Shelly Towns on LinkedIn: Love this nudge to put yourself in a position to see what “world-class”… (2024)

Very cool product opportunity in the music industry with one of my favorite leaders!

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Winning is such a powerful flywheel. In the last 3 days, I've heard..."Is this place too good to be true? It's just so refreshing. So much positive energy and excitement.""If we'd had SurgeryPlus, no way my husband would've had two back surgeries.""EDH is crushing it. You're winning everything."After 7 months at Employer Direct Healthcare, I still haven't had a bad day. Hard days, yes, because there's so much to do, but working hard alongside great talent for a mission that has such a positive impact on people's health on a playing field with so much positive momentum is thrilling.

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"You don't have executive presence." 🤮 I hate that phrase. It's generic and tells you nothing actionable. True leadership is a mindset, not a title. Based on my last 15 years of building teams and leading leaders, these are what I believe are 8 traits of strong leadership, including specific examples to be as objective as possible. I've used them to develop IDPs with hi-pos on my teams over the years and I find myself going back to them often.8 Leadership Traits 1.Ability to work in abstract, vague circ*mstances: Can translate vision into an actionable plan that delivers true business value; Can break giant problems into small, executable ones; thinks on behalf of the enterprise – not just your personal or team goals2.Effective communicator: good listener; writes things down; people feel included in the solution; risks/blockers are escalated and mitigated; Strong presenter and storyteller3.Good temperament: ability to lead through influence, not just authority. Can build strong partnerships across the business in order to drive successful execution; doesn’t get defensive with feedback; engages with peers and stakeholders effectively4.Anticipates a future that doesn’t yet exist; Can deliver a future-state narrative that gets buy-in and builds excitement; consistently steps back to assess how/if the initiative aligns with our strategic intent; can operate at the right horizon for the business: i.e. ICs a month ahead; Directors 6 months out; VPs 18-24 months out; C-Suite 24+ months5.Positive and effective people management skills: Recruit and manage “A talent”; helps manage careers and the day to day; drives execution through others; Ability to give constructive feedback and hold people accountable; Strong ability to manage up, down and sideways6.Proven ability to make hard decisions: “says no” effectively; good budget management; able to tee up good tradeoff discussions; debate to conclusion7.Intentionality: ability to call their shot: identify the right priorities and drive to execution; Define a roadmap for you/your team; don’t let the roadmap define you8.Desire to learn new things: Curious; Demonstrates willingness for continuous learning and improvement professionally and personally (volunteer to lead key projects; learn a new skill; join a board; mentor others and be mentored); Willing to “go where the business needs you” – tackle new problems, new functions

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Loved this quote I heard from an external partner yesterday…“What EDH is building and the talent you’re attracting is next level.” 🚀

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1 of the biggest eye-opening stats we share when explaining our surgical benefit to employers is the 8 -15% complication rate in the industry. Complications happen when a surgeon operates on a patient who is not medically fit, the operation is done in the wrong setting and/or the surgeon who is operating is not appropriately experienced with that procedure. Just like you wouldn't hire a tax accountant to represent you in a criminal trial, you shouldn't hire a shoulder surgeon to do your knee replacement.SurgeryPlus manages for all of those scenarios which is why our complication rates are less than 1%. Not only do fewer complications lead to faster recovery rates, they also lower your surgical spend. Matt Harmon joined our webinar last week to explain how SurgeryPlus has helped AutoZone save more than $15 million in health spend and become one of the highest-rated benefits the company offers its employees across the country.check out the full webinar here https://lnkd.in/gMRdmRWS

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Huge thanks to Kristine Kobe, VP of Marketing at Keurig Dr Pepper Inc., for sharing her leadership story with our team last week. The simple prompt of "Who/what people, places and experiences shaped you into the leader you are today?" reveals a lot of great takeaways, and I learn so much every time we do this. Here's my 6 favorite tips from Kristine:🍻 Culture isn't free bagels and beer on Fridays. It's how you show up when a leader isn't in the room. Repetition is key. Be crystal clear about what you need. Be team first. Challenge your mindset and expect that of others.🎨 Infuse creativity in a strategic way. "Creativity is more than just pictures or design. It's about how you problem solve. How you collaborate. Doesn't have to be dramatic or cost a lot of money. Think differently. Check out the Heinz fraud case study as a great example."🔥 Do what gives you energy. If you aren't excited about your work or the people you're working with, you're probably in the wrong role.❤️ Frame the what and the how. What you're trying to achieve is critical. But how you achieve it with others is equally important. Things happen because of people. Respect each other, and don't forget about the people behind the work.🏃♀️ How you show up at work is influenced a lot by what's going on at home. Unplug, Take the PTO (really take it). Exercise. Connect deeply with friends and family. Take time for you.📣 Advocate for yourself. If you want the bigger job, the different job or more money, make it a fact-based conversation and bring proof points. Don't just rely on the relationship itself; make it easier for them to say "yes."Got a good leadership story to share (or know someone with a great story) and want to be a guest speaker for us? Drop me a note or DM me!

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This.“HR must be considered a business partner — not the ‘heart’ of the organization, not the pizza planners, not the police, and not the therapists,” says [Daniel] Space. “With good HR practices, we help organizations help themselves.”For the last 8 years, I've had the privilege of serving CHROs as a health benefit partner, most recently Employer Direct Healthcare. Having a front-row seat to the ever-increasing expectations of how they attract and engage talent, provide health care benefits - the second largest line item on the budget - and thoughtfully advocate for the HR role to be a strategic catalyst for the business, not simply an administrative function has been eye opening and increased my desire to be a value-added partner to support their vision.

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There's no better explanation of a company's impact than hearing about it directly from real clients. We're blessed to have lots of raving fans among HR leaders and employees who take advantage of our great health benefit. Matt Harmon tells incredible stories for both - catch him live on our webinar this Thursday!

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