking downthose walls?
Speaker 3 (17:19):
I think, first of all , is it's self-awareness that
you do come across that way,which may take, you know, start
getting some direct feedback.
So again, I go to the like.
One of the first things is isto make sure you're getting that
real honest feedback.
If you ask those that report toyou that you're close to,
they're probably going to tellyou you're perfect, right.
It's when you get feedback fromothers and you know I've had
(17:42):
two different examples that Ithought were excellent.
I had some 360 feedback donewhen I joined Humana, which I
thought, wow, I'd only been withthe company like five months,
four months, and I thought, wow,I'm surprised that they're
investing to do it.
But they did 360 feedback byinterviewing people that worked
(18:03):
with me.
That wasn't just a writtenscenario so they could ask the
tough questions and there were afew things that came back
through that questions and therewere a few things that came
back through that that I thoughtwere really impactful for me.
The other one I thought was areally great technique that
another leader of mine did,which was it's a little out
there, but basically they tookall of the senior vice
(18:27):
presidents and had us rate eachother on our competency and on
our teamwork.
So like, how confident are youin your job and teamwork?
And then they had to say twowords about you, and just two
words.
And then they did a word cloudor those clouds, and then they
(18:47):
rated us so that we could seehow we compared Didn't share it
with everybody, only the top fewgot to see.
You know that they were top few, but it gave me a good feeling
of wow, this is how I'm comingacross to my peers that I need
to work with.
And so also, when you do 360feedback, sometimes you give
(19:08):
them the list of who to call.
I try to say you call who youthink you know and get that
feedback, because you really dowant that honest feedback.
So, number one get feedback.
And then, number two, I don'tchange who I am when I'm at work
and then when I'm at home.
And if you what I find peoplewho are rigid, they're not rigid
(19:31):
all 24-7, right.
So just be yourself like, bringa little bit of that fun into
the workplace and remember thatit's not all about you.
And I say that often and I, youknow, I think I'm a pretty, you
know, humble individual.
(19:51):
I, you know, I think I'm apretty, you know, humble
individual but when you have aleadership title, people don't
see you as humble and you needto make sure that you bring that
forward and it may just be bythanking people every once in a
while for a great job Well done.
We always go to the next thingand thanking, like I did it this
morning on a call the call wasjust about to end Bernadette,
(20:13):
there was probably 50 people.
It was kind of just a half anhour kind of readiness call.
That another group does, not inmy org but it's
cross-functional and at the endof it I just took a minute to
thank the leader who had beenrunning this meeting for the
last four weeks to say you,missy, you're doing an
incredible job.
(20:34):
I thank you for holding thismeeting.
It's very valuable.
I know I doubted it in thebeginning, but I just think that
you're doing a great job and Ithink it takes people off guard
sometimes that I take that time,but like that meant a lot to
her, it meant a lot to me andit's just.
It makes, it just brings thathumbleness.
(20:56):
So you're not shown as so rigidthat you actually do care.
Speaker 1 (21:00):
Right, and again, you're modeling, you're modeling
, you're modeling how others canalso step up and kind of start
breaking down those walls andbuilding really good connections
and relationships with others.
I absolutely love that.
Well, I definitely want to getinto kind of our conversation
(21:21):
around transformative times, butyou also mentioned the fact
that you didn't know whatmentors and sponsors were when
you were coming up through theranks.
Mentors and sponsors were whenyou were coming up through the
ranks, so I can't overlook thatcomment you made for them to
hear it straight from someone ina senior vice president
position as to what are mentorsand sponsors and why are they
(21:44):
important to any professional.
Listening to this.
Speaker 3 (21:48):
I'm so glad you asked this because I grew up thinking
that you go find a mentor andyou ask that person to be your
mentor and they are supposed tohelp you with your career.
I have and I've been asked andI get asked all the time can you
mentor me?
Can you mentor me?
(22:09):
And I do it on one stipulationnow and, as I mentioned, I have
like a group of women that Ilove to mentor and have time to
talk and give back.
But a mentor is someone who isthere for your career advice.
But I have to mention I havethis one mentor who, bernadette,
(22:29):
he was so afraid to ask me tomentor him.
He was, you know, a frontlinemanager in an organization.
He went to HR and said I wouldlove Tracy to mentor me, but I
don't even know how to approachher on it.
So the head of HR brought himto me and he said to me Tracy, I
really would like you to mentorme.
(22:50):
I'm only asking for 30 minutesevery quarter and I promise that
I'm going to add value to youas much as you add value to me.
And I was like this isinteresting.
So, bernadette, I use hisexample all the time because
every meeting I have with him.
(23:11):
He starts with hey, let me giveyou an update on what I'm doing
and how my role is.
He also creates, you know, hiscalendar for the year or his
goals for the year, and he showsboth personal and professional
goals and shows the path in,like where he wants to go.
(23:34):
And then he gives me here'swhat I'm doing to achieve it.
So he's just asking me foraffirmation that he's on the
path and maybe a question or two, and then he ends the call with
hey, you're the SVP of thisorganization and here's two or
three ideas that I think canimprove the overall culture, the
(23:57):
operations.
Like he always brings me someinformation too and we get on
the phone and I'm telling you hehas it timed and he doesn't
ever go over.
He ends one minute ahead oftime, like it's 1.29, tracy,
we're done, unless I asked toextend it and I got to tell you
(24:18):
I've watched him have threedifferent career, you know, move
up three times within the lastfour years.
I've watched him buy a home,start a side business.
Like he has really shown what atrue mentorship is, because
it's not like hey, someone'sgoing to own my own career,
you're really giving advice Asponsor to me I think of I
(24:42):
mentioned Ron Boylett, who wasearly in my career who sees
potential in you that maybe youdon't see in yourself and is
willing to take a risk and putyou in positions that you go.
I don't know if I'm really readyfor that role.
I don't know if I'm reallyready, like I don't see myself
(25:03):
there, but they are willing totake you and put you in a
position or give you almostbelieve in you more than you
believe in yourself.
And I there are many times thatI've had a role and gone.
I don't like when I turned fromsales into operations and I, I
was like I don't know if I cando that, and I had people who
(25:25):
who believed in me and then werethere, you know, to advise if
needed.
But I just look at a sponsor assomeone you don't ask for.
They find you because they seethe potential and they see the
job that you're doing now.
And if you're not finding thosepeople, then you need to really
look at yourself and say, well,why not?
(25:48):
You know, like, why isn'tsomebody willing to sponsor me?
And that's where you reallytake that look at yourself on
owning your career, becauseyou're the only one, that
everybody else can give youadvice and help you and mentor
you.
But you need to own your careerand I see too many people today
who think their bosses or theirleaders own that.
(26:10):
Own their career.
Speaker 1 (26:11):
Right, as if someone's going to come along
and tap them on the shoulder andbe like oh okay, all right, not
sure what you do or how you'redoing it, but okay, and it's not
the way it happens.
Speaker 2 (26:22):
It's not the way it happens.
Speaker 1 (26:23):
I absolutely, absolutely love, love, love that
.
So thank you for that.
So, turning to our turbulenttimes and what leaders really
need to do.
So what do you see?
With all the vast experiencethat you've had, what have you
seen to be the most criticalleadership skills that someone
(26:49):
needs to have today, especiallyto work through some, you know,
very trying times?
Speaker 3 (26:56):
I think I'm going to surprise you by this answer, and
I truly mean this, and I willgive you multiple examples of it
.
Everybody always will ask mewhat my strategic plan is Like.
Tracy, are you putting togetheryour five-year strategic plan?
What's your three-yearstrategic plan Like?
What is your like?
Everybody looks at that and,bernadette, the thing that I
(27:19):
would say has been my success inevery turbulent times and I
will tell you what they are iswhat I call the six success
ingredients, and it's very basic.
It's trust, integrity,commitment, execution and
resiliency, and the right people.
And why I say that is I havefound that the foundation of
(27:45):
everything that you can do isbuilt on those key elements, and
it's not one way.
