EP 38: Exploring Human-Centered Leadership in Healthcare

Coffee Break-Dr. Kay Kennedy: Audio automatically transcribed by Sonix

Coffee Break-Dr. Kay Kennedy: this mp3 audio file was automatically transcribed by Sonix with the best speech-to-text algorithms. This transcript may contain errors.

Renee Thompson:
Plants thrive and grow in a peaceful, nourished environment, right? Well, it's the same with human beings. But what if that environment is not so peaceful? What if it's toxic? Welcome to Coffee Break: Breaking the Cycle of Bullying in Healthcare – One Cup at a Time. In this podcast, you'll get practical, evidence-based strategies to help you cultivate and sustain a healthy and respectful work culture by tackling an age-old problem in healthcare: bullying and incivility. I am your host, Dr. Renee Thompson.

Renee Thompson:
Hi everyone! Welcome back to the Coffee Break podcast. Wherever you are listening or watching, I hope you're having a great week. And today, we're going to kick up well-being a notch by interviewing and having a little coffee chat with none other than Dr. Kay Kennedy of uLeadership. Kay, welcome to the show.

Dr. Kay Kennedy:
Thank you, Renee, I am so excited to get to have this time with you.

Renee Thompson:
So am I, Kay. And for those of you maybe who don't know Kay, I'm going to tell you more about her, but I first want to start by letting you know how I met Kay. I decided that I would participate in the audience, a webinar that the Florida Organization of Nurse Leaders actually offered. I live in Tampa, so that's my group, those are my people: F O N L, and Kay and her colleague, and I think it was Susan. Was it Susan or Lucy?

Dr. Kay Kennedy:
Susan.

Renee Thompson:
Susan, yes, I think it was Susan. You were the facilitators and talked all about human-centered leadership, and I thought we were kindred spirits. I thought, oh my gosh, I have to get to know these people. And your work was so important that I think we instantly became friends after that because we communicated after. And then we saw each other at AONL and it's like instant sisterhood.

Dr. Kay Kennedy:
Well, I knew you of you. And when I saw that you were in the audience, I instantly got just a little case of the nerves because I thought, I can't believe I'm going to get to meet Renee Thompson. So it was a mutual thing.

Renee Thompson:
It was. It was total mutual respect, admiration, and just appreciation for the work that we're both doing. But to share a little bit more about Kay, she is the CEO of uLeadership, and she has authored many, many publications. She has authored this book, Human-Centered Leadership in Healthcare: Evolution of a Revolution, which I had to instantly order after I heard her and Susan speak, and it is fantastic. You will absolutely love it. We'll have the link to this in the show notes. She's also published a journal which I thought was so cool. It's reflective journal, and it was Shifts. It was for nurses by nurses, and I took a look at it. I love the fact that you use Sbar as the format, because who doesn't know Sbar inside and out, and it was just a great way to format or to provide that framework for journaling, but you've also authored so many articles. You recently, I think it was in March, authored an article in the American Nurse Journal, and that's where the American Nurses Association about leadership styles. And you really look at interviewing questions, you've been in Nurse Leader numerous times, nursing management. You've just really produced a plethora of work and made it public for the rest of us. And so just really appreciate all of the work that you're doing at uLeadership, looking at human-centered leadership. So Kay is the real deal here. And she's a researcher, and just the work that she's doing with her colleagues at uLeadership is just fantastic. So this is what made me fall in love with Kay and her work is when during this webinar, she said, all of this work that they do, it starts with you, but it's not about you. I heard that, and I'm like, oh my gosh, this is it. So, Kay, can you tell us what does that mean? It starts with you, but it's not about you.

