September 10, 2021 • 55 mins
In this episode of Can+Did, TN Voices CEO Rikki Harris and COO Will Voss get deeply personal about their purpose, what led them to this profession, and how they've managed to help others on the team focus on the most important question: the WHY.
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Episode Transcript
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Rikki Harris (00:05):
Change your I just saw that. I don't know why it's
getting my logins Compiz it wasautomatically doing my Tennessee
voices for a while and now justdoing my personal. Okay. Wait,
perfect.
Will Voss (00:27):
Sorry, we we've talked a lot about my why and
you made me realize that I sayit's forever changing and you
have me look at it from adifferent lens that it's forever
growing in something that'sbeing added to it. What would
you say your why is? What Why
Unknown (00:44):
do you do what you do?
Will Voss (00:46):
We've talked about why you started this, but you're
at a level now you've been here10 years? Why? Why do you doing?
Wow.
Rikki Harris (00:57):
Well, if you know, you keep adding to the why, and
you're somewhere for 10 years,and you're got 40 years of life
experience. Wait, how much timedo you have? Well? You know, I
can I have learned to be veryconcise with my why My why is my
(01:18):
family of origin. So my oldestbrother is kind of where the
story started in my mind. But itreally started before that with
my grandfather, my grandfathercompleted suicide when I was
seven. didn't really understandit, then really no, that's even
(01:42):
what happened till I was older.
So it really didn't start there.
For me, even thoughchronologically, that's where it
began. It was really after mybig brother was diagnosed with
bipolar disorder. And he, Iremember being really young,
(02:05):
probably eight, maybe younger. Iknew there was a lot going on
with him. I knew that he wasactually preparing to leave for
boot camp for the army. And onenight, he left the house and I
(02:25):
didn't see him for a while afterthat. And I was a kid. So you
know, I don't know how longexactly. But it seemed like a
long time. I thought maybe itwas something to do with his
training. My parents not that itwas wrong, but didn't say a lot
to me as a young child aboutwhat was going on. So it left
(02:47):
this little mind to wonder. Andthat mind wandered about a lot
of things. Like, does he notlike us? This he and I even want
to be here? Why would he justleave without saying bye? It
didn't make sense to me. So Ispent a lot of my childhood with
(03:10):
curiosity about mental health,curiosity about behavior. Later,
I was informed that he wasstruggling with mental health
issues, and that that there havebeen some really hard times for
my parents in that and they weretrying to protect me, I think
(03:31):
from from things. But lookingback now and having, you know,
chosen to go on this film,mainly because of my curiosity.
I realize they would have helpedme a lot to have somebody come
into my home and talk to meabout what was going on. Even
(03:51):
even as young as I was. Andagain, I don't think my parents
did anything wrong by not, youknow, talking to us. I think
they didn't know what theydidn't know. I think there could
have been a lot more shared withthem. There could have been
there could have been treatmentoptions that weren't accessible
(04:11):
to us. We lived in a rural areaof Arkansas, and there was not a
lot of talk about mental healthtreatment in that area. And at
that time, we were talking the80s man at will. So that was my
(04:31):
Y. My y came to fruition one daywhen we were sitting at the
dinner table with my family. Andmy dad said I think I was
probably 1514 My dad said Rickyyou're really smart. Are you
going to be a doctor or alawyer? And I said I was
(04:53):
thinking about mental health andI know his mom was like, what,
what? But he was, as he alwayswas so supportive, and, okay.
Okay, if that's what makes youhappy, and that's what you want
to do. And that's what I wantedto do. So, you know, much like
(05:18):
you psychology for thebachelor's degree
then on to grad school mastersof marriage and family therapy,
double masters. So I had asecond in Christian education. I
went to Southwestern BaptistTheological Seminary. So they
had a counseling program. Andthey had two separate programs,
(05:39):
they had the counseling program,and then the pastoral counseling
program. So really based on twodifferent approaches to helping
people, their program was builton scientific knowledge of, you
know, theories and psychologystudy and behavior, everything
that anyone would learn at anyis an accredited program. So but
(06:02):
I, it very much was taught inthe realm of my worldview as a
Christian. So I felt like I hada really unique opportunity to
kind of blend my my worldviewand my faith with my passion for
understanding psychology, mentalhealth, human behavior. And of
(06:23):
course, it wasn't too long downthe road, then I had my first
child, and I had postpartumactually, it was my second Good
night, I am like, trying. Thisis the part where you realize
you are aging. Like, now whichkid was it that had colic,
Unknown (06:43):
you're 40 years young, we'll put it like that? Well,
anywho,
Rikki Harris (06:48):
it was my second my first child actually ended
up, we had a lot of concern withhow she couldn't handle
transitions in preschool. And weit was caught her anxiety was
realized when she startedkindergarten, and had a really
hard time. And so we, that wasthe first time we were really
(07:12):
like, wow, we are parents, andwe know all about mental health,
my husband's also in the field.
But we have to step back and beparents and get some, some
professional help on how to helpher. So we really helped her and
got to work through a therapyprocess and her transitions and
her anxiety around transitions,which is, you know, not fun for
her to go through but a greatexperience for us as parents to
(07:35):
just be in the parent role, andsupport our child and, and, you
know, God has a way of puttingyou in situations to help you
see what it is your parents wentthrough what it is the parents
that you work for, in your youknow, in Tennessee voices what
they go through. And then aftera Leah then had my second
(07:57):
daughter, Reese, who I then hadpostpartum with her after she
was born. And that was, that wasquite an experience too. So the
y just keeps on building. I knowmy why this is why I do it. But
then you know, every lifeexperience you go through just
(08:17):
adds a little bit moreaffirmation to your choice to be
in this field and gives you thatflavor that you can sprinkle all
over the work you do that makesit even richer, because you can
you can say you understand youlived it experienced it been
there in some somecircumstances. So yes,
Will Voss (08:36):
yes, that's true.
