Skot Waldron:
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Today, I've got an interview with Sarah Calloway. She is an independent healthcare consultant. She came from working with a bunch of smaller, larger, medium size, all kinds of different size healthcare practices and helping them be more productive, more efficient with their people, but also helping them be more profitable at the same time. So what's interesting is you're going to hear a lot about her secret and what she uses to bring more profitability to these practices, especially during a time of COVID.
She was hired on and was brought in right at the COVID height, and she tells you a little bit more about that. So it's really interesting. I hope you're going to get some nuggets of good information out of this. Sarah has a lot to bring to the table. She's worked with a lot of different people in different capacities, so I want you to pay attention. I want you to listen up. And if nothing else, I want you to make it to the end where she gives you this little bit of gold, that's awesome. I love it. Stay tuned. Let's rock this.
Hey, everybody. We're here again with a great show. Sarah Calloway is an independent consultant working specifically with businesses in the healthcare industry. She has a passion for healthcare. We have had a lot of stuff going on in healthcare over the past ... well, now it's probably the past eight, nine, 10 months, right?
Sarah Calloway:
Yeah.
SKOT WALDRON:
Called COVID. And that has shaken a lot of people. It's shaken a lot of companies, and healthcare has been on the frontlines of that whole thing. Tell me about your experience with COVID in the industry in which you operate, frontlines. You've made a transition from where you started with COVID and now where you are, and still dealing with COVID. So tell me about that journey. Tell me about the reaction that's been going on and what that's been like for you.
SARAH CALLOWAY:
Well, thank you so much. It's been quite the year. Healthcare is dynamic and challenging in a normal year, much less throw in a pandemic. This year has been very transformative for me in many ways, working with several different practices over the course of the year, from medium to large size, and now specifically working with some small to medium sized healthcare organizations.
During the height of COVID, I was working specifically with a large organization, multi-specialty practice. And on day two of when I started with them, I remember I had a meeting with my managers and said, "What do you need from me? What's our top, 'we need this tackled right away'"? And they said, "I think we needed a COVID plan." I said, "Oh, okay. Let's get started." So from that moment, it was critical to have regular and transparent communication, everything. Especially in those first couple of months, six weeks to eight weeks, it was information coming out faster than we could get it to our team, which was challenging for everyone.
I think that one of the most unique facets of this, especially with healthcare is that there's no escaping the stress of what this does to us as individuals and us as a team. So really being mindful of how each person is affected in terms of personally they're affected and it's very stressful, and then they come to work in healthcare where they're being exposed. And to some extent, that's stressful when usually healthcare is already a medium to high level stress job anyway. So really being mindful of that and being aware of how we as leaders in that industry can help our teams feel more comfortable coming into work, but also feel maybe a reduction in stress a little bit.
Can we achieve that? I really think that was a big driver for me during these past eight months, has been making sure that I'm doing everything I can in terms of, do they have all the information they need? Do they need some one-on-one attention? How can we have those conversations that help get them through their day, and then get them home to where they can be functional for their families? So it's been really all encompassing for everyone. It's been challenging, and I think we're still feeling those effects. And we'll probably feel those effects for quite some time.
SKOT WALDRON:
I can see that too. You mentioned frequent and transparent communication.
SARAH CALLOWAY:
Right.
SKOT WALDRON:
Amazing words, not always implemented. We are not frequent in our communication. Sometimes you go a long time without hearing from leadership. You would go a long time without hearing from team management, whatever, and it's not transparent. Why is that?
SARAH CALLOWAY:
That's maybe a million dollar question. Why is that? I'm not certain why you wouldn't have frequent and transparent communication. Not just during this wacky 2020 time, but always. I started working with a healthcare practice 12 years ago in a time when they had a rough situation with their former administrator. And coming on board, that was the first thing that I established with the team, is that I would be as open and transparent as possible to rebuild that trust.
So whether you're rebuilding trust or establishing trust, the communication has to be one where you're ... I tell my team, I will be as forthcoming as possible. And if we get to a point where I can't tell you the rest of what you're asking, I'll be upfront and say, "That's confidential or that's something I can't go into." But I'll tell you that. And I think that's important. It establishes that trust, and then it makes that work environment be more collaborative to where you're not forcing information or pulling information. People are willingly sharing it because they feel safe and they know that they're able to freely share without punitive consequences.
SKOT WALDRON:
So, how do you tailor that communication to groups so that they all hear that message? You've worked with certain organizations and different companies that they were all diverse, they were remote. And each little office had their own way of doing things. So we all have our own way of doing things. We all have our own way of responding to communication, we all have our own way to communicate. How do you tailor communication in a way that helps everyone hear and respond to what's going on?
SARAH CALLOWAY:
I think you approach it in several different ways. So knowing your team is really important. Making sure that you know them on an individual level, especially anyone directly reporting to you. Some people might operate best with just a little, quick email. Hey, checking in. How's it going? Let's talk. Some people want some more regular verbal communication. So making sure that you at least have some type of gauge of where your team is in terms of what do they need individually.