Dr. Kay Kennedy:
Sure, I can because I live and breathe that. But first of all, Renee, I just want to mention that all of our publications are a team effort with my colleagues, Lisa LeClaire and Susan Campus. And we often say, None of us could have gotten here by ourselves. It's definitely a collaborative work, and that's also what makes it fun. But the tagline, It starts with you, but it's not about you, it came together when Lucy and Susan and I came together. I had known each of them at different hospitals that we had worked at together, and I knew, I considered both of them very close friends. The reason being, I liked them, but also that I knew they had a similar philosophy of leadership that I did. And I think at that time, we would have all called ourselves servant leaders. And I know for myself, I was in a transition from a CNO position where I had definitely served as a servant leader, and Lucy and Susan were also at sort of a crossroads in their journey as well. And what we learned early on is we realized we had one thing in common, more than one thing, but one significant thing, and that was that we had all pretty much served ourselves into a place of burnout. We, I know for myself, I would be the first to get there in the morning after a one-hour commute, the last to go home and do it again and again, and it really did start to wear on me. You know, I wasn't getting enough sleep. I wasn't taking care of myself at all. And as I've looked back on it, that lack of taking care of myself really did not help me when it came to my intentions and my behaviors always lining up correctly. So that really came to light when the three of us were talking. And Susan, who is our health and wellness coach on the team as well as an executive leader in nursing, she said, We need some type of a leadership style to follow that puts the person, the leader themself, as a priority. And at that time, I still wasn't quite there, and I was like, I don't know. I mean, it's all about serving others. But as we continue to talk, Lucy, who is a qualitative research expert, she said, I believe we should do a research project. We need to explore this because if we are having this kind of a problem and situation with how we lead, then others must be too. And so right before the pandemic, actually, it was in like January and February of 2020, we did our research project, and it was a qualitative study. We used constructivist grounded theory, and that study allowed us to be able to develop an actual nursing leadership theory, and that's Human-Centered Leadership in Healthcare. I'm sort of getting off on telling the whole story, but I want to just say that we wanted to preserve this idea of servant leadership because that's, you know, who we feel like we are a relational leader. So it starts with you in that you have to prioritize yourself, but it's not about you. The way you lead has to be through relationships, through prioritizing relationships and recognizing that you can get results through relationships.

Renee Thompson:
Yes, and I actually saw that you even wrote an article about or you talked about relational leadership. And I'm seeing that more and more. It's this shift from the selfless, I give my entire self to my team as a servant leader, to more of that relational leadership. And I remember during the pandemic, some of my clients, leaders, some of them as directors, senior leaders, CNOs were obviously focused on their team, their staff, those people at the bedside. But I'll never forget having a conversation with one of the leaders who said, I have come into this building every single day for 12 weeks because just the thought of not coming in a day, I feel overwhelmed with guilt that my staff is out there battling this virus and what I'm going to take a day off. But my first thought was, oh no, no, no, no, but don't you see you're only going to be able to help them so much, because if you're burned out and you're not at your if you don't take care of yourself, how are we supposed to help your team? But that's the mindset. That's the, I think we fall into this trap that we think just because we're in the leadership role, that we have to be there. As you said, first one in, the last one out. And so can you, yeah, talk a little bit about how are you helping leaders to be okay with: It starts with me, but it's not about me. Because I think that's where the real challenge is, is getting leaders to see that in order for them to take care of their team, they need to take care of themselves because they'll say, I don't have time for that. Because honestly, Kay, I've said the same thing. I don't have time to take a day off.

Dr. Kay Kennedy:
Absolutely. And first, I want to recognize what you said about relational leadership. It is a broad category, and it actually includes transformational. It includes servant. It includes authentic. It includes all of that. Human-centered leadership includes all of that, too, but relational leadership is more of an umbrella term, I guess you could say. But ourselves and some other researchers that we've been working with really want to put the focus on the relational leadership styles over and above, just choosing one like transformational and just going forward with that being the only way to lead in healthcare. And human-centered leadership is really constructed for healthcare, in particular.

Renee Thompson:
The work that we do here, you know, cultivating healthy work cultures, we always start with the leadership team. Any time we go into an organization, the very first group of people that we work with are the leaders because it's the leaders who determine the culture. You know, good, bad and ugly. It's not, you know, it's not to say blame the leader if you have a bad culture, but it's taking a look at that leader and going back to what you're talking about, what is their leadership style? Do they understand the importance of this umbrella of, you know, relational leadership? But are they taking care of themselves? Because when they do, they act as role models for the rest of their team.