And you know those key elementsand it's not one way.
And you know I'll tell you acouple quick stories.
So we were in a frontiercellular.
We were at a point where weneeded a real culture change and
we needed to be able to reallysurpass what we saw our
(28:07):
competitors doing.
And I was head of sales andParman DeFeo was head of
customer service, and our CEOsaid the two of you get together
and start a culture program.
And so Carmen and I, thecheerleaders, get together and
we're like, hey, we're going todo this.
Kaizen, you know 10 keys ofpositive change and you know
(28:28):
you're either moving forward,you're not moving backwards.
You know you're always movingforward.
You're never moving backwards.
You know you're always movingforward.
You're never standing still,all these things.
We came up with these crazysayings, thoughts, and then we
went and we put together likewe're going to have, we're going
to make key chains and we'regoing to put posters on the wall
and we're going to rah-rah andhave this kickoff.
So before we did that, we got agroup of cross-functional
(28:50):
teammates frontline employees,managers, directors, put them
all in a room and we were allexcited Carmen and I are going
to go roll this thing out.
And we went in and when we wentin and we started telling them
all about it, we stopped and theteam said, hey, that's all
great, but that's not going tochange how we're doing things
(29:11):
today.
You can put up all the postersyou want, you can put up all
those things, but until we trustmanagement and management
trusts us, we're not going to bethere.
Until we see you executing,we're not going to execute to
our best.
We aren't, you know, once wesee you all working together as
(29:31):
a team, then we will, and wewant to give you feedback on
those things.
And it was a big light that wentoff for me on the overall
importance of the key foundationof any business and not too
much longer.
You know, we started doingextremely well.
(29:52):
Then we were bought out, sowe're going through turbulent
times.
That was when Bellinic Mobileand Verizon actually came in and
bought our piece of upstate NewYork organization and they made
me president of thisorganization.
And that's when I was like, wow, I now run all of it, not just
sales, and we were going throughnew benefit changes, new name
(30:16):
changes, like we were goingthrough more turbulent times.
And, bernadette, I establishedwhat was a two-way communication
, which was I just opened abridge and I said, hey, I'm
going to have a bridge openevery week for an hour, said,
hey, I'm going to have a bridgeopen every week for an hour.
I'll give you a 15-minuteupdate on what's happening from
(30:38):
the you know for the transitionand what's happening there.
The rest is for you.
And at first, the first week, Ihad very few comments and I
just sat there.
I said I'm just going to sithere until we start having some
open, honest conversation.
This went on for a couple ofweeks and it got to the point
where people were telling me hey, trace, my medical coverage
isn't working.
It wasn't all about workquestions about how to take care
(31:03):
of members or customers.
A lot of this was about thingsthat were impacting them as we
were going through it, which wasthen impacting our you know our
overall results.
And then I had someone whoasked me we got to a point where
people were really open andhonest and they say hey, trace,
are there going to be layoffs?
And I'd say, you know what?
(31:23):
I don't know of any today, butI can't guarantee that in the
future.
And we would just have like ifthere was a question they asked
that was a legal question Icouldn't answer, I'd say, hey, I
don't know and I can't answerthat.
So I started showingvulnerability.
I showed that I was part of thegroup, I wasn't the president,
I was with them and we weregoing to solve this world
(31:45):
together.
And that year we were numberone out of all the 21 regions
that Verizon had.
We were number one inyear-over-year growth and we
were number one inyear-over-year profitability.
And we went through three namechanges in a very short period
of time.
I have repeated that in almostthat full process of
(32:07):
establishing the key foundationsor underpinnings of the
business, before even bringingout a strategic plan, of getting
the team to rally.
And the most recent one, priorto coming to Humana, was when
Sprint and T-Mobile mergedduring COVID.
We closed the largest US closed, the largest US
(32:37):
telecommunications merger everwe did.
During COVID.
I was head of all of salesoperations for Sprint.
We were merging with T-Mobile.
I had about 12,000 peoplereporting to me and I'm merging
them in the middle of a pandemicand we continue to see T-Mobile
and the new company thrive.
But it all started with let'sget grounded on what are the key
(33:01):
fundamentals of the business,of how we're going to operate
establishing trust at all levelsof the organization,
establishing open communications, establishing what it is going
to be to execute and so on.
And so to me, culture can belooked at as kind of one of
(33:22):
those warm and fuzzy scenarios.
It truly isn't.
It is the foundation of how wework and that is what has worked
for me in turbulent times, andI always say until you're real
and people really understand andtrust you, now do I think
everybody who's worked for me?
(33:43):
Bernadette loves me.
Do I think everybody alwaysagrees with me?
Absolutely not, but I dobelieve that people who I've
even had to let go look at meand say she was fair, she was,
you know, someone at that pointthat I could trust, and you know
that openness is reallycritical to all businesses.
Speaker 1 (34:06):
Right, and that's what you mean, because I've read
it in multiple places when yousay going beyond posters and
PowerPoint.
Right, yes, yes.
Speaker 3 (34:16):
Everybody thinks that's the answer.
Right, like that's the answer.
Like I roll my eyes, which isterrible, when people say, oh,
here, put this.
You know, here's our corevalues.
Put it on your key chain orit's your screensaver.
Like, it's not about that.
Speaker 1 (34:35):
Right, right, right.
So can you repeat for ourlisteners those six fundamentals
?
Speaker 3 (34:40):
Yes.
So trust, integrity, commitment, execution, teamwork and the
right people.
And when I mean that Iliterally will do this, when I
take over an organization, thefirst thing I do is I go around
the room in my head and say do I, can I trust everyone in the
(35:01):
room?
And do I think what do I haveto do to build trust with that?
Like, how do I build that trust?
Are they committed to the goalsand the company and our
customers and our employees andshareholders?
Like, do I think that?
Are they?
You know, are they committed?
Do they have integrity in whatthey do?
(35:22):
Like I literally go throughthat and that's how I kind of
determine my leadership team andthat's how I coach to those to
make sure that we're all there.
And it's as much coaching to mebecause I, most recently when I
joined real interesting, when Ijoined Humana I mean it's a
completely different industrythan telecom.
I had never worked inhealthcare before and, a matter
(35:45):
of fact, it's the first rolesince college that someone
didn't, I didn't know someone inthe company I joined.
So it's the first time that Iwent in and when I went in,
bernadette and I'm, you know, anolder, older leader, like I'm
not.
You know, I'm not a springchicken.
I mean I've been.
(36:05):
I've been working for a longtime and I walked into this
organization that knew nothingabout Tracy Nolan.
They didn't know anything abouthow I worked, what I did
Everywhere else.
Somebody kind of knew who I wasbecause I went to work where
someone else who knew me.
So I had to really rethinkabout how do I establish trust
with people?
How do I establish, how do Iknow that they think that you
(36:26):
know my integrity is forefrontin all that I do?
How did I know that I wasreally truly about execution and
about teamwork and not aboutwhat Tracy does?
But how do I make sure thatthey know I want them to shine
right?
So it really truly does help meout.
But I had a big reality,stepping into a different
(36:47):
industry and a differentorganization, and then you know
we have done really well,thriving through a lot of change
within the healthcare industrytoo.
Speaker 1 (36:59):
And did you kind of take that same approach with
these six fundamentals, withjust building slowly, providing
that open forum for people?
Speaker 3 (37:10):
to talk with you.
I mean I still do To this day.
I remember people saying whydoes she do these roundtables?
Because I stay connected to thefolks who I believe there's
really two types of people in anorganization those that work
with our customers every day andthen those who work for those
(37:33):
that work for customers.
So I don't like to think I kindof think of it as a backwards
organization, like the mostimportant people in the
organization are those that aretouching our customers every
single day and that's where thetruth of what really is
happening goes on, right.