Yeah, you know, I look at it asa blessing that we're sitting
here and we're able to sharewith others, you know, why we do
what we do, why we love it, whatit means to us? No, I asked you
this question for folks that arelistening, and they don't know
where to begin or know how toexplain their way. What What
would you tell them on how to goabout doing that?
Rikki Harris (09:02):
You know, walk back to the first time you ever
have that curiosity about thisfield, whatever it is, whether
it's an experience, whether it'sa thought, whether it's a friend
who went through something, or Iknow someone who said I was
always the person that myfriends in high school went to
(09:23):
for advice. And it was, it waslike, Why did they trust me? Why
did they come to me? Is it justthat I give great advice? No,
it's that you have a care andconcern and a spirit of just I
want to help people. And that'ssomething you explained earlier,
like you had that desire. And,you know, walk back to that for
(09:46):
those first memories, thosefirst opportunities and what
drew you here, and then it's notlike let the Y be about you. If
anything else at you know, we wedon't like that in this field.
We're altruist. Stick people, weare very much here for others,
we like to make it about others,but the Why should be about you.
(10:07):
And nobody else let you
Will Voss (10:12):
think you probably just help somebody understand
their why in front and
Rikki Harris (10:17):
maybe some maybe.
So I definitely know that thoselittle moments stand out when I
think about how much passion Ihave for this field. And I've
done work and I think everybodyshould do their own work in
therapy, whether you do thatyour program for your master's
degree, or you do that later inlife. But I've certainly done
(10:38):
some work around this. And anearly memory that I had, was
being a young child and myparents were out late at night
walking around the housepraying. And that was unusual,
not that they would pray, butthat they would be outside in
the dark, walking around thehouse, praying out loud
together, was a littledifferent. And I remember asking
(11:00):
my older sister, like, what isgoing on, we were supposed to be
in our bed asleep, right? Wewere, we were not supposed to
know this was happening. And myoldest is she's, she's a lot
older than me. So she's, at thetime, she was probably 16 or so.
And I was more like eight. Andshe said our brother had called
(11:24):
home, he had been gone for awhile. And nobody knew where he
was. And he had called home andsaid he was coming home, and he
was going to hurt us. And theywere praying, you know, for
protection and praying for himand all that. And I remember
that that's not the part, thepart of the story that that
(11:45):
makes the most impact on me, isI remember knowing feeling like
he would never hurt us, he wouldnever do that. So it was almost
like as a young child, I waslike something is not okay.
Something has happened to him tomake him say that, because
that's not who he is. And then Ithink that moment comes back and
(12:07):
resonates with me, so many timeswhen I work with or get to be
around the families of people wework with, and recognize that
there may be things that theyhave done, but that's not who
they are. And something is, youknow, causing them to struggle.
And their behavior is different,but it's not who they are at
(12:28):
their core. So that's a moment Ithink, for me and my wife that
always sits with me know whopeople really are.
Will Voss (12:38):
Yes, yes, no, they are, you know, think about you
know, how we connected. Neverknow what someone is going
through, you know, even today tolearn something new about you
that you had experiencedpostpartum with your second
child who ended up being in myclassroom.
Rikki Harris (13:00):
That's right.
Will Voss (13:02):
And I'm attempting to teach children you know, what to
do on an educational standpoint,and all social emotional skills.
And I will never forget, I wouldteach kids to make a happy play.
No. And you you know, for thoseof you that don't know what a
(13:24):
happy played is, that meansfinish everything that is on
there. Don't waste any goodsouthern boy would exactly. And
you know, you sent an email tome. And he challenged my way of
thinking and about how a lot ofthat it could lead to certain
mental health concern eatingdisorders. And we've got to be
(13:45):
careful in how we say things,you know, and it challenged me
and I will never forget that.
And I think the core of who Iam. I like to be challenged. I'd
like to like to betterunderstand that. It's a
different way to think aboutthings. Think about who you are
at the core. Yeah.
Rikki Harris (14:09):
You do like a good challenge. Do you like a good
challenge? Got like ChallengeAccepted written across your
forehead. We all
Unknown (14:18):
know, Mrs. may need help.
Rikki Harris (14:24):
You're so funny.
Yes, that is so true. That issomething that I also struggled
with in my high school years wasjust an unhealthy relationship
with food and I did not. Icertainly again, roll Arkansas
and then later rule Mississippi.
(14:49):
So not a lot of access toeducation and information and
better even better treatment.
But I had this unhealthyrelationship with food where I
was, I was a really scrawny kid.
And that's all people wanted totalk about was how skinny her
(15:11):
look at her legs. I likespaghetti noodles. My
grandmother called me spaghettilegs. Like for my whole life.
And my sister had the oppositewhere she, she went through
puberty really early. And so herbody changed really fast. And my
grandmother actually said toher, you, you're getting fat.
(15:33):
And that messed with herrelationship with food and her
body image. And so I learned alot from Southern culture, and
how it impacts our relationshipwith food. And something I saw
that happened a lot inpreschool. With Parents mostly,
(15:55):
but a reward for something.
Let's go get an ice cream cone.
Yeah, I brought you a candy bar,here's a lollipop for being good
at the doctor. And it was like,it interests me how much we used
food as a reward. And whether ornot that sets us up for some
unhealthy relationships withour, with our eating. And so it
(16:18):
was it was an area studied alot. And I did a lot of research
around how you deal with that inpreschool. And my mother was a
clean your plate kind of mom.
