Getting Up to Altitude, with Hayley Park

Summary

Podcast Summary: Coaching for Leaders

Episode Title: Getting Up to Altitude, with Hayley Park
Host/Author: Dave Stachowiak
Release Date: March 5, 2025

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Introduction

In this insightful episode of Coaching for Leaders, host Dave Stachowiak engages in a profound conversation with Hayley Park, an alum of the Coaching for Leaders Academy and an executive in the healthcare sector. The episode, titled "Getting Up to Altitude," delves into Hayley's journey of leadership development, focusing on elevating her leadership perspective to achieve greater organizational success.

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Background: Who is Hayley Park?

Hayley Park leads a comprehensive pharmacy team within a large integrated healthcare system. Her role encompasses every facet of pharmacy practice, including dispensing medications, clinical pharmacy services, inpatient acute care, mail order services, and managing a call center. The complexity and scale of her responsibilities underscore the challenges she faces in leadership within a vast organization.

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Discovering the Need for Growth

Initial Challenge:
Hayley's journey toward growth began when she encountered discomfort following a 360-degree survey after a promotion to a new role. She realized that her existing leadership methods were insufficient for her current responsibilities.

Hayley Park:
"[...] as a leader, I knew that I wanted to practice. I needed to have that hands-on, problem-based approach because even though I was reading and listening and knew where I wanted to go in the moment, I wasn't able to get there."
— Hayley Park, [02:07]

Searching for Solutions:
Seeking answers to improve her leadership skills, Hayley turned to lifelong learning through reading, mentoring, and eventually, podcasts. She discovered Coaching for Leaders amidst her search for comprehensive leadership resources.

Hayley Park:
"[...] Coaching for Leaders really stood out because of the breadth of topics that were being aired."
— Hayley Park, [02:45]

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Joining the Coaching for Leaders Academy

Motivation to Apply:
The Academy appealed to Hayley due to its coaching-based approach and diverse range of leadership topics. She sought a structured, hands-on environment where she could address real-world leadership challenges alongside peers.

Hayley Park:
"I sensed that it was a safe space, you're not alone, and you had some accountability partners who were on a similar journey that together you could problem solve and get to that place where you wanted to be as a leader."
— Hayley Park, [03:23]

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Zeroing In: Prioritizing Leadership Focus

A significant part of Hayley's development involved narrowing down her leadership improvement areas. Initially overwhelmed by numerous potential focus points, Hayley learned to prioritize effectively through the Academy's structured sessions and peer interactions.

Hayley Park:
"I remember my first draft was actually a few pages long because I had too much on there. Just like in the real world where we're trying to multitask and take on too many priorities."
— Hayley Park, [04:41]

Through collaborative efforts, she honed in on three key areas, enabling her to concentrate her efforts and achieve meaningful progress.

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Building Relationships and Gaining Altitude

Defining Altitude in Leadership:
Drawing inspiration from her mentor Tom Henschel's GPS analogy, Hayley focused on elevating her leadership perspective—getting "up to altitude" to view the bigger picture. This shift was crucial in addressing underlying issues related to relationship building within her organization.

Hayley Park:
"[...] altitude was really the action that I could take to find the improvements that would address multiple different things if I took a step back."
— Hayley Park, [06:28]

Implementing Change:
Hayley transformed her approach to interactions with senior leaders by asking open-ended questions, a technique inspired by Michael Bungay Stanier's coaching methods. This not only deepened her understanding of their priorities but also enriched her strategic contributions.

Hayley Park:
"The question that I started with before I brought the information forward was to ask the senior leader, 'What's on your mind?'"
— Hayley Park, [08:33]

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Impact on Team and Organizational Performance

Enhanced Team Dynamics:
By embedding open-ended questions into her leadership practice, Hayley fostered stronger relationships within her team. This inclusive approach led to improved communication, better prioritization of team efforts, and increased confidence in decision-making.

Hayley Park:
"[...] our team performed excellent in our ratings, our performance goals. And just hearing from our team that it was a collaborative process, it was inclusive, this is probably our best performance in years..."
— Hayley Park, [12:58]

Organizational Alignment:
Achieving alignment across departments and understanding the broader organizational goals allowed Hayley's team to contribute more effectively, leading to significant performance improvements.

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Lessons Learned: The Power of Community and Reflection

Community Support:
Hayley's experience underscored the importance of not navigating leadership challenges alone. The Academy provided a supportive community where shared experiences and collective problem-solving were pivotal in her growth.

Hayley Park:
"You don't have to do this alone was probably the biggest learning that I had through the Academy."
— Hayley Park, [15:34]

Reflective Practice:
Regular reflection and the exchange of diverse perspectives within the Academy helped Hayley refine her leadership strategies and maintain accountability.

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Conclusion: Leadership is a Journey

Hayley Park's story exemplifies how intentional effort, supported by a strong community, can lead to substantial leadership development. By elevating her perspective and fostering meaningful relationships, Hayley not only improved her own leadership capabilities but also drove her team's and organization's success.

Dave Stachowiak:
"Leaders aren't born, they're made."
— Dave Stachowiak, [15:43]

For those at an inflection point in their leadership journey, Coaching for Leaders Academy offers a transformative experience through structured coaching, community support, and practical strategies for growth.

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Key Takeaways

• Prioritize Focus Areas: Narrowing down leadership improvement areas leads to more effective and manageable growth.
• Elevate Perspective: Adopting a higher vantage point helps in understanding and addressing broader organizational dynamics.
• Foster Relationships: Building strong, open relationships with senior leaders and team members enhances collaboration and performance.
• Leverage Community: Engaging with a supportive community provides valuable insights, accountability, and shared experiences.