During the really, height of COVID, I held daily meetings with our management team. It was a certain time of day. Certainly if in your location, the wheels were flying off, you may not be able to make it. But at least you knew you had that daily check-in. That was how fast information was coming out. And that way we could all share and, "Hey, what's going on? What are you encountering? How did you handle that?" And we could really be operating as one and not really recreating the wheel, so to speak, on a daily basis.
So over time, we were able to back that off to three times a week, then twice a week, then once a week. So we were able to gauge that. But then even still, it's not that COVID has gone away, there're still the stressors. And so regardless of whether it's COVID or just a normal time, if we get there, we will get there.
SKOT WALDRON:
It'll be normal again, right?
SARAH CALLOWAY:
Hopefully normal again. We'll find that balance. But still, just checking in with your team and making sure that you're really, really engaged with them. I think if they know that you are on their side and that you're there to support them, they're going to also feel comfortable in reaching out. So it becomes a two-way street. But until you get to that point, I think you do have to be the initiator of that type of communication. Especially, if you have remote offices or if people are working from home, don't let them feel like they're on an island.
It can be isolating. This whole situation can be isolating. So making sure that they know they've got the lifeline and we can still talk just like this, like if we were in the same building. But I think it does require the leadership to be more engaged and reach out more than maybe they did when they were just saying hi, when they walked through the water cooler. You have to step up your game with that type of communication.
SKOT WALDRON:
We have to be intentional with that communication because our default is accidental communication, which then turns into undermining influence, our own influence with other people. Because if we're a certain type of leader that really loves that water cooler talk, then sure, it comes easy. We get on, we shoot the breeze, we talk about last weekend, we engage on some human level.
But if we're the type of leader that is just down to business and just wants to crank through and get the facts, and I don't have a lot of time for this, then yes, that can undermine our influence in person or when we have an office space. But virtually, that's going to be a problem too.
If I'm already feeling somewhat disconnected from you as a human, because we can only have Zoom meetings, then how much more am I going to feel disconnected if you don't even put some effort into getting to know me as a person and understanding the type of person I am? Right?
SARAH CALLOWAY:
Right. Absolutely. I love that, intentional. There's a whole personality group of people who they can sit down and plug away at their work. And I'm not saying I'm outside of that. I can certainly sit down and get engulfed in emails and working on a project. And then, whoa, where did the morning though? Where did the afternoon though? And then you realize, oh, I didn't touch base with my team. And so you do have to be intentional.
In fact, during the March to August time especially, I even had two reminders on my Outlook calendar that would pop up, call managers. Call, because you can, you can get engulfed. And especially when you have somewhat no work distractions, you're not prompted as much to make those contacts. And so it was something I was recognizing within myself. And that was a tool that I used to be able to say, "Hey, reach out. Set this stuff aside and pick up the phone."
So even folks who know that communication is important, if you recognize that maybe you're not where you want to be with it, be intentional and figure out a way to remind yourself, to look up, pick up the phone, do that sort of thing. So I love that, the use of that word for it. Perfect.
SKOT WALDRON:
Well, I love the habit that you just introduced, is because sometimes we are so in the middle of our tasks that we don't take the time. And it's not because we're bad people. It's just because we're distracted with so many different things. We call those markers and triggers, things that, especially in a virtual environment and especially when we're working from home a lot, that we walk from the kitchen to our office, and then we sit down until lunch.
We get up, get a quick bite, sit ... well, unless you go to the pantry 12,000 times and get some chips, but you come back, sit back in your office and I'll realize that I haven't even been outside. It's 6:00 PM and I haven't even been outside yet. And I'm like, what is going on? So I implemented a trigger just for my own sense of wellbeing and health, that when I get up from lunch, immediately I pass by my garage door and I go outside for five minutes.
SARAH CALLOWAY:
Nice.
SKOT WALDRON:
And just walk down the street and get some fresh air. Then, I get lunch. And then I sit at my desk until 6:00 o'clock. So it's that, but we call those markers and triggers. And that's a brilliant one that you just introduced, is setting those alerts on your calendar, blocking out time on your calendar to make sure you're making the effort to connect with people in some way, shape or form.
So, what other specific communication skills do you feel like are important right now, especially in virtual teams? Maybe not virtual teams all the time. I know a lot of healthcare is not necessarily virtual. There are pieces of it that are, but what are other communications skills do you find are necessary out there in that world in order to be better at what we're doing, and unlock the potential of our organizations?
SARAH CALLOWAY:
At least, and I'm mainly speaking regarding healthcare since that's the area that I function in, but I think we all are craving some of that normalcy. And so thinking about working with my teams on even setting just a non COVID related goal and being able to work on that together and set milestones and say, "What's the path for that, how can we achieve this goal?"
It doesn't have to be huge. We have enough on our plate right now, but I definitely found that if we can just have some normalcy and really bring back some of the things that maybe we've been missing since March in terms of let's meet and talk about this goal. Let's set a timeframe, let's do the things that we would maybe normally be doing.
Because I think that we've introduced all of these things, at least in the healthcare world that are very outside the usual for us; virtual teams and working remotely. A lot of groups have kept staff in their individual offices and not rotated them, so they're missing each other. So trying to find some way that we can get back to just some of our normal tactics and skills, meeting. We can meet face to face. Virtual is great, but if I'm 10 miles down the road, let's have a meeting every now and again. I think there's still value in that.