She did it, but only to the boysonly to the boys. And so it was
like there's so many things thatI mean, we could talk all day,
just some interesting culturalthings. That really as I became
(16:39):
a parent made me stop and andlook at differently and go. What
does that mean, when I say that?
What What am I saying to mychild? Don't listen to your
stomach. Even though it saysyour full. You eat everything on
there? Why? So yeah, good times.
But it does take me back topreschool days. I know a lot of
(17:02):
people know the story. We talkabout it a lot that you you were
racist teacher and her two yearold classroom and preschool,
which is where I got to knowyou. But you also, we had a
little Ole Miss connectionbecause my dad grew up in
Oxford. And so we we go home andvisit, we go to Oxford, and we
(17:24):
go to Ole Miss game. So that waslike a little bit of a
connecting point. For us. And,and then, and then there was
that, like, you were the newteacher thing that happened.
That really I think bonded us alittle bit. But all the things
started, started ourcommunication and something I
realized about you is that youwere not afraid to communicate
(17:46):
with parents. And a lot ofteachers were they I don't know,
if they were afraid to upsetparents or they just did. It was
uncomfortable, especially ifthere was difficult things to
talk about. But the only time Ihad had teacher interaction,
like I have with you was onparent teacher conference twice
a year. But yours was almostdaily, it was a little bit of a
(18:10):
check in. And I rememberthinking like this guy knows how
to talk to people. And that's ahuge thing. Especially when your
kid is in your care all day, Iwant to know what happened.
Will Voss (18:28):
It's so strange, and I equated all and grateful. It
goes back to my upbringing. Youhave a millennial raise by baby
boomers. That job I mean, Istarted working with a company
when I saw add another state inthere after I graduated from Ole
Miss moved to Charlotte for alittle bit. And that's when I
(18:50):
started working with the earlychildhood center and landed the
job. I think a month after I hadmoved home. I went around and I
had applications printed off.
And I just happen to walk theapplication in there like like
it's just late 1960s 70s Youwalking around, even though
there's an email and everything,and I was dressed up and I was
(19:12):
like I want to find me a job, Ihave a degree. And I landed that
job. And it just my parentssaid, You know what, even if
you're garbage man, do the bestthat you can. And it goes back
to that like your child is in mycare all day. And have always
been the type to say I can'tknow how to best support. If we
(19:35):
don't communicate in what'sgoing on at home. If there has
been a rough morning, you know,and it may trigger into the
whole day. Or it's been a roughday and let's make sure we
follow up at home. You know, andit's nothing to let someone know
I this is a concern and this isa success. A lot of those
children you know, especiallythinking of the single mom They
(19:58):
were bringing their children in.
I was a father like figure tohim. Think this, the this guy is
here to support me all day andwants to teach me and cares
about me. So communication iskey. Yeah. And it's to make sure
we continue to steal, push as amajor value.
Rikki Harris (20:21):
Yeah. And I think maybe there'll be the right
future podcast, there's, there'sa lot to unpack there that I
think we will dive into a lot ofdifferent factors that, that you
and I've talked about that arereally cool about our
intersection. But I think thething to wrap up on would be
(20:44):
this, I, you know, developingpast, getting into the field,
and my why and all that kind ofstuff. And now being a CEO, and
having responsibility of leadingpeople. My favorite part about
leadership has been the role ofcreating and mentoring more
(21:06):
leaders. And I say it all thetime, the organization, I know
you hear it, good leaders createmore leaders. That's something
that I noticed in you as apreschool teacher, as you know,
this guy's he has potential tobe a great leader, because he's
willing to have hardconversations, he's willing to
(21:29):
have strong communication, whichis not always easy, especially
when you're dealing with kidsbehavior in preschool. And
parents who love their babies alot think they're perfect. But
not only that, just you alwayshad a plan for the kids you
always had. You're alwaysdressed for success. And I don't
(21:52):
mean that you have to have thenicest clothes to be a leader. I
mean, that's not what I mean.
But you showed up, as if thiswas an important job to you, you
cared about it, and you werepresenting the best way
possible. And I think that issomething I love so much about
being a CEO is helping thatleaders who already have the
(22:12):
potential inside of them to justfind that path, and get on that
leadership path and reallyblossom. And so that that's the
other part of think of me thatis I did a passion I had to
discover later on, obviously, mypassions, no health. But I was
so excited to work and mentorpeople who want to be leaders.
(22:35):
And it wasn't because I thoughtI had some incredible wisdom to
impart to them, but it wasbecause I wanted them to succeed
because I could see it in them.
And I was all I wanted was, man,let's let's help you find your
way into leadership because it'sso much fun. I love it. It's the
(22:57):
best and I wouldn't trade it foranything.
Will Voss (23:00):
You is definitely and you you got to realize that the
way that makes someone feels theway it made me feel. Um, you're
seeing something in people thatthey don't even may not even
know is there. And to be able totake the time and say you know
what, let's try to get let's getthrough this together because
you've got way more potential
Unknown (23:21):
out. Yeah, yeah.
Will Voss (23:26):
Oh, actually, this you asked me earlier. Do you
feel that this is your ministry?
Rikki Harris (23:35):
Or, as you said, The words chills went all the
way around body? Yes, yes.