So I you know when I walked inthere was not a lot of that kind
(37:55):
of communication and I see thatin every organization I've
taken on, like the frontline,knowing and getting to know what
their problems are are criticalto the success of the business,
because those problems arethose of our customers, or of
them trying to take care of ourcustomers right customers, or of
(38:21):
them trying to take care of ourcustomers right.
I do town halls I am veryinvolved in, you know.
Smaller group, you know.
Talk with Tracy.
I have an open communicationline, that is, an email, direct
access to me for anyone in thecompany to send a message to me
about anything that is going on.
That is a concern.
Now I try to say, hey, if it'san HR issue, go to HR, but if
it's anything else, let me know,because if you send me an HR
(38:44):
issue, I'm probably going tohave HR get involved, but it's
not to tell on.
It's really not to tell on whatother you know their leaders,
are doing.
And I say leaders, this is ouremail, this is our way of
knowing what's going on.
No, yeah, I absolutely,absolutely love that and would
you say, that is how managers toleaders can really help to
(39:12):
create positive can really helpto create positive,
transformative cultures, asopposed to just the status quo,
absolutely Getting, I think, oneof the things that leaders
leaders like to take on problemsand try to solve them all
themselves.
And there's only so much withina control, within your own
(39:34):
control, and you really need tofocus on those things, that much
within your own control.
And you really need to focus onthose things that are within
your control and do themexcellently.
And then, when you see issuesthat are rising, you need to
make sure that you're bringingthem up, because so many times
like, hearing about it from acustomer is the wrong place to
(39:55):
hear it from.
We need to hear from ourleaders.
A customer is the wrong placeto hear it from.
We need to hear from ourleaders, and a great leader who
is going to move and advance inthe organization is someone who
spots those but also will helpus figure out how to come.
Like here's maybe a, here's acouple of possible solutions to
that problem, right?
So many times I hear, well, wecan't do this, we can't.
I don't really want to hearabout what we can't.
(40:17):
I want to hear about here's theopportunity that we have that
is not working for our customerstoday or our consumers today,
and there are things that youknow that we aren't going to be
able to change, but there iscertainly a lot out there that
we can improve every single day.
And if we ever get toocomfortable that there isn't
(40:38):
something like I say, fall inlove with problems, that's the
other thing.
I say, like fall in love withthe problems, like that's what
we should be focused on and thatwill make it so much better, a
better place to work, a lot morefun, and you know it's so much
better for a better place towork, a lot more fun, and you
know it's so much better for ouroverall customers in any
(41:00):
industry anywhere.
Speaker 1 (41:01):
Absolutely, absolutely.
And would you say that that'salso a kind of a compass that
you share when it comes tomentoring others?
To take risks and putthemselves out there, look for
those opportunities to solveproblems, take on new challenges
.
Speaker 3 (41:21):
Absolutely.
And, bernadette, I've seen somany people who have been afraid
to take a risk and at one point, when I was with one company
and I made a decision to leave,even without another role,
because it was right for myfamily, which you know we didn't
get into balance but like,that's something I'm not great
(41:42):
at, but like, at one point Imade a decision and I got told,
you know, you will never findanother job at the same level,
at the same pay, that is as goodas this.
And I will tell you pay that isas good as this.
And I will tell you I'vethrived because I've been
willing to take risks and I'vebeen because you know what.
If you believe in yourself asmuch as mentor or you know
(42:06):
mentors look to you and you knowand others you know, those that
have taken risks for you.
Look at yourself You're goingto be just fine and you're going
to thrive when you arechallenged.
You're not going to thrive whenyou sit back and get too
comfortable in what you're doing, and life is a lot more fun
(42:28):
when you challenge yourself.
Speaker 1 (42:30):
Yeah, oh, absolutely, and solve those problems and
yeah, yeah, and learn new thingsand get the education Until the
day I die.
I want to be learning.
I want to be making sure that Iam never in a position where I
think I know it all, becausethat's just boring.
Speaker 3 (42:47):
It is.
My husband will keep saying tome okay, trey, so now we're in
2025.
You got two certificates lastyear, the year before you went
away to Harvard for a week forbecause you wanted to do this
woman's on board scenario Likewhat is it you're going to do
for 2025?
And I'm like I still have theend, till the end of January to
(43:08):
decide what I'm going to be.
More than one or two thingsLike.
I definitely am challengingmyself Because, to your point,
like it is, you know, the worldaround us is not standing still
and if you're not engaging andlearning more, especially with
things like AI and all that'scoming out, risk governance and
(43:29):
in businesses and that risk is agood thing I mean risk taking
should not be thought of as, youknow, something bad.
Actually, taking risks can turninto something incredibly
wonderful.
You just need to be able tomonitor it and you need to be
able to, you know, to coursecorrect and make changes as you
(43:50):
go.
And that's with life and that'swith your career.
Speaker 1 (43:54):
Absolutely so.
If there was one thing that youwould about everything we've
talked about, that you wouldtell a you know professional
right now, that they should goout and start focusing on in
order for them to reallytransform their leadership, what
would you tell them?
Speaker 3 (44:14):
Okay, I know you asked for one, but I'm going to
give you two, if that's okay,bernadette.
Number one is, I'd say, run toopportunities with significant
change.
So many people back away fromthose things that are like, ooh,
transformation office.
I'd never want to do that, Iwould never like run to those
opportunities, because you canmake the biggest significant
(44:39):
difference when you take onthose challenges and you know
what it's like a puzzleFoundation, because that can
make or break leadership success, not only for your organization
but for you too, and thatconstant reminder that we are
(45:05):
not perfect.
We should be constantlylearning.
So thank you for letting meshare those two items with you,
janice.
Speaker 1 (45:12):
Absolutely.
This has been fabulous,fabulous, fabulous.
We could talk forever, we couldjust go.
Speaker 3 (45:20):
Bernadette, I think we could absolutely do that and
I am so pleased that you allowedme to join you on your show
today to just talk a little bitabout some of my experiences and
give back just a little bit.
Speaker 1 (45:34):
Yeah, and give back tremendously and I so appreciate
it.
So, everyone, please check outeverything about Tracy.
Be sure to follow her also onLinkedIn and it'll be Tracy E
Nolan on LinkedIn and, of course, instagram.
Little different, littledifferent.
Look for and then follow her onInstagram at 10binarski and
(45:57):
you'll be able to see everythingelse that she's up to there.
But so great, I am so pleasedthat you're with us today, tracy
.
Thank you so much.
Speaker 3 (46:08):
Thank you, Bernadette .
Have a fabulous day today.
Speaker 1 (46:11):
You too.
You too, I don't even knowwhere to start.
There was so much goodness inthat conversation with
powerhouse Tracy Nolan.
Currently she's the senior vicepresident at Humana, but has
held some significant roles inher past that have garnered her
the tremendous insights, thetremendous tips and experiences
(46:35):
that she shared with us, and itwas fabulous.
But what I really really tookaway from all of it was just how
everything she embodies isabout modeling strong leadership
, bold leadership, authenticleadership to those around her.
In everything that sheexplained, everything was about
(46:58):
ensuring that she's showing upas the individual, as the woman,
as the leader that she wantsothers to be as well, and it was
just absolutely fabulous.
She talked about taking risks,going after bold opportunities,
seeking out mentors and sponsors, having those critical
(47:19):
leadership skills that will helpyou get through any type of
challenge, chaos or eventransformation.
The list goes on and on, sodefinitely go back and listen to
it again and, if you didn'thave your notepad, bring it out,
share it with your team membersand even kind of have a
gathering lunch and learn toboth listen to the conversation
(47:42):
that I had as well as make noteand discuss some of the tips and
the ideas that she shared inregards to how you can be really
fostering the type of culturethat will help everyone rise up
and really be the leader thatyour people, business and self
want to be in order to besuccessful in all aspects of
(48:06):
life.
I absolutely love thisconversation and I so appreciate
Tracy being with us in thatregard.
If you have any questions orneed support over and beyond
what we talked about today, thenfeel free to book a call with
me.
Go to coachmebernadettecom.