Dr. Kay Kennedy:
Exactly, Renee. And I think this whole idea of role model is so important. I don't think we realize how important that is. And me staying in my office until 8:00 at the earliest to leave was not role modeling my intention to the team at all. It truly is important, and I was just reading an article that talked about the impact of role modeling on healthy work environment. So, or a nurturing work environment or however you want to call it. But you know, Renee, you ask, How do we try to help leaders connect caring for themselves with leading? And I think it's because it just so connects. You know, like the idea of the first dimension of human-centered leadership is the self. So the attributes that go with that are well-being, self-compassion, self-awareness, and mindfulness, and for some reason, I'm missing number five. But the thing that is so cool about this is when you realize the impact that self-awareness has on you, it really can help you to become such a more effective leader, to have deeper relationships, to make better decisions; all of this because you're getting that awareness of how you see yourself, and the awareness of how others see you lined up so that your intentions and your behaviors are together, they're the same. So you can imagine how much more effective you can be if how you show up every day is completely in line with what your intention is.

Renee Thompson:
Yeah, so that they see you as authentic. It's what I talk about, so we do this program: Eight Essential Skills of a Healthy Team. And the first skill is self-awareness. And we put this together as a: How do I develop this skill in me as a leader first. And then how do I develop this skill with my team? And we talk a little bit about something called the Trust Wobble. I really learned about this from an article that was in the Harvard Business Review. I'm a huge fan of their articles. And they talked about authenticity. Does your team believe that they're dealing with the real you? Are you role modeling? Or some people will say, Are you modeling the way? Your intentions is how you show up every day. Does it truly reflect who you are? And sometimes we have blinders on and we don't even realize that we may be saying this, but doing that and we're sending mixed messages. And I'm sure you've seen that in your practice and with the research and the work that you're doing now is just this disconnect.

Dr. Kay Kennedy:
Yes. And the other part of that caring for self, Renee, I think the one I left off was self-care or self-nurturing. But the other part of all that is self-compassion, which is a really interesting thing because what we know is that we can be very hard on ourselves, and we don't treat ourselves like we would treat our best friend. We treat ourselves pretty judgmental, in a judgmental way oftentimes, and it's an important thing to recognize when you're doing that, because the more you do it, the more your brain gets into that habit, and it's just not good for your self-image, and your confidence, and your ability to be a strong leader.

Renee Thompson:
You are 100% right. We are so hard on ourselves. I am guilty as charged. What I've learned over the years, and I don't know if it's just I've made enough mistakes to have finally got to the point where I said I need to learn from them, or I've gotten to the point where I'm okay not being perfect or, not to say that I ever try to be perfect, I don't; I mess up all the time. But I'm okay with admitting what I'm not good at and also, at the same time, letting people know that, you know what? Sometimes I can come across as judgmental, or sometimes I give unsolicited advice. And I am working on this, and I think that's so powerful for a leader to recognize, as sometimes, I come across as maybe a little aggressive, or maybe this. I'm working on it.

Dr. Kay Kennedy:
Exactly. And there's that self-awareness again. You know? And I think, thank goodness, we are at a time now when people are accepting of other's authenticity. It's really kind of attractive, you know, to just be who you are. It's good.

Renee Thompson:
Some of the work that we've done, especially when we go into an organization, there's a big disconnect between the leadership team and the employees. One of the things we work on with the leadership team is to help them to become more vulnerable so that you can establish trust with your team. And that is saying, I made a mistake, or I didn't handle that well, or this is what I'm working on, not to try to pretend that you have all the answers and that you know everything. It's just showing them that you know you're part of the same team. And when you can do that as a leader. I think it also ties back to what you said about self-compassion. When you admit that there's something that maybe isn't so great about yourself, but you're working on it, it's almost that you give yourself permission for you to be working on it. And then I know sometimes I mess up.

Dr. Kay Kennedy:
You're growing.

Renee Thompson:
Yes, and that's not always easy for some leaders, especially if you're in a senior leadership role. I know we have a lot of executives who listen to this podcast, and especially at that CNO, that executive level. And Kay, you were a CNO before. There's just this: they put you on a pedestal, and they think you have to have all the answers and make all ideal decisions. But that's not always the case, is it?