Because I do think in myworldview, we all have a
purpose. We all can serve theworld in some way. And we all
have a choice to make in doingthat with integrity and with
people in mind. And this is thisis definitely it for me. I I
(24:00):
know that I would not be where Iam today without the grace of
Lord because i i On My Own don'thave all the answers. I can't
tell you sometimes. how somethings have just worked out. It
makes no sense to me. I couldn'ton my best days planned at all.
(24:20):
But it does, it works out and itin it. It's just this beautiful
thing to know that you areliving your purpose. And you are
lifting people up buildingpeople up and doing what you
know God has called you to doand that's just love people.
(24:42):
Just love people. And it is ajoy to do it every day.
Unknown (24:50):
It's pretty fun. Yes, it's bigger than bigger than
this. Always. Always
Will Voss (25:00):
As we prepare on this journey for a podcast, we're
telling people our why we'reexplaining why it's important to
have a y. What are your hopes?
What's your hope? For thispodcast? We say we we hope to
reach million, but we reach amillion people, what's our hope
(25:20):
for them?
Rikki Harris (25:24):
I love that question. Because that question
started this podcast. And thequestion was a little bit
different, because it wasn'twhat do you hope for the
podcast? But it was like, Whatdo you want? What do you want to
get at? What are you trying toaccomplish? And I have that
conversation with my leadershipcoach. And by the way, everyone
(25:46):
in leadership, no matter howlong you've been at, it should
use leadership coach at somepoint, all the time. But, you
know, couple times a year, orwhat, however you feel best,
because they can challenge yourthinking and, and keep you from
settling in, keep you on theinnovation on the What am I
(26:09):
doing on the what's next? Andhow can I help move things
forward. But anyway, we weretalking through this, and the
word influence came up. And itwas something you and I talked
to the directors in ourorganization about last week
about your title holds a certainamount of information about you,
(26:32):
Whether you speak or don't, ifyou say, I'm Ricky hairs, I'm
the CEO. There's immediateinformation. And someone takes
that information and decides howthey're going to behave around
you what's acceptable to say infront of you, how they want to
feel about you, because theyhave past experiences with CEOs
(26:54):
that are good and bad. Soinfluence was a word that kind
of kept coming up in our, in myleadership meetings with my
coach. And I think for me, itwas, if I know that I, it took
me a while to accept that I hadinfluence. At first it felt like
(27:17):
how much difference the words sireally make, but the impact of
the words really start to beclear. The minute you become a
leader, something's gonnahappen, we're gonna be like, Oh,
no, why are they so scared ofme? Why won't they sit by me at
the table? Not that that everhappened to you will? It's
(27:38):
because of your title. And so Iremember there was, there was a
couple of things that happenwhere people said something like
they wanted to, they wanted tobe like me in some way. They
named away. And I my thoughtwas, I have to figure out how I
want to use this influence.
Because whether I want to acceptit or not, I have it. How am I
(28:01):
going to use it? And then itreally started resonating with
me, the voice that I have, Ihave opened doors just because
of my title, I get to walkthrough those doors, or walk
into meetings or be present ormake my voice heard because I
have a title. What am I going todo with that? I'll bring
(28:24):
everything I can to the table,I'll be the voice of the people.
But the other thing I can do isallow people to come in behind
me keep the door open for thepeople that work for the
organization who are served bythe organization, how do I allow
their voice to be heard, wherethose doors are that are open to
(28:45):
me. And that's where the podcastcame in. I was like we have to
hear from people. We have tohear from people. So it really
all came back to how am I goingto use what influence I have.
For better, for better andbetter for me is other people
succeeding other people beingheard other people learning from
(29:08):
other people and buildingbridges where bridges may not
have been built before for agood thing. So that's the hope
we'll see.
Unknown (29:25):
It's gonna happen be helpful.
Rikki Harris (29:27):
Yep. Yep, I am.
Will Voss (29:30):
And that was me. I think I was one of those people
that said I would love you're ago getter. That's what I'm
trying to follow any. Yeah. Howyou have grown this agency since
you first started. You have puta lot of work that we don't even
know about a no into supportingand making sure that we're
(29:52):
growing in that services outthere for folks.
Rikki Harris (29:57):
And I love I love every minute of it. Enjoy it.
And I'll save this. Before wewrap up. I used to hear people
say, Oh, they're riding yourcoattails or Oh, you're trying
to ride their coattails orwhatever, as if it were a
negative thing, like people arejust gonna get close to you so
(30:17):
they can ride your coattailsbetter. If I have a coat towel,
I'm about to see how many peopleI can fit up on it. Because
that, to me, is what it's allabout. I will not be here
forever. I will not be hereforever. So how am I ensuring
that for the sake of thisorganization, there's good
(30:38):
leadership when I'm gone. Andthere are people who know the
work and feel confident in thework. And let's just see how
many people we can get to rideon this cocktail that I've been
afforded. So there you go,
Will Voss (30:51):
man, I'm thinking like this long train. And like,
you know, just keep it growing.
Rikki Harris (30:57):
Make it available wedding dress, whatever you want
it to be.
Will Voss (31:01):
At this point in time, you've got about 85 steps.
I think we're gonna be ridinghis coattails. That's right,
Rikki Harris (31:06):
bring it on. We want everybody on the bus. Let's
go. I love it. I love it.
Unknown (31:14):
Awesome. Well, I know we've talked about a while I
Rikki Harris (31:19):
think we're wrapping up. I think so. I look
forward to our guests in thenear future.
Unknown (31:25):
So excited to get ready. Oh. We wanted to do it.
We can do it. We can did. We'regonna do it.
Rikki Harris (31:34):
So that's our next that's our next goal right there
is to find that that finalphrase about candidate to end
all of our podcasts figured out.