Forward slash discovery call andlet's have a brief conversation
and let me provide you sometips, strategies and some
(48:27):
guidance as to how you can bemoving forward to be in that
powerhouse leader you're meantto be.
And don't forget, be sure tofollow this show so you don't
miss out on any of ourconversations with these
unbelievable guests.
So follow us atballoffirecoachingcom.
Forward slash podcast.
I'll look forward to having youand seeing you for another
(48:48):
episode of Shedding theCorporate Bitch.
Bye.
Speaker 2 (48:51):
Thank you for tuning into today's episode of Shedding
the Corporate Bitch.
Every journey taken together isanother step towards Bye
YouTube channel.
Want to dive deeper withBernadette on becoming a
(49:13):
powerhouse leader?
Visit balloffirecoachingcom tolearn more about how she helps
professionals, hr executives andteam leaders elevate overall
team performance.
You've been listening toShedding the Corporate Bitch
with Bernadette Boas.
Until next time, keep shedding,keep growing and keep leading.
How comfortable are you being authentically you in
the workplace and modeling toyour team members how to be true
to themselves through your ownbehavior and actions?
Today's episode is all aboutthriving as your authentic self
during transformative times.
Tracy Nolan, senior VicePresident at Humana, is a
(00:35):
powerhouse Fortune 50 seniorexecutive and board member who
have been at the helm of some ofthe most challenging and
rewarding transformations inmodern history.
From leading through thehistoric Sprint-T-Mobile merger
during the chaos of COVID tospearheading hurricane relief in
Puerto Rico.
To spearheading HurricaneRelief in Puerto Rico, tracy has
proven time and time again thatresilience and authenticity are
the keys to impactfulleadership.
In this episode, tracy shareswhy women don't have to choose
between compassion and strength,and how embracing both makes
(00:59):
you a more impactful leader.
The critical leadership skillsneeded to navigate large-scale
crises and transformations, aswell as how to build a strong,
actionable culture that drivesresults far beyond PowerPoints
and posters, and the power oftaking risks, leaning into
change and believing in yourselfto grow your career and your
(01:22):
team.
If you've ever wondered how tolead authentically while driving
transformation, trace'sinsights will inspire and
challenge you to embrace boldopportunities.
So grab your notebook and getready to thrive.
Stay with us.
Speaker 2 (01:39):
Welcome to Shedding the Corporate Bitch, the podcast
that transforms today'smanagers into tomorrow's
powerhouse leaders.
Your host, bernadette Boas,executive coach and author,
brings you into a world wherethe corporate grind meets
personal growth and success ineach and every episode.
With more than 25 years incorporate trenches, bernadette's
own journey from beingdismissed as a tyrant boss to
(02:00):
becoming a sought-afterleadership coach and speaker
illustrates the very essence oftransformation that she now
inspires in others with her tips, strategies and stories.
So if you're ready to shed thebitches of fear and insecurity,
ditch the imposter syndrome andstep into the role of the
powerhouse leader you were bornto be, this podcast is for you.
Let's do this, tracy, how areyou?
(02:20):
Welcome, welcome welcome.
Speaker 1 (02:23):
Let's do this Tracy how are you Welcome, welcome,
welcome.
Speaker 3 (02:25):
Thank you, Bernadette .
It's great to be here with you.
Speaker 1 (02:28):
I've been looking forward to this so thank you for
making time to have me on yourshow.
I am too, because I reallythink it is critical nowadays
for a very busy, chaoticbusiness professionals to really
understand what it takes, whatit really really takes to thrive
in their career and have thetype of career and life that
(02:49):
they want and that they'redreaming of.
So we'll get into all of that,but before we do, I love our
viewers and listeners to get anidea of our guests on a personal
level, so could you share alittle bit about?
Speaker 3 (03:01):
Tracy, absolutely so, bernadette, I never expected to
do what I'm doingprofessionally and what I'm
doing now.
I grew up in upstate New York,had, you know, a very prim and
proper mother and father and Ithought I would be teaching
school and stay at home mom partof the time, and I actually
(03:24):
fell in love with challenges.
And it started at an early agefor me, where I you know
everything I did if my familywas really big in tennis, I
wanted to do somethingcompletely opposite because it
was different and hard, and Iwent to.
My first real outing of that iswhen I went to college and I
went to an engineering school,even though I didn't want to be
(03:45):
an engineer.
It was up in really coldupstate New York in a town,
clarkson University, where itwas six males to every one
female and very few of us thatwere in the management classes,
and I really, really fell inlove with taking on challenges
(04:06):
and throughout my career,whether it be in retail or then
I got into, through retail,being good in retail.
I had to.
I got recruited into wirelesswhen it came to, you know,
cellular technology and how doyou make it consumer friendly.
And so I just have always beensomeone who runs and thrives to
challenges in both my personaland my professional life.
(04:30):
I take classes constantly.
I am one during the pandemicand we're going through a merger
acquisition.
I'm taking Spanish because 70%of my team spoke Spanish.
You are.
I'm always taking classes.
I'm always challenging myselfto do something different.
I have participated in atriathlon, a mini triathlon, and
(04:52):
I am not really, I would say,active athletic ability, but I'm
always doing something and Ijust love a challenge.
And I'm not working, I'm withfamily, I'm at a beach and I'm
giving back.
I most recently am very excitedabout the fact that I just got
a name to be on the board forWorldwide Dress for Success,
(05:16):
which is really giving back toindividuals who have had a hard
time and helping themre-acclimate into the business
world.
And it's not just aboutclothing, it's really about all
of getting somebody's mentalwellbeing, health wellbeing,
physical and getting themconfident to get back into the
workplace to be able to takecare of themselves.
(05:38):
So I'm super excited about that.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
That's absolutely beautiful and thank you so much
for doing that.
Thank you so much for doingthat, because serving that
community, but serving as awhole, just makes us better
people, humans and even leaders,wouldn't you agree?
Speaker 3 (05:58):
I do.
I feel like I've been veryfortunate with some great
mentors and sponsors which Ididn't even know what a sponsor
was for a long time who put mein uncomfort zones or pushed me
hard, both personally andprofessionally whether it be a
coach that got me to do thetriathlon, or whether it be Ron
(06:19):
Boylan who put me in front of aCEO before I thought I was ever
ready to present to one.
But those being able to giveback to me is what is so
critically important in what Ido.
So it's one thing to lead, butanother to give back.
That is where my passion is.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
That's sweet.
Now, based on all of that, Ihave a number of questions I'd
love to ask about.
We are talking about someonethriving through transformative
times, and we'll get into,certainly, that with your role
at Humana and you know your pastwork that you've done in
mergers, acquisitions and justchaos overall.
(07:01):
But before we do, let's go backto your love for education, or
your love for learning.
What role does that play in aprofessional's career and their
success when it comes toleadership?
Speaker 3 (07:21):
Well, bernadette, the one thing I've learned as a
leader is you're not perfect andyou always need to challenge
yourself to learn.
Some people you know reach it.
I remember the first time Ireached a VP level and I went
back to take a basictelecommunications course and
then I followed it up by apersonal development class,
(07:43):
which I asked for 360 feedback.
And when people hear 360feedback, the first thing that
they do is, oh, I don't want todo one of those.
Right, like, oh, I don't wantto hear it, but it is such a
gift to learn how you areperceived because there are so
many times that you don'trealize your impact to others
(08:08):
and what it does to the resultsat the same time that if you're
not constantly learning andconstantly challenging yourself
to learn to be better and showthat vulnerability too, that
you're willing to take thatfeedback, I don't think you get
to.
You know your greatestpotential or your, you know your
(08:30):
organization's greatestpotential, so I like to share.
I always say I cast the shadowof a leader.
I like to try to cast theshadow of a leader and I make it
very public when I'm takingclasses and when I earned a
certificate or that I'm learningSpanish and I'm willing a
certificate or that I'm learningSpanish and I'm willing to be
vulnerable if I have to try tohave a conversation.