Dr. Kay Kennedy:
Not at all. And in fact, the more often you're able to defer to those at the bedside as the experts and the innovators, that's when people are truly engaged, and that's when you really get the results, not when the leader at the top pushes down a new initiative, and everybody else has to micromanage it.

Renee Thompson:
Exactly. And I learned this recently. I was at a conference, and one of the speakers was talking about when somebody comes to you, like your employee comes to you and they have a problem, we tend to, as leaders, right away, we want to solve the problem for them. And when we do that, when we tell them what to do, we actually do their thinking for them instead of maybe helping them to problem solve, or, oh my gosh, say, You know what? I don't think I'm the best person to ask. Let's take a look at who else might be better at this. And to say that and to be okay with it is a powerful leadership skill that I think all of the people listening right now can actually work on.

Dr. Kay Kennedy:
Exactly. And also, asking that person who brings a problem, what are their ideas for a solution, and really listening.

Renee Thompson:
Yes, it's a partnership. You know, I'm here to support you, but I might not have all the answers. But I bet you've got some ideas that for you to be coming to me with this problem, you've probably thought about this before. Let's hope they have. Kay, I want to circle back. You had mentioned the research that you did in January 2020. And, you know, that really went into the development of human-centered leadership. Can you tell us about your results and the theory that you've developed that really focuses on this topic?

Dr. Kay Kennedy:
Yes, Renee. So, we developed a list of questions. First, of course, we went to the literature. We saw that there wasn't, at that time, there was not any other nursing-specific or even healthcare-specific leadership style or practice in the literature. Since that time, there has been the development of authentic nurse leadership. But at the time we were looking, there was nothing. So we said, Okay, there's definitely a gap here. It's not the same working in healthcare as it is working in retail or some other industry. It's just not the same. So, we came up with some questions. We pulled together some different focus groups. We wanted to speak to nurses at the bedside because, of course, we believe, and I know you do too, that every nurse is a leader. So we spoke to nurses at the bedside. We spoke to a group of CNS educators. We spoke to directors and CNOs. I think that was about, I think that covered it. But what we did, we had a list of questions to ask them. And what we ended up doing is just asking two questions, because it just opened up so much discussion on their part, and we just decided in the moment, This is all we need to know. So we asked them to describe the leader that they had had in their career that they would follow to the ends of the earth. We just wanted to get what is the ideal leader in healthcare like? So number one, and those different groups, they were all very appreciative for that question because they were like, Well, nobody's ever asked us this. Okay, yes. And then they went through the different characteristics of those leaders. And it's so interesting because since that time when we speak in front of groups, we say, Ask them about it, and someone always comes to your mind because there's a differentiator of that leader that means everything to you. And so after that question, then we ask one other question. And the other question is: Describe the leader that's made you want to leave a position or leave the profession. And this is the part that was, I'm just going to say, heartbreaking. Because gosh, in one group, we had people who started crying, and it was so touching that others were empathetic, and oh, I'm so sorry that happened to you, and this is what happened to me. And it was, I think, very therapeutic to have them share that. Of course, their answers were the exact opposite of the leader that would follow to the ends of the earth. So, of course, we bring this in the affirmative, but it just, it really breaks my heart, and I know it does you too, to know that this is something people have in common, that they've had a leader that caused them this kind of pain before. So I think we knew at that point that we were on to something. We also recognize that these same characteristics of the leader you would follow to the ends of the earth were the same, no matter which position you are in. So that was really, really cool. The thing about constructivist grounded theory is that the researchers don't have to be the blank slate. They can actually draw on their own experience, and even literature or history can play a role in the development of the theory. Because what you're doing is you're bringing together the current experience, you're bringing together other experiences and even historical experiences. So that is really how it was developed. But as we were going through and analyzing the information, we came up with the four dimensions. At first, we didn't call self a dimension, but later, we realized it is. So a theory is always evolving and that's kind of the beauty of it. So the outward-facing dimensions are the awakener, the connector, and the upholder. The awakener is that part of a leader that is focused on developing the team and really helping them to grow. The connector is that part of a leader that's focused on bringing the team together, uniting the team around the mission, and the vision, and the values. And then lastly, the upholder is that part of a leader that really connects with the individuals, that has a relationship that's very inclusive and caring. And it's through these attributes that are associated with each dimension that there is a co-creation of a culture, and it's a culture of excellence, trust, and caring, and that's where all the outcomes come from.