Well, it'll come to us just likethe name did in the middle of
the night. It'll come. Cannondid. Pass is done.
Unknown (31:57):
Thanks, Rick. Yep,
Change your I just saw that. I don't know why it's
getting my logins Compiz it wasautomatically doing my Tennessee
voices for a while and now justdoing my personal. Okay. Wait,
perfect.
Will Voss (00:27):
Sorry, we we've talked a lot about my why and
you made me realize that I sayit's forever changing and you
have me look at it from adifferent lens that it's forever
growing in something that'sbeing added to it. What would
you say your why is? What Why
Unknown (00:44):
do you do what you do?
Will Voss (00:46):
We've talked about why you started this, but you're
at a level now you've been here10 years? Why? Why do you doing?
Wow.
Rikki Harris (00:57):
Well, if you know, you keep adding to the why, and
you're somewhere for 10 years,and you're got 40 years of life
experience. Wait, how much timedo you have? Well? You know, I
can I have learned to be veryconcise with my why My why is my
(01:18):
family of origin. So my oldestbrother is kind of where the
story started in my mind. But itreally started before that with
my grandfather, my grandfathercompleted suicide when I was
seven. didn't really understandit, then really no, that's even
(01:42):
what happened till I was older.
So it really didn't start there.
For me, even thoughchronologically, that's where it
began. It was really after mybig brother was diagnosed with
bipolar disorder. And he, Iremember being really young,
(02:05):
probably eight, maybe younger. Iknew there was a lot going on
with him. I knew that he wasactually preparing to leave for
boot camp for the army. And onenight, he left the house and I
(02:25):
didn't see him for a while afterthat. And I was a kid. So you
know, I don't know how longexactly. But it seemed like a
long time. I thought maybe itwas something to do with his
training. My parents not that itwas wrong, but didn't say a lot
to me as a young child aboutwhat was going on. So it left
(02:47):
this little mind to wonder. Andthat mind wandered about a lot
of things. Like, does he notlike us? This he and I even want
to be here? Why would he justleave without saying bye? It
didn't make sense to me. So Ispent a lot of my childhood with
(03:10):
curiosity about mental health,curiosity about behavior. Later,
I was informed that he wasstruggling with mental health
issues, and that that there havebeen some really hard times for
my parents in that and they weretrying to protect me, I think
(03:31):
from from things. But lookingback now and having, you know,
chosen to go on this film,mainly because of my curiosity.
I realize they would have helpedme a lot to have somebody come
into my home and talk to meabout what was going on. Even
(03:51):
even as young as I was. Andagain, I don't think my parents
did anything wrong by not, youknow, talking to us. I think
they didn't know what theydidn't know. I think there could
have been a lot more shared withthem. There could have been
there could have been treatmentoptions that weren't accessible
(04:11):
to us. We lived in a rural areaof Arkansas, and there was not a
lot of talk about mental healthtreatment in that area. And at
that time, we were talking the80s man at will. So that was my
(04:31):
Y. My y came to fruition one daywhen we were sitting at the
dinner table with my family. Andmy dad said I think I was
probably 1514 My dad said Rickyyou're really smart. Are you
going to be a doctor or alawyer? And I said I was
(04:53):
thinking about mental health andI know his mom was like, what,
what? But he was, as he alwayswas so supportive, and, okay.
Okay, if that's what makes youhappy, and that's what you want
to do. And that's what I wantedto do. So, you know, much like
(05:18):
you psychology for thebachelor's degree
then on to grad school mastersof marriage and family therapy,
double masters. So I had asecond in Christian education. I
went to Southwestern BaptistTheological Seminary. So they
had a counseling program. Andthey had two separate programs,
(05:39):
they had the counseling program,and then the pastoral counseling
program. So really based on twodifferent approaches to helping
people, their program was builton scientific knowledge of, you
know, theories and psychologystudy and behavior, everything
that anyone would learn at anyis an accredited program. So but
(06:02):
I, it very much was taught inthe realm of my worldview as a
Christian. So I felt like I hada really unique opportunity to
kind of blend my my worldviewand my faith with my passion for
understanding psychology, mentalhealth, human behavior. And of
(06:23):
course, it wasn't too long downthe road, then I had my first
child, and I had postpartumactually, it was my second Good
night, I am like, trying. Thisis the part where you realize
you are aging. Like, now whichkid was it that had colic,
Unknown (06:43):
you're 40 years young, we'll put it like that? Well,
anywho,
Rikki Harris (06:48):
it was my second my first child actually ended
up, we had a lot of concern withhow she couldn't handle
transitions in preschool. And weit was caught her anxiety was
realized when she startedkindergarten, and had a really
hard time. And so we, that wasthe first time we were really
(07:12):
like, wow, we are parents, andwe know all about mental health,
my husband's also in the field.
But we have to step back and beparents and get some, some
professional help on how to helpher. So we really helped her and
got to work through a therapyprocess and her transitions and
her anxiety around transitions,which is, you know, not fun for
her to go through but a greatexperience for us as parents to
(07:35):
just be in the parent role, andsupport our child and, and, you
know, God has a way of puttingyou in situations to help you
see what it is your parents wentthrough what it is the parents
that you work for, in your youknow, in Tennessee voices what
they go through. And then aftera Leah then had my second
(07:57):
daughter, Reese, who I then hadpostpartum with her after she
was born. And that was, that wasquite an experience too. So the
y just keeps on building. I knowmy why this is why I do it. But
then you know, every lifeexperience you go through just
(08:17):
adds a little bit moreaffirmation to your choice to be
in this field and gives you thatflavor that you can sprinkle all
over the work you do that makesit even richer, because you can
you can say you understand youlived it experienced it been
there in some somecircumstances. So yes,
Will Voss (08:36):
yes, that's true.