I'm so thankful that this all happened during a time where we have internet and Zoom, and all of these awesome tools, but I don't think it replaces some of just the phone communication, in-person communication, written communication. And really not letting that slip through the cracks. So being intentional with what we're saying, being mindful of how people might be feeling or how they're affected. I know definitely, about July when parents were panicking over school, and oh my gosh, rightfully so, tensions were high. So your employees are being affected by that.
How am I going to take care of my children? How are they going to learn? They have so much going on too. So being aware of what they might have going on as well, I think should really help shape how we communicate with our teams. They may be a little bit more on edge, or react in a different way, and we have to be mindful of that right now. It's really imperative to understand that, and to be just okay with each other. And have a little bit of patience.
SKOT WALDRON:
I can sense that you are a people person.
SARAH CALLOWAY:
Yes.
SKOT WALDRON:
Yeah? Okay, okay.
SARAH CALLOWAY:
Yeah.
SKOT WALDRON:
Am I right? Okay. You have spoken this whole time about the way we interact as humans, and how that is going to help us be more healthy as organizations. So, what do you consider your super power? Why would I come hire Sarah for anything? What is the thing that you bring to the table that's your super power?
SARAH CALLOWAY:
Nice. Well, I have so many.
SKOT WALDRON:
Nice. Oh, fun. Nice. I want to hear them.
SARAH CALLOWAY:
I think we just need to pat ourselves on the back for all of the skills that we develop over time, but something that I feel really strongly in is servant leadership. I know that when I'm part of a team, I am there to serve my team and help them grow and develop. And I really hope that that is how more leaders push themselves to be, because you have this amazing opportunity and honor to lead a team, and to lead people and influence them.
One of the greatest compliments I was ever given as I was working with an employee one time on her communication with her direct coworker that had been a little bit strained in communication. So we were working on that together and she came to me one day and said, "What we've done has not only influenced me in a professional way, and now we work better together, but it's influenced me at home with my husband and my son." And that's powerful. I think we have as leaders and influencers in where you are in an organization, we have that ability.
So I think that is something that I take very seriously, the power that I have in a leadership role to be able to influence others. In turn, they will work really hard for you and for the company, and they will generate amazing ideas. And so in some ways, we have to be able to share in that ability to lead and say, empower others. So I think that is one of my greatest strengths, as I said, amongst others. But I really embrace that, and just feel sincere honor to have that when I'm with a group.
SKOT WALDRON:
Beautiful. You said something here. I'm going to read this because this sums up what you just said, "That I am a servant leader and strongly feel it's critically important to invest in our teams with clear communication and ourselves in order to develop a workplace that helps each other grow, which in turn gross profitability and loyalty from customers and employees alike."
SARAH CALLOWAY:
Absolutely.
SKOT WALDRON:
Amen. I love it. That is so good. Because we know that if we invest in our people, that that health, that happiness, that loyalty will bridge over into our customers, our clients, our patients, and they will feel that loyalty. They will feel that love.
They will feel that care. They will feel that wow, this organization is on it. They are a family. I can see the alignment and the vision. I can see the cohesiveness. They are just on the ball. And that builds trust in me as a patient, as a client, as a customer to want to ... there's something unique here. And I want to take note of that. So thank you for sharing that tidbit with us.
How can people get in touch with you? Is there some way that you would like people to reach out to you if they have questions, if they want to hire you to come in and help transform their organization? What do you want to put out there?
SARAH CALLOWAY:
Sure. Absolutely. You can certainly reach out to me on LinkedIn. That's probably the most direct way. It's Sarah Gaddy, G-A-D-D-Y Calloway. So connect with me there. You're welcome to shoot me a message through there. I think that's probably the most straightforward way to connect.
I love where the journey has taken me so far, and the ways I've been able to help others. And I just look forward to that as we continue down this journey. So reach out, I'd be happy to talk to anyone. So thank you.
SKOT WALDRON:
Right. Thanks, Sarah. Thanks for sharing your wisdom and taking us on this with you. And good luck throughout the rest of this COVID stuff.
SARAH CALLOWAY:
Thank you. Thank you. I appreciate your time.
SKOT WALDRON:
How'd you like that last tidbit? Good stuff, right? When we align people, we become more profitable, right? Surprise, surprise. When we invest in the right types of communication, frequent, transparent, as Sarah said, frequent, transparent, we have to be intentional about that communication. And when we do, we will transform our organizations.
We will unlock our organizations by unlocking the people, the potential of the people, the potential of what we have in us to be better at what we're trying to do. Better communication leads to better outcomes. This is what she preaches as a servant leader, connecting with people, making sure that people are happy. That will inevitably create healthier cultures, which creates more profitable businesses, which is what makes us all succeed. So we are there together. Thanks for joining me again.
You can subscribe on my YouTube channel to see when the next video will be released. You can visit my website at www.skotwaldron.com. My blog is there and you can see some other videos I have posted there. Almost messed that up. Go ahead and visit those channels, connect with me there. I appreciate you. Let's go.
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