Renee Thompson:
So first of all, I am beyond impressed that it started with a conversation with Lucy and Susan, and it then turned into a whole new theory with these outward-facing components and Susan in the middle.

Dr. Kay Kennedy:
Yes.

Renee Thompson:
Now, I do have a question. Is every leader an awakener or a connector or an upholder, or do they, can they float in between?

Dr. Kay Kennedy:
I'm so glad you asked that. It's not like a personality test, you know? What it is is it demonstrates that because the world that we practice in is so relational, that it requires you to really focus in on all of these aspects. Now, we have an assessment that has been validated and shown to be reliable by an independent psychometrician. The assessment helps you to just evaluate yourself and see which of the different dimensions you might naturally be really good at. But inevitably, I'm going to say 90% of the time, you're good at one, but maybe the other two not as good, or there's usually at least one that you're not as good at. And I like to just think of that as a way to say, Hey, I need to put a little more attention on this dimension because people have said that they want all of this. And the interesting thing, Renee, and honestly, we didn't even realize this until after we had written the book, is that the Awakener is very much like a servant leader; and the Connector is very much like a transformational leader; and the Upholder is like an authentic leader, and we didn't even realize that. But that is how relational this business we're in is all about, right?

Renee Thompson:
Yeah, that's quite remarkable to have, you're in the weeds, you're in your data and you're collecting everything, and you come up with these. And then for you to be able to step back and say, Wait a minute. I see that alignment, and when you were talking earlier about relational leadership is really that umbrella term for servant leadership and, you know, authentic leadership and transformational leadership. And it's really articulated well in the theory that you've created, that you've developed, and it just, it seems like it comes full circle. And again, I just want to make sure that I understand, and I want our listeners to understand you are still self is in the middle, correct?

Dr. Kay Kennedy:
Self is in the middle. And we can … in the middle. You know what? It's based on complex adaptive systems. You know, in complexity, the leader is embedded in the system as opposed to being above the system. So we have that scientific sort of alignment with complexity. And then also we have a connection with caring science. And when you look at the model, the self that's in the middle has this open stance, who are they outreaching and inclusive and vulnerable, but they also have this big red heart right on their chest.

Renee Thompson:
It's a beautiful model. It's a beautiful model. Very well illustrated.

Dr. Kay Kennedy:
Thank you. We feel it's important to not be afraid to say love, to not be afraid to lead with a caring heart. I remember one time I had a leader that reported to me, and I felt like if she could just let her staff know she cared about them, that it would help so much with some of the problems that were going on. And I said, You know, I wonder if you ought to just tell them: Hey, I really love you guys. And she said, What, use the word love at work? No way. She goes, I would say respect but not love. And I said, Okay, but it's a long time ago.

Renee Thompson:
Do you think that she really didn't feel the love for her team? Or do you think she was afraid of saying that because how her team might perceive her? I think maybe she thinks she might lose credibility. What do you think?

Dr. Kay Kennedy:
I think she was just uncomfortable with it for some reason. I don't know what the reason was exactly, but I think she was just uncomfortable, and that was probably 2015. It was a while, or maybe sometime between '15 and '20, so it was a while ago.

Renee Thompson:
Yeah. But to your point, Yes, it's okay. That's how people you care about them. And to show your team that you care about them and to say that the love word. My friend and colleague, Quint Studer, I always say he has given us all permission to love each other because even when we've talked, we end our conversations with, he'll say, I love you, Renee. I love you too, Quint. And you know what? Why not? And it doesn't have to be love like the love of your spouse or partner or children or your bestie. Absolutely. I love you for the human being that you are. And when we look at leadership, and it doesn't have to be at that love. You don't have to love love your employees, but you, at least, have to care about them because, you know, that's another one of those trust wobbles. Does your, you know, team empathy? Do your employees believe that you care about them? And here's the deal. You know this, Kay: You can't fake this. So, if you really don't care about your team, maybe leadership isn't the right fit for you.