Yeah, you know, I look at it asa blessing that we're sitting
here and we're able to sharewith others, you know, why we do
what we do, why we love it, whatit means to us? No, I asked you
this question for folks that arelistening, and they don't know
where to begin or know how toexplain their way. What What
would you tell them on how to goabout doing that?
Rikki Harris (09:02):
You know, walk back to the first time you ever
have that curiosity about thisfield, whatever it is, whether
it's an experience, whether it'sa thought, whether it's a friend
who went through something, or Iknow someone who said I was
always the person that myfriends in high school went to
(09:23):
for advice. And it was, it waslike, Why did they trust me? Why
did they come to me? Is it justthat I give great advice? No,
it's that you have a care andconcern and a spirit of just I
want to help people. And that'ssomething you explained earlier,
like you had that desire. And,you know, walk back to that for
(09:46):
those first memories, thosefirst opportunities and what
drew you here, and then it's notlike let the Y be about you. If
anything else at you know, we wedon't like that in this field.
We're altruist. Stick people, weare very much here for others,
we like to make it about others,but the Why should be about you.
(10:07):
And nobody else let you
Will Voss (10:12):
think you probably just help somebody understand
their why in front and
Rikki Harris (10:17):
maybe some maybe.
So I definitely know that thoselittle moments stand out when I
think about how much passion Ihave for this field. And I've
done work and I think everybodyshould do their own work in
therapy, whether you do thatyour program for your master's
degree, or you do that later inlife. But I've certainly done
(10:38):
some work around this. And anearly memory that I had, was
being a young child and myparents were out late at night
walking around the housepraying. And that was unusual,
not that they would pray, butthat they would be outside in
the dark, walking around thehouse, praying out loud
together, was a littledifferent. And I remember asking
(11:00):
my older sister, like, what isgoing on, we were supposed to be
in our bed asleep, right? Wewere, we were not supposed to
know this was happening. And myoldest is she's, she's a lot
older than me. So she's, at thetime, she was probably 16 or so.
And I was more like eight. Andshe said our brother had called
(11:24):
home, he had been gone for awhile. And nobody knew where he
was. And he had called home andsaid he was coming home, and he
was going to hurt us. And theywere praying, you know, for
protection and praying for himand all that. And I remember
that that's not the part, thepart of the story that that
(11:45):
makes the most impact on me, isI remember knowing feeling like
he would never hurt us, he wouldnever do that. So it was almost
like as a young child, I waslike something is not okay.
Something has happened to him tomake him say that, because
that's not who he is. And then Ithink that moment comes back and
(12:07):
resonates with me, so many timeswhen I work with or get to be
around the families of people wework with, and recognize that
there may be things that theyhave done, but that's not who
they are. And something is, youknow, causing them to struggle.
And their behavior is different,but it's not who they are at
(12:28):
their core. So that's a moment Ithink, for me and my wife that
always sits with me know whopeople really are.
Will Voss (12:38):
Yes, yes, no, they are, you know, think about you
know, how we connected. Neverknow what someone is going
through, you know, even today tolearn something new about you
that you had experiencedpostpartum with your second
child who ended up being in myclassroom.
Rikki Harris (13:00):
That's right.
Will Voss (13:02):
And I'm attempting to teach children you know, what to
do on an educational standpoint,and all social emotional skills.
And I will never forget, I wouldteach kids to make a happy play.
No. And you you know, for thoseof you that don't know what a
(13:24):
happy played is, that meansfinish everything that is on
there. Don't waste any goodsouthern boy would exactly. And
you know, you sent an email tome. And he challenged my way of
thinking and about how a lot ofthat it could lead to certain
mental health concern eatingdisorders. And we've got to be
(13:45):
careful in how we say things,you know, and it challenged me
and I will never forget that.
And I think the core of who Iam. I like to be challenged. I'd
like to like to betterunderstand that. It's a
different way to think aboutthings. Think about who you are
at the core. Yeah.
Rikki Harris (14:09):
You do like a good challenge. Do you like a good
challenge? Got like ChallengeAccepted written across your
forehead. We all
Unknown (14:18):
know, Mrs. may need help.
Rikki Harris (14:24):
You're so funny.
Yes, that is so true. That issomething that I also struggled
with in my high school years wasjust an unhealthy relationship
with food and I did not. Icertainly again, roll Arkansas
and then later rule Mississippi.
(14:49):
So not a lot of access toeducation and information and
better even better treatment.
But I had this unhealthyrelationship with food where I
was, I was a really scrawny kid.
And that's all people wanted totalk about was how skinny her
(15:11):
look at her legs. I likespaghetti noodles. My
grandmother called me spaghettilegs. Like for my whole life.
And my sister had the oppositewhere she, she went through
puberty really early. And so herbody changed really fast. And my
grandmother actually said toher, you, you're getting fat.
(15:33):
And that messed with herrelationship with food and her
body image. And so I learned alot from Southern culture, and
how it impacts our relationshipwith food. And something I saw
that happened a lot inpreschool. With Parents mostly,
(15:55):
but a reward for something.
Let's go get an ice cream cone.
Yeah, I brought you a candy bar,here's a lollipop for being good
at the doctor. And it was like,it interests me how much we used
food as a reward. And whether ornot that sets us up for some
unhealthy relationships withour, with our eating. And so it
(16:18):
was it was an area studied alot. And I did a lot of research
around how you deal with that inpreschool. And my mother was a
clean your plate kind of mom.