I'm really good atunderstanding Spanish, but
(08:52):
speaking it is much harder forme, but, like, that's okay.
That vulnerability is importantin business and in your own
personal development, and isn'tthat?
Speaker 1 (09:02):
an example of setting an example, being a model for
others, you know, especiallythose that do have aspirations
and ambitions and they'reseeking, even though they might
be doing it quietly.
They're seeking for thoseexamples of what should I be
doing, who should I be doing,what you know, where should I be
doing it, why should I be doingit?
And what you're doing sets that, sets that path, sets that
(09:27):
guide for others.
Speaker 3 (09:30):
It's so true and I learned.
The other thing I learned,really, is that I always thought
and I, you know this comes fromthe background, you know, of
how I grew up but, likeeverything, I needed to be
perfect at right.
Like I have that wholeperfection, complex, right, like
you can't show don't, when I'myoung, when I was younger, be
perfect at right.
Like I have that wholeperfection, complex, right.
Like you can't show don't whenI'm young, when I was younger,
in my career, it's like, don'tshow vulnerability, you know,
(09:51):
make sure that you're showing upstrong in that way.
But what I have found is whenyou're human, like when you,
when you show humility andyou're showing that you're
authentic and that you're notperfect, that helps people at
ease and will help them takethose risks and help them
actually buy in, versus lookingat a boss and thinking they're,
(10:13):
you know, trying to be perfectall the time, right, right.
Speaker 1 (10:18):
Now, that's an interesting statement coming
from a woman, right?
Because we're often ingrainedfrom a very early age that we
have to show, you know,so-called strength, you know,
and in the mannerisms of theother gender, where a lot of
(10:38):
times vulnerability is strength.
Speaker 3 (10:41):
It's so true, and I'll give you, like some of my
favorite examples and thingsthat I say when I mentor other
women is so this one.
You know, I grew up in theplease and thank you, and
somebody came to your house, youserve them, whatever.
So I early, you know, again inmy career we would go into a
meeting and the first thing if Iwent up and got a bottle of
(11:04):
water or whatever, I would askthe whole room if they wanted
one and I would serve the wholeroom.
Right, because that's what Idid at home.
Like that's how I learned.
Like you served it, I would goand sit at the table and I would
make sure that I put all mypapers in my little area,
bernadette, like I would onlytake up so much space.
(11:24):
Right, because that's what youdid.
And then I started lookingaround the room and going wait a
minute, the men in the roomthey just get up and get their
own bottle of water, and notjust only men, but a lot of
other successful women weren'tlike serving and being hostess
of the mostest.
They were in there because theywere invited to the meeting.
(11:45):
Like I'm invited, like everyoneelse, I don't have to take care
of anybody else in a businessmeeting.
And when I go in now I spreadmy papers out and I take up my
room around the table and I sayhey, if you're invited to the
meeting, you're not there tohost the meeting, you're there
to participate and be present inthe meeting.
And I learned very early onlike, hey, you got to show that
(12:09):
you own it and it's your spaceas much as anyone else and you
don't have to take care ofeverybody, you don't have to
serve everybody and make sureeverybody's sitting in the right
space.
Like, own it because it's your,you achieved it.
But sometimes that wholeperfectionism and taking care
(12:30):
would come into play and I wouldneed to be very mindful not to
let it take over because you'relooked at differently then.
Speaker 1 (12:37):
Absolutely.
Now what if someone's beenoperating in that mode and you
know, and the audience is thesame, how can they make changes
after they've been accustomed tokind of, you know, being
insubordinate or serving others?
(12:58):
What changes can they make thatare subtle but yet powerful?
Speaker 3 (13:08):
make that are subtle but yet powerful.
So you know, for me I had to do.
I do this before I go into ameeting.
I set in a very intentional.
Now I just don't go into themeeting because it's such a
natural habit to want to do allthose things and if I have
people at my house it's going tobe served and I'm going to do
it.
But when I'm in business it'scompletely different, right?
But I have to have that and Ihave to have it.
Step back and I'm veryintentional on hey, what am I
(13:30):
going to?
Why am I?
Why am I invited to the meeting?
What am I?
What?
You know, obviously I'm here.
I have to tell myself becauseI'm an expert in X, y and Z and
I need to be part of thismeeting.
I'm not here to serve them.
So I like have to do someself-talk and I have to set my
priorities for the meeting,which is like one, two and three
(13:51):
.
And if it's not one, two andthree, then I come out of the
meeting and go.
I kind of failed because I wasdoing all this other stuff.
That doesn't really matter, butit's the way people perceive
you.
That is so like that wholepiece.
And when I was doing it, what Iwas finding is I had other
(14:12):
women and people who would do itin the next meeting with me.
So I might do it in a meetingwith my boss, but then I would
find Angel Gomez or I'd findDiana Vonderheide following what
I was doing and I'm like, no,we can't do that anymore.
Right.
Speaker 1 (14:29):
Yes, you have to carve your path and you have to
own the room, as you say.
I absolutely love thatSelf-talk.
Just vital, wouldn't you say,to just one's growth and sanity
(14:53):
now is the way I've done it.
Speaker 3 (14:54):
But I also was at that whole perfectionist stage
where I used to judge myselfafter every meeting and I was
critically hard.
So you know, I come out of themeeting and go well, that was a
day that you know.
And then I would think of allthe things that went that I
didn't think were I did right,and that is that.
That is not great.
(15:15):
Like I now subscribe to thething called best actual.
Like I go into a meeting, Ihave my three items or so I come
out and say you know what I did?
My best, based on X, y, z, andI move on, because there's so
many people who can do that butso many of us who are, you know,
perfectionism, will sit thereand we will.
(15:36):
We don't thrive when we'relooking backwards and looking at
all the little things Like Isaid too much.
Okay, well, that's something Ican work on going forward, but
it's not being that critical,right.
So that's the other piece of it, and you aren't going to thrive
if you are going through thatnegative self-talk.
Speaker 1 (15:56):
Right, so we have to rid ourselves of the negative
self-talk.
Talk to ourselves veryoptimistically, very uplifting,
because it'll minimize thenegative, wouldn't you say?
Speaker 3 (16:08):
Yes, it's like you move into.
Everyone has strengths andeveryone has weaknesses.
There's no one who is perfectand that that it is okay to show
that you know you beingauthentic and you being you,
like I had to get to that stagewhere I'm Tracy and I am going
(16:28):
to you know I'm going to have alittle fun right, like I am
going to, you know, joke arounda little bit.
I'm still going to accomplishwhat I'm going to do, but I'm
not going to take it soseriously that you know it
becomes debilitating to myselfor not setting the example that
needs to be for others.
(16:48):
And when you are real, peoplewill foul and people will want
to get on board and they'regoing to want to emulate what
you're doing versus not.
Speaker 1 (16:58):
Right, right.
And so what would you say ifthere was someone because I was
that person who was like a robot, very rigid, scared to open up,
scared to be vulnerable?
What would you share as far aswhat they could do easily to
kind of start breaking downthose walls?
Speaker 3 (17:19):
I think, first of all , is it's self-awareness that
you do come across that way,which may take, you know, start
getting some direct feedback.
So again, I go to the like.
One of the first things is isto make sure you're getting that
real honest feedback.
If you ask those that report toyou that you're close to,
they're probably going to tellyou you're perfect, right.
It's when you get feedback fromothers and you know I've had
(17:42):
two different examples that Ithought were excellent.
I had some 360 feedback donewhen I joined Humana, which I
thought, wow, I'd only been withthe company like five months,
four months, and I thought, wow,I'm surprised that they're
investing to do it.
But they did 360 feedback byinterviewing people that worked
(18:03):
with me.
That wasn't just a writtenscenario so they could ask the
tough questions and there were afew things that came back
through that questions and therewere a few things that came
back through that that I thoughtwere really impactful for me.
The other one I thought was areally great technique that
another leader of mine did,which was it's a little out
there, but basically they tookall of the senior vice
(18:27):
presidents and had us rate eachother on our competency and on
our teamwork.