Dr. Kay Kennedy:
That's right.

Renee Thompson:
Like you have to, you have to be sincere and truly care about the people that you're leading. Because if you don't, again, it might be time for you to consider some other role.

Dr. Kay Kennedy:
Maybe the leader is burned out, you know?

Renee Thompson:
This is true, and maybe they need to peel back the layers of everything that's accumulated on top of them over the, however many years, and maybe they will find that place where they can learn to care again. And, you know, we talk about compassion fatigue, and I know that's a huge problem right now, especially in healthcare.

Dr. Kay Kennedy:
Oh, yes. Absolutely, Renee.

Renee Thompson:
So Kay, as we start wrapping up, we talked about, it starts with you, but it's not about you. We've talked about the research that you've done. We've talked about what human-centered leadership is really all about, and the Awakener and the Connector and the Upholder and the self is in the middle. Okay, somebody might be listening. Well, this sounds really nice, but how does this show up as outcomes? Like what can we expect if we adopt this theory in our organization? You know, what kind of outcomes have you seen at uLeadership?

Dr. Kay Kennedy:
Well, we, the hospital that we were working with during the peaks and valleys of the pandemic, it was actually early 2021, I think, and we actually published a paper on the outcomes with that organization because what we did is we measured healthy work environment before and after our implementation. And in all of Medsurge and in women and infants, all six standards went up. And in the ED, I believe it was three out of the six went up. We thought that was really good. And the thing that was, we found to be the real aha from this is that the retention of the leaders went way up, and the retention of the staff stayed the same, which as before we started this. So we felt like it helped to maintain what they had rather than losing staff like most organizations were doing during the pandemic.

Renee Thompson:
Yeah, that's a win right there. That's a positive outcome. Not losing.

Dr. Kay Kennedy:
Exactly. And the fact that those standards related to retention, let's say, no, it's not retention. It's called adequate staffing. It's one of the standards within the healthy work environment assessment. And the fact that that went up when truly the staffing didn't go up. But what we think caused that is that the leaders learned to engage the staff in the problems and the solutions. They learned to turn their huddles into opportunities to have the team work together towards solutions. And I think it just gave some autonomy and empowerment resulted. They gave autonomy, and empowerment resulted as having some control over your environment because they came up with a solution that it was honored.

Renee Thompson:
Wow. This reminds me of some of the work Daniel Pink has done on motivation. He has a book called Drive that I read probably three times already. And he basically said, For people to be motivated, they need purpose, they need mastery, and they need autonomy. And it sounds like that's what you're talking about here, that these leaders were able to problem solve with their teams and give them some autonomy in decision making, to create an opportunity for them to master whatever skills they need to master. But then it all goes back to why are we here? It's to serve our communities. It's to serve each other. And it's a nice way to sort of tie all of that together. When you look at why do people stay or leave a job, a lot of it used to be it was the leader, only. It was, okay, the relationship they have with their leader now, things have changed a little bit. I think the relationship that they have with their leader is number two. But still, I would say, Kay, that the work that you and Lucy and Susan have done is truly a gift to leaders today, because everybody's talking about employee well-being, and a lot of us, like you are standing back here saying, But what about leader well-being? And this gives them permission to take care of themselves. It's evidence-based. It's based on research. It's based on science. It gives them permission to take care of themselves. But one last question for you. Let's say you have a leader who's listening right now, who we are speaking to that leader. Okay? Your words of wisdom and talking about this work is really resonating with that leader. But maybe they're the only ones in their organization who has even heard of human-centered leadership. What would you recommend them do as a first step?