She did it, but only to the boysonly to the boys. And so it was
like there's so many things thatI mean, we could talk all day,
just some interesting culturalthings. That really as I became
(16:39):
a parent made me stop and andlook at differently and go. What
does that mean, when I say that?
What What am I saying to mychild? Don't listen to your
stomach. Even though it saysyour full. You eat everything on
there? Why? So yeah, good times.
But it does take me back topreschool days. I know a lot of
(17:02):
people know the story. We talkabout it a lot that you you were
racist teacher and her two yearold classroom and preschool,
which is where I got to knowyou. But you also, we had a
little Ole Miss connectionbecause my dad grew up in
Oxford. And so we we go home andvisit, we go to Oxford, and we
(17:24):
go to Ole Miss game. So that waslike a little bit of a
connecting point. For us. And,and then, and then there was
that, like, you were the newteacher thing that happened.
That really I think bonded us alittle bit. But all the things
started, started ourcommunication and something I
realized about you is that youwere not afraid to communicate
(17:46):
with parents. And a lot ofteachers were they I don't know,
if they were afraid to upsetparents or they just did. It was
uncomfortable, especially ifthere was difficult things to
talk about. But the only time Ihad had teacher interaction,
like I have with you was onparent teacher conference twice
a year. But yours was almostdaily, it was a little bit of a
(18:10):
check in. And I rememberthinking like this guy knows how
to talk to people. And that's ahuge thing. Especially when your
kid is in your care all day, Iwant to know what happened.
Will Voss (18:28):
It's so strange, and I equated all and grateful. It
goes back to my upbringing. Youhave a millennial raise by baby
boomers. That job I mean, Istarted working with a company
when I saw add another state inthere after I graduated from Ole
Miss moved to Charlotte for alittle bit. And that's when I
(18:50):
started working with the earlychildhood center and landed the
job. I think a month after I hadmoved home. I went around and I
had applications printed off.
And I just happen to walk theapplication in there like like
it's just late 1960s 70s Youwalking around, even though
there's an email and everything,and I was dressed up and I was
(19:12):
like I want to find me a job, Ihave a degree. And I landed that
job. And it just my parentssaid, You know what, even if
you're garbage man, do the bestthat you can. And it goes back
to that like your child is in mycare all day. And have always
been the type to say I can'tknow how to best support. If we
(19:35):
don't communicate in what'sgoing on at home. If there has
been a rough morning, you know,and it may trigger into the
whole day. Or it's been a roughday and let's make sure we
follow up at home. You know, andit's nothing to let someone know
I this is a concern and this isa success. A lot of those
children you know, especiallythinking of the single mom They
(19:58):
were bringing their children in.
I was a father like figure tohim. Think this, the this guy is
here to support me all day andwants to teach me and cares
about me. So communication iskey. Yeah. And it's to make sure
we continue to steal, push as amajor value.
Rikki Harris (20:21):
Yeah. And I think maybe there'll be the right
future podcast, there's, there'sa lot to unpack there that I
think we will dive into a lot ofdifferent factors that, that you
and I've talked about that arereally cool about our
intersection. But I think thething to wrap up on would be
(20:44):
this, I, you know, developingpast, getting into the field,
and my why and all that kind ofstuff. And now being a CEO, and
having responsibility of leadingpeople. My favorite part about
leadership has been the role ofcreating and mentoring more
(21:06):
leaders. And I say it all thetime, the organization, I know
you hear it, good leaders createmore leaders. That's something
that I noticed in you as apreschool teacher, as you know,
this guy's he has potential tobe a great leader, because he's
willing to have hardconversations, he's willing to
(21:29):
have strong communication, whichis not always easy, especially
when you're dealing with kidsbehavior in preschool. And
parents who love their babies alot think they're perfect. But
not only that, just you alwayshad a plan for the kids you
always had. You're alwaysdressed for success. And I don't
(21:52):
mean that you have to have thenicest clothes to be a leader. I
mean, that's not what I mean.
But you showed up, as if thiswas an important job to you, you
cared about it, and you werepresenting the best way
possible. And I think that issomething I love so much about
being a CEO is helping thatleaders who already have the
(22:12):
potential inside of them to justfind that path, and get on that
leadership path and reallyblossom. And so that that's the
other part of think of me thatis I did a passion I had to
discover later on, obviously, mypassions, no health. But I was
so excited to work and mentorpeople who want to be leaders.
(22:35):
And it wasn't because I thoughtI had some incredible wisdom to
impart to them, but it wasbecause I wanted them to succeed
because I could see it in them.
And I was all I wanted was, man,let's let's help you find your
way into leadership because it'sso much fun. I love it. It's the
(22:57):
best and I wouldn't trade it foranything.
Will Voss (23:00):
You is definitely and you you got to realize that the
way that makes someone feels theway it made me feel. Um, you're
seeing something in people thatthey don't even may not even
know is there. And to be able totake the time and say you know
what, let's try to get let's getthrough this together because
you've got way more potential
Unknown (23:21):
out. Yeah, yeah.
Will Voss (23:26):
Oh, actually, this you asked me earlier. Do you
feel that this is your ministry?
Rikki Harris (23:35):
Or, as you said, The words chills went all the
way around body? Yes, yes.
Because I do think in myworldview, we all have a
purpose. We all can serve theworld in some way. And we all
have a choice to make in doingthat with integrity and with
people in mind. And this is thisis definitely it for me. I I
(24:00):
know that I would not be where Iam today without the grace of
Lord because i i On My Own don'thave all the answers. I can't
tell you sometimes. how somethings have just worked out. It
makes no sense to me. I couldn'ton my best days planned at all.