So like, how confident are youin your job and teamwork?
And then they had to say twowords about you, and just two
words.
And then they did a word cloudor those clouds, and then they
(18:47):
rated us so that we could seehow we compared Didn't share it
with everybody, only the top fewgot to see.
You know that they were top few, but it gave me a good feeling
of wow, this is how I'm comingacross to my peers that I need
to work with.
And so also, when you do 360feedback, sometimes you give
(19:08):
them the list of who to call.
I try to say you call who youthink you know and get that
feedback, because you really dowant that honest feedback.
So, number one get feedback.
And then, number two, I don'tchange who I am when I'm at work
and then when I'm at home.
And if you what I find peoplewho are rigid, they're not rigid
(19:31):
all 24-7, right.
So just be yourself like, bringa little bit of that fun into
the workplace and remember thatit's not all about you.
And I say that often and I, youknow, I think I'm a pretty, you
know, humble individual.
(19:51):
I, you know, I think I'm apretty, you know, humble
individual but when you have aleadership title, people don't
see you as humble and you needto make sure that you bring that
forward and it may just be bythanking people every once in a
while for a great job Well done.
We always go to the next thingand thanking, like I did it this
morning on a call the call wasjust about to end Bernadette,
(20:13):
there was probably 50 people.
It was kind of just a half anhour kind of readiness call.
That another group does, not inmy org but it's
cross-functional and at the endof it I just took a minute to
thank the leader who had beenrunning this meeting for the
last four weeks to say you,missy, you're doing an
incredible job.
(20:34):
I thank you for holding thismeeting.
It's very valuable.
I know I doubted it in thebeginning, but I just think that
you're doing a great job and Ithink it takes people off guard
sometimes that I take that time,but like that meant a lot to
her, it meant a lot to me andit's just.
It makes, it just brings thathumbleness.
(20:56):
So you're not shown as so rigidthat you actually do care.
Speaker 1 (21:00):
Right, and again, you're modeling, you're modeling
, you're modeling how others canalso step up and kind of start
breaking down those walls andbuilding really good connections
and relationships with others.
I absolutely love that.
Well, I definitely want to getinto kind of our conversation
(21:21):
around transformative times, butyou also mentioned the fact
that you didn't know whatmentors and sponsors were when
you were coming up through theranks.
Mentors and sponsors were whenyou were coming up through the
ranks, so I can't overlook thatcomment you made for them to
hear it straight from someone ina senior vice president
position as to what are mentorsand sponsors and why are they
(21:44):
important to any professional.
Listening to this.
Speaker 3 (21:48):
I'm so glad you asked this because I grew up thinking
that you go find a mentor andyou ask that person to be your
mentor and they are supposed tohelp you with your career.
I have and I've been asked andI get asked all the time can you
mentor me?
Can you mentor me?
(22:09):
And I do it on one stipulationnow and, as I mentioned, I have
like a group of women that Ilove to mentor and have time to
talk and give back.
But a mentor is someone who isthere for your career advice.
But I have to mention I havethis one mentor who, bernadette,
(22:29):
he was so afraid to ask me tomentor him.
He was, you know, a frontlinemanager in an organization.
He went to HR and said I wouldlove Tracy to mentor me, but I
don't even know how to approachher on it.
So the head of HR brought himto me and he said to me Tracy, I
really would like you to mentorme.
(22:50):
I'm only asking for 30 minutesevery quarter and I promise that
I'm going to add value to youas much as you add value to me.
And I was like this isinteresting.
So, bernadette, I use hisexample all the time because
every meeting I have with him.
(23:11):
He starts with hey, let me giveyou an update on what I'm doing
and how my role is.
He also creates, you know, hiscalendar for the year or his
goals for the year, and he showsboth personal and professional
goals and shows the path in,like where he wants to go.
(23:34):
And then he gives me here'swhat I'm doing to achieve it.
So he's just asking me foraffirmation that he's on the
path and maybe a question or two, and then he ends the call with
hey, you're the SVP of thisorganization and here's two or
three ideas that I think canimprove the overall culture, the
(23:57):
operations.
Like he always brings me someinformation too and we get on
the phone and I'm telling you hehas it timed and he doesn't
ever go over.
He ends one minute ahead oftime, like it's 1.29, tracy,
we're done, unless I asked toextend it and I got to tell you
(24:18):
I've watched him have threedifferent career, you know, move
up three times within the lastfour years.
I've watched him buy a home,start a side business.
Like he has really shown what atrue mentorship is, because
it's not like hey, someone'sgoing to own my own career,
you're really giving advice Asponsor to me I think of I
(24:42):
mentioned Ron Boylett, who wasearly in my career who sees
potential in you that maybe youdon't see in yourself and is
willing to take a risk and putyou in positions that you go.
I don't know if I'm really readyfor that role.
I don't know if I'm reallyready, like I don't see myself
(25:03):
there, but they are willing totake you and put you in a
position or give you almostbelieve in you more than you
believe in yourself.
And I there are many times thatI've had a role and gone.
I don't like when I turned fromsales into operations and I, I
was like I don't know if I cando that, and I had people who
(25:25):
who believed in me and then werethere, you know, to advise if
needed.
But I just look at a sponsor assomeone you don't ask for.
They find you because they seethe potential and they see the
job that you're doing now.
And if you're not finding thosepeople, then you need to really
look at yourself and say, well,why not?
(25:48):
You know, like, why isn'tsomebody willing to sponsor me?
And that's where you reallytake that look at yourself on
owning your career, becauseyou're the only one, that
everybody else can give youadvice and help you and mentor
you.
But you need to own your careerand I see too many people today
who think their bosses or theirleaders own that.
(26:10):
Own their career.
Speaker 1 (26:11):
Right, as if someone's going to come along
and tap them on the shoulder andbe like oh okay, all right, not
sure what you do or how you'redoing it, but okay, and it's not
the way it happens.
Speaker 2 (26:22):
It's not the way it happens.
Speaker 1 (26:23):
I absolutely, absolutely love, love, love that
.
So thank you for that.
So, turning to our turbulenttimes and what leaders really
need to do.
So what do you see?
With all the vast experiencethat you've had, what have you
seen to be the most criticalleadership skills that someone
(26:49):
needs to have today, especiallyto work through some, you know,
very trying times?
Speaker 3 (26:56):
I think I'm going to surprise you by this answer, and
I truly mean this, and I willgive you multiple examples of it
.
Everybody always will ask mewhat my strategic plan is Like.
Tracy, are you putting togetheryour five-year strategic plan?
What's your three-yearstrategic plan Like?
What is your like?
Everybody looks at that and,bernadette, the thing that I
(27:19):
would say has been my success inevery turbulent times and I
will tell you what they are iswhat I call the six success
ingredients, and it's very basic.
It's trust, integrity,commitment, execution and
resiliency, and the right people.
And why I say that is I havefound that the foundation of
(27:45):
everything that you can do isbuilt on those key elements, and
it's not one way.
And you know those key elementsand it's not one way.
And you know I'll tell you acouple quick stories.
So we were in a frontiercellular.
We were at a point where weneeded a real culture change and
we needed to be able to reallysurpass what we saw our
(28:07):
competitors doing.
And I was head of sales andParman DeFeo was head of
customer service, and our CEOsaid the two of you get together
and start a culture program.
And so Carmen and I, thecheerleaders, get together and
we're like, hey, we're going todo this.
Kaizen, you know 10 keys ofpositive change and you know
(28:28):
you're either moving forward,you're not moving backwards.
You know you're always movingforward.
You're never moving backwards.
You know you're always movingforward.
You're never standing still,all these things.
We came up with these crazysayings, thoughts, and then we
went and we put together likewe're going to have, we're going
to make key chains and we'regoing to put posters on the wall
and we're going to rah-rah andhave this kickoff.