Dr. Kay Kennedy:
I would say, start by being a role model, taking care of yourself, and just being reflective on the results that that one thing provides. From there, I think it's really thinking about how does a culture come together and recognizing that these outcomes we are trying so hard to get all the time, they come from a culture; they don't come from a single initiative. And it's the culture that makes the difference. One thing that I have really recognized recently about human-centered leadership in healthcare is that by having this visual model, people are able to see who they are, and what they know, and what they do. We say it's being, knowing, and doing, how that impacts this co-creation of a culture, and what influence you have as a leader. And as you really focus in on that, it's like a personal transformation, the being and the knowing and then bringing it to action. What happens is every hospital has different outcomes because it's not like a cookie cutter, everyone gets the same outcome. Every hospital is a little different because they have different people, they have different things that they're focused on, and so that's what keeps it so exciting. We just finished with the hospital, the engagement with them, and they had a tremendous impact on their patient experience. They had a big impact on staff engagement because they had this creative thing that they did. They first discovered what their why was, who they were as an organization. This is after a big increase in bed. And then they had that put on a name tag and a backer where it said my why. And people wrote out their own why, and they wear that on their tag. And so it shows: This is why I'm here, and this is how I connect to the hospital why. So that engagement was very unique to them, but it worked.

Renee Thompson:
Yeah, and going back to how you started this, it's being the role model. It goes back to: It starts with you and getting to know who you are, how you show up every day; that self-awareness piece. And you mentioned reflection. I don't think we give ourselves time just to pause and think, because we're going back to back to back to back to back to back meetings. And we've got all these things. And we come home and we've got all these things and we're supposed to do. And we get to the end of the night, and there's just no time left. And so I think that's a really great place to start, is just to have some time to reflect on who you are as a leader, who you think you are as a leader, how other people might perceive you. But I do want to make sure our audience, they have some resources so that they can continue learning more about you and your good work. So first of all, we're going to have this book, a link to this book in the show notes. I highly recommend it. I read it as soon as I got it in the mail. It was an incredible read, and it really goes into more detail. The Awakener and the Connector and the Upholder and this whole human-centered leadership. I highly recommend it. Also, we're going to put in the show notes a link to Kay's website. It's you uLeadership.com. Because Kay and her team, they do coaching. They do consulting. You do keynote speaking, right? There's a lot. You have online programs for people. So it's a great resource. I know you have articles there. I've read a few of them. So make sure you check out uLeadership.com. And if somebody wanted to connect with you on LinkedIn, Kay, would that be okay?

Dr. Kay Kennedy:
Oh, sure. I would love that.

Renee Thompson:
Okay, yeah. Make sure you connect with Kay on LinkedIn. And then one last thing. You had mentioned that you have an assessment, a validated assessment tool that they can evaluate their self. Is that available on your website? How can our listeners get access to this?

Dr. Kay Kennedy:
Yes, that's on the home page, Renee, of the website. Are you a human-centered leader? And you just click that button, it's 20 questions. Then as soon as you submit, you will get your results, and it will show you which areas you have a natural inclination to and which ones you could put more focus on.

Renee Thompson:
Wow, so helpful. I know human beings, in general, are curious about themselves. At least, most people are. People love doing those types of assessments, whether it's a psychometric survey or assessment, it's some other type of personality, you know, survey. But this will really help you to see where you are so that you can determine what you need to work on, and that's the point in all of this. So hey, I just want to thank you for being a guest on our show. And just for the incredible work that you, and Lucy, and Susan are doing at uLeadership, I can't think of a more important time than right now for this type of mindset, this type of approach to leadership, and healthcare, and culture. And as you shared, the outcomes are incredible when you position the leader with these skills and this understanding of becoming a relational leader. So, thank you so much for being here.

Dr. Kay Kennedy:
Thank you so much, Renee. It has been an honor and a joy. It's been so much fun. Thank you so much.

Renee Thompson:
Oh my gosh, you are so welcome. And thanks to all of you who are either watching right now or listening. Keep up your great work to cultivate and sustain a healthy work culture. And don't forget, if you like this podcast, please rate it, review it, and share it with your colleagues. So thank you so much for being here, everyone. Take care. Bye!

Renee Thompson:
Thank you for listening to Coffee Break: Breaking the Cycle of Bullying in Healthcare – One Cup at a Time. If you found this podcast helpful, we invite you to click the Subscribe button and tune in every week. For more information about our show and how we work with healthcare organizations to cultivate and sustain a healthy work culture free from bullying and incivility, visit us at HealthyWorkforceInstitute.com. Until our next cup of coffee, be kind, take care, and stay connected.

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