(24:20):
But it does, it works out and itin it. It's just this beautiful
thing to know that you areliving your purpose. And you are
lifting people up buildingpeople up and doing what you
know God has called you to doand that's just love people.
(24:42):
Just love people. And it is ajoy to do it every day.
Unknown (24:50):
It's pretty fun. Yes, it's bigger than bigger than
this. Always. Always
Will Voss (25:00):
As we prepare on this journey for a podcast, we're
telling people our why we'reexplaining why it's important to
have a y. What are your hopes?
What's your hope? For thispodcast? We say we we hope to
reach million, but we reach amillion people, what's our hope
(25:20):
for them?
Rikki Harris (25:24):
I love that question. Because that question
started this podcast. And thequestion was a little bit
different, because it wasn'twhat do you hope for the
podcast? But it was like, Whatdo you want? What do you want to
get at? What are you trying toaccomplish? And I have that
conversation with my leadershipcoach. And by the way, everyone
(25:46):
in leadership, no matter howlong you've been at, it should
use leadership coach at somepoint, all the time. But, you
know, couple times a year, orwhat, however you feel best,
because they can challenge yourthinking and, and keep you from
settling in, keep you on theinnovation on the What am I
(26:09):
doing on the what's next? Andhow can I help move things
forward. But anyway, we weretalking through this, and the
word influence came up. And itwas something you and I talked
to the directors in ourorganization about last week
about your title holds a certainamount of information about you,
(26:32):
Whether you speak or don't, ifyou say, I'm Ricky hairs, I'm
the CEO. There's immediateinformation. And someone takes
that information and decides howthey're going to behave around
you what's acceptable to say infront of you, how they want to
feel about you, because theyhave past experiences with CEOs
(26:54):
that are good and bad. Soinfluence was a word that kind
of kept coming up in our, in myleadership meetings with my
coach. And I think for me, itwas, if I know that I, it took
me a while to accept that I hadinfluence. At first it felt like
(27:17):
how much difference the words sireally make, but the impact of
the words really start to beclear. The minute you become a
leader, something's gonnahappen, we're gonna be like, Oh,
no, why are they so scared ofme? Why won't they sit by me at
the table? Not that that everhappened to you will? It's
(27:38):
because of your title. And so Iremember there was, there was a
couple of things that happenwhere people said something like
they wanted to, they wanted tobe like me in some way. They
named away. And I my thoughtwas, I have to figure out how I
want to use this influence.
Because whether I want to acceptit or not, I have it. How am I
(28:01):
going to use it? And then itreally started resonating with
me, the voice that I have, Ihave opened doors just because
of my title, I get to walkthrough those doors, or walk
into meetings or be present ormake my voice heard because I
have a title. What am I going todo with that? I'll bring
(28:24):
everything I can to the table,I'll be the voice of the people.
But the other thing I can do isallow people to come in behind
me keep the door open for thepeople that work for the
organization who are served bythe organization, how do I allow
their voice to be heard, wherethose doors are that are open to
(28:45):
me. And that's where the podcastcame in. I was like we have to
hear from people. We have tohear from people. So it really
all came back to how am I goingto use what influence I have.
For better, for better andbetter for me is other people
succeeding other people beingheard other people learning from
(29:08):
other people and buildingbridges where bridges may not
have been built before for agood thing. So that's the hope
we'll see.
Unknown (29:25):
It's gonna happen be helpful.
Rikki Harris (29:27):
Yep. Yep, I am.
Will Voss (29:30):
And that was me. I think I was one of those people
that said I would love you're ago getter. That's what I'm
trying to follow any. Yeah. Howyou have grown this agency since
you first started. You have puta lot of work that we don't even
know about a no into supportingand making sure that we're
(29:52):
growing in that services outthere for folks.
Rikki Harris (29:57):
And I love I love every minute of it. Enjoy it.
And I'll save this. Before wewrap up. I used to hear people
say, Oh, they're riding yourcoattails or Oh, you're trying
to ride their coattails orwhatever, as if it were a
negative thing, like people arejust gonna get close to you so
(30:17):
they can ride your coattailsbetter. If I have a coat towel,
I'm about to see how many peopleI can fit up on it. Because
that, to me, is what it's allabout. I will not be here
forever. I will not be hereforever. So how am I ensuring
that for the sake of thisorganization, there's good
(30:38):
leadership when I'm gone. Andthere are people who know the
work and feel confident in thework. And let's just see how
many people we can get to rideon this cocktail that I've been
afforded. So there you go,
Will Voss (30:51):
man, I'm thinking like this long train. And like,
you know, just keep it growing.
Rikki Harris (30:57):
Make it available wedding dress, whatever you want
it to be.
Will Voss (31:01):
At this point in time, you've got about 85 steps.
I think we're gonna be ridinghis coattails. That's right,
Rikki Harris (31:06):
bring it on. We want everybody on the bus. Let's
go. I love it. I love it.
Unknown (31:14):
Awesome. Well, I know we've talked about a while I
Rikki Harris (31:19):
think we're wrapping up. I think so. I look
forward to our guests in thenear future.
Unknown (31:25):
So excited to get ready. Oh. We wanted to do it.
We can do it. We can did. We'regonna do it.
Rikki Harris (31:34):
So that's our next that's our next goal right there
is to find that that finalphrase about candidate to end
all of our podcasts figured out.
Well, it'll come to us just likethe name did in the middle of
the night. It'll come. Cannondid. Pass is done.
Unknown (31:57):
Thanks, Rick. Yep,
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