So before we did that, we got agroup of cross-functional
(28:50):
teammates frontline employees,managers, directors, put them
all in a room and we were allexcited Carmen and I are going
to go roll this thing out.
And we went in and when we wentin and we started telling them
all about it, we stopped and theteam said, hey, that's all
great, but that's not going tochange how we're doing things
(29:11):
today.
You can put up all the postersyou want, you can put up all
those things, but until we trustmanagement and management
trusts us, we're not going to bethere.
Until we see you executing,we're not going to execute to
our best.
We aren't, you know, once wesee you all working together as
(29:31):
a team, then we will, and wewant to give you feedback on
those things.
And it was a big light that wentoff for me on the overall
importance of the key foundationof any business and not too
much longer.
You know, we started doingextremely well.
(29:52):
Then we were bought out, sowe're going through turbulent
times.
That was when Bellinic Mobileand Verizon actually came in and
bought our piece of upstate NewYork organization and they made
me president of thisorganization.
And that's when I was like, wow, I now run all of it, not just
sales, and we were going throughnew benefit changes, new name
(30:16):
changes, like we were goingthrough more turbulent times.
And, bernadette, I establishedwhat was a two-way communication
, which was I just opened abridge and I said, hey, I'm
going to have a bridge openevery week for an hour, said,
hey, I'm going to have a bridgeopen every week for an hour.
I'll give you a 15-minuteupdate on what's happening from
(30:38):
the you know for the transitionand what's happening there.
The rest is for you.
And at first, the first week, Ihad very few comments and I
just sat there.
I said I'm just going to sithere until we start having some
open, honest conversation.
This went on for a couple ofweeks and it got to the point
where people were telling me hey, trace, my medical coverage
isn't working.
It wasn't all about workquestions about how to take care
(31:03):
of members or customers.
A lot of this was about thingsthat were impacting them as we
were going through it, which wasthen impacting our you know our
overall results.
And then I had someone whoasked me we got to a point where
people were really open andhonest and they say hey, trace,
are there going to be layoffs?
And I'd say, you know what?
(31:23):
I don't know of any today, butI can't guarantee that in the
future.
And we would just have like ifthere was a question they asked
that was a legal question Icouldn't answer, I'd say, hey, I
don't know and I can't answerthat.
So I started showingvulnerability.
I showed that I was part of thegroup, I wasn't the president,
I was with them and we weregoing to solve this world
(31:45):
together.
And that year we were numberone out of all the 21 regions
that Verizon had.
We were number one inyear-over-year growth and we
were number one inyear-over-year profitability.
And we went through three namechanges in a very short period
of time.
I have repeated that in almostthat full process of
(32:07):
establishing the key foundationsor underpinnings of the
business, before even bringingout a strategic plan, of getting
the team to rally.
And the most recent one, priorto coming to Humana, was when
Sprint and T-Mobile mergedduring COVID.
We closed the largest US closed, the largest US
(32:37):
telecommunications merger everwe did.
During COVID.
I was head of all of salesoperations for Sprint.
We were merging with T-Mobile.
I had about 12,000 peoplereporting to me and I'm merging
them in the middle of a pandemicand we continue to see T-Mobile
and the new company thrive.
But it all started with let'sget grounded on what are the key
(33:01):
fundamentals of the business,of how we're going to operate
establishing trust at all levelsof the organization,
establishing open communications, establishing what it is going
to be to execute and so on.
And so to me, culture can belooked at as kind of one of
(33:22):
those warm and fuzzy scenarios.
It truly isn't.
It is the foundation of how wework and that is what has worked
for me in turbulent times, andI always say until you're real
and people really understand andtrust you, now do I think
everybody who's worked for me?
(33:43):
Bernadette loves me.
Do I think everybody alwaysagrees with me?
Absolutely not, but I dobelieve that people who I've
even had to let go look at meand say she was fair, she was,
you know, someone at that pointthat I could trust, and you know
that openness is reallycritical to all businesses.
Speaker 1 (34:06):
Right, and that's what you mean, because I've read
it in multiple places when yousay going beyond posters and
PowerPoint.
Right, yes, yes.
Speaker 3 (34:16):
Everybody thinks that's the answer.
Right, like that's the answer.
Like I roll my eyes, which isterrible, when people say, oh,
here, put this.
You know, here's our corevalues.
Put it on your key chain orit's your screensaver.
Like, it's not about that.
Speaker 1 (34:35):
Right, right, right.
So can you repeat for ourlisteners those six fundamentals
?
Speaker 3 (34:40):
Yes.
So trust, integrity, commitment, execution, teamwork and the
right people.
And when I mean that Iliterally will do this, when I
take over an organization, thefirst thing I do is I go around
the room in my head and say do I, can I trust everyone in the
(35:01):
room?
And do I think what do I haveto do to build trust with that?
Like, how do I build that trust?
Are they committed to the goalsand the company and our
customers and our employees andshareholders?
Like, do I think that?
Are they?
You know, are they committed?
Do they have integrity in whatthey do?
(35:22):
Like I literally go throughthat and that's how I kind of
determine my leadership team andthat's how I coach to those to
make sure that we're all there.
And it's as much coaching to mebecause I, most recently when I
joined real interesting, when Ijoined Humana I mean it's a
completely different industrythan telecom.
I had never worked inhealthcare before and, a matter
(35:45):
of fact, it's the first rolesince college that someone
didn't, I didn't know someone inthe company I joined.
So it's the first time that Iwent in and when I went in,
bernadette and I'm, you know, anolder, older leader, like I'm
not.
You know, I'm not a springchicken.
I mean I've been.
(36:05):
I've been working for a longtime and I walked into this
organization that knew nothingabout Tracy Nolan.
They didn't know anything abouthow I worked, what I did
Everywhere else.
Somebody kind of knew who I wasbecause I went to work where
someone else who knew me.
So I had to really rethinkabout how do I establish trust
with people?
How do I establish, how do Iknow that they think that you
(36:26):
know my integrity is forefrontin all that I do?
How did I know that I wasreally truly about execution and
about teamwork and not aboutwhat Tracy does?
But how do I make sure thatthey know I want them to shine
right?
So it really truly does help meout.
But I had a big reality,stepping into a different
(36:47):
industry and a differentorganization, and then you know
we have done really well,thriving through a lot of change
within the healthcare industrytoo.
Speaker 1 (36:59):
And did you kind of take that same approach with
these six fundamentals, withjust building slowly, providing
that open forum for people?
Speaker 3 (37:10):
to talk with you.
I mean I still do To this day.
I remember people saying whydoes she do these roundtables?
Because I stay connected to thefolks who I believe there's
really two types of people in anorganization those that work
with our customers every day andthen those who work for those
(37:33):
that work for customers.
So I don't like to think I kindof think of it as a backwards
organization, like the mostimportant people in the
organization are those that aretouching our customers every
single day and that's where thetruth of what really is
happening goes on, right.
So I you know when I walked inthere was not a lot of that kind
(37:55):
of communication and I see thatin every organization I've
taken on, like the frontline,knowing and getting to know what
their problems are are criticalto the success of the business,
because those problems arethose of our customers, or of
them trying to take care of ourcustomers right customers, or of
(38:21):
them trying to take care of ourcustomers right.
I do town halls I am veryinvolved in, you know.
Smaller group, you know.
Talk with Tracy.
I have an open communicationline, that is, an email, direct
access to me for anyone in thecompany to send a message to me
about anything that is going on.
That is a concern.
Now I try to say, hey, if it'san HR issue, go to HR, but if
it's anything else, let me know,because if you send me an HR
(38:44):
issue, I'm probably going tohave HR get involved, but it's
not to tell on.
It's really not to tell on whatother you know their leaders,
are doing.
And I say leaders, this is ouremail, this is our way of
knowing what's going on.
No, yeah, I absolutely,absolutely love that and would
you say, that is how managers toleaders can really help to
(39:12):
create positive can really helpto create positive,
transformative cultures, asopposed to just the status quo,
absolutely Getting, I think, oneof the things that leaders
leaders like to take on problemsand try to solve them all
themselves.
And there's only so much withina control, within your own
(39:34):
control, and you really need tofocus on those things, that much
within your own control.
And you really need to focus onthose things that are within
your control and do themexcellently.
And then, when you see issuesthat are rising, you need to
make sure that you're bringingthem up, because so many times
like, hearing about it from acustomer is the wrong place to
(39:55):
hear it from.
We need to hear from ourleaders.
A customer is the wrong placeto hear it from.
We need to hear from ourleaders, and a great leader who
is going to move and advance inthe organization is someone who
spots those but also will helpus figure out how to come.
Like here's maybe a, here's acouple of possible solutions to
that problem, right?
So many times I hear, well, wecan't do this, we can't.
I don't really want to hearabout what we can't.
(40:17):
I want to hear about here's theopportunity that we have that
is not working for our customerstoday or our consumers today,
and there are things that youknow that we aren't going to be
able to change, but there iscertainly a lot out there that
we can improve every single day.
And if we ever get toocomfortable that there isn't
(40:38):
something like I say, fall inlove with problems, that's the
other thing.
I say, like fall in love withthe problems, like that's what
we should be focused on and thatwill make it so much better, a
better place to work, a lot morefun, and you know it's so much
better for a better place towork, a lot more fun, and you
know it's so much better for ouroverall customers in any
(41:00):
industry anywhere.
Speaker 1 (41:01):
Absolutely, absolutely.
And would you say that that'salso a kind of a compass that
you share when it comes tomentoring others?
To take risks and putthemselves out there, look for
those opportunities to solveproblems, take on new challenges
.
Speaker 3 (41:21):
Absolutely.
And, bernadette, I've seen somany people who have been afraid
to take a risk and at one point, when I was with one company
and I made a decision to leave,even without another role,
because it was right for myfamily, which you know we didn't
get into balance but like,that's something I'm not great
(41:42):
at, but like, at one point Imade a decision and I got told,
you know, you will never findanother job at the same level,
at the same pay, that is as goodas this.
And I will tell you pay that isas good as this.
And I will tell you I'vethrived because I've been
willing to take risks and I'vebeen because you know what.
If you believe in yourself asmuch as mentor or you know
(42:06):
mentors look to you and you knowand others you know, those that
have taken risks for you.
Look at yourself You're goingto be just fine and you're going
to thrive when you arechallenged.
You're not going to thrive whenyou sit back and get too
comfortable in what you're doing, and life is a lot more fun
(42:28):
when you challenge yourself.
Speaker 1 (42:30):
Yeah, oh, absolutely, and solve those problems and
yeah, yeah, and learn new thingsand get the education Until the
day I die.
I want to be learning.
I want to be making sure that Iam never in a position where I
think I know it all, becausethat's just boring.
Speaker 3 (42:47):
It is.
My husband will keep saying tome okay, trey, so now we're in
2025.
You got two certificates lastyear, the year before you went
away to Harvard for a week forbecause you wanted to do this
woman's on board scenario Likewhat is it you're going to do
for 2025?
And I'm like I still have theend, till the end of January to
(43:08):
decide what I'm going to be.
More than one or two thingsLike.
I definitely am challengingmyself Because, to your point,
like it is, you know, the worldaround us is not standing still
and if you're not engaging andlearning more, especially with
things like AI and all that'scoming out, risk governance and
(43:29):
in businesses and that risk is agood thing I mean risk taking
should not be thought of as, youknow, something bad.
Actually, taking risks can turninto something incredibly
wonderful.
You just need to be able tomonitor it and you need to be
able to, you know, to coursecorrect and make changes as you
(43:50):
go.
And that's with life and that'swith your career.
Speaker 1 (43:54):
Absolutely so.
If there was one thing that youwould about everything we've
talked about, that you wouldtell a you know professional
right now, that they should goout and start focusing on in
order for them to reallytransform their leadership, what
would you tell them?
Speaker 3 (44:14):
Okay, I know you asked for one, but I'm going to
give you two, if that's okay,bernadette.
Number one is, I'd say, run toopportunities with significant
change.
So many people back away fromthose things that are like, ooh,
transformation office.
I'd never want to do that, Iwould never like run to those
opportunities, because you canmake the biggest significant
(44:39):
difference when you take onthose challenges and you know
what it's like a puzzleFoundation, because that can
make or break leadership success, not only for your organization
but for you too, and thatconstant reminder that we are
(45:05):
not perfect.
We should be constantlylearning.
So thank you for letting meshare those two items with you,
janice.
Speaker 1 (45:12):
Absolutely.
This has been fabulous,fabulous, fabulous.
We could talk forever, we couldjust go.
Speaker 3 (45:20):
Bernadette, I think we could absolutely do that and
I am so pleased that you allowedme to join you on your show
today to just talk a little bitabout some of my experiences and
give back just a little bit.
Speaker 1 (45:34):
Yeah, and give back tremendously and I so appreciate
it.
So, everyone, please check outeverything about Tracy.
Be sure to follow her also onLinkedIn and it'll be Tracy E
Nolan on LinkedIn and, of course, instagram.
Little different, littledifferent.
Look for and then follow her onInstagram at 10binarski and
(45:57):
you'll be able to see everythingelse that she's up to there.
But so great, I am so pleasedthat you're with us today, tracy
.
Thank you so much.
Speaker 3 (46:08):
Thank you, Bernadette .
Have a fabulous day today.
Speaker 1 (46:11):
You too.
You too, I don't even knowwhere to start.
There was so much goodness inthat conversation with
powerhouse Tracy Nolan.
Currently she's the senior vicepresident at Humana, but has
held some significant roles inher past that have garnered her
the tremendous insights, thetremendous tips and experiences
(46:35):
that she shared with us, and itwas fabulous.
But what I really really tookaway from all of it was just how
everything she embodies isabout modeling strong leadership
, bold leadership, authenticleadership to those around her.
In everything that sheexplained, everything was about
(46:58):
ensuring that she's showing upas the individual, as the woman,
as the leader that she wantsothers to be as well, and it was
just absolutely fabulous.
She talked about taking risks,going after bold opportunities,
seeking out mentors and sponsors, having those critical
(47:19):
leadership skills that will helpyou get through any type of
challenge, chaos or eventransformation.
The list goes on and on, sodefinitely go back and listen to
it again and, if you didn'thave your notepad, bring it out,
share it with your team membersand even kind of have a
gathering lunch and learn toboth listen to the conversation
(47:42):
that I had as well as make noteand discuss some of the tips and
the ideas that she shared inregards to how you can be really
fostering the type of culturethat will help everyone rise up
and really be the leader thatyour people, business and self
want to be in order to besuccessful in all aspects of
(48:06):
life.
I absolutely love thisconversation and I so appreciate
Tracy being with us in thatregard.
If you have any questions orneed support over and beyond
what we talked about today, thenfeel free to book a call with
me.
Go to coachmebernadettecom.
Forward slash discovery call andlet's have a brief conversation
and let me provide you sometips, strategies and some
(48:27):
guidance as to how you can bemoving forward to be in that
powerhouse leader you're meantto be.
And don't forget, be sure tofollow this show so you don't
miss out on any of ourconversations with these
unbelievable guests.
So follow us atballoffirecoachingcom.
Forward slash podcast.
I'll look forward to having youand seeing you for another
(48:48):
episode of Shedding theCorporate Bitch.
Bye.
Speaker 2 (48:51):
Thank you for tuning into today's episode of Shedding
the Corporate Bitch.
Every journey taken together isanother step towards Bye
YouTube channel.
Want to dive deeper withBernadette on becoming a
(49:13):
powerhouse leader?
Visit balloffirecoachingcom tolearn more about how she helps
professionals, hr executives andteam leaders elevate overall
team performance.
You've been listening toShedding the Corporate Bitch
with Bernadette Boas.
Until next time, keep shedding,keep growing and keep leading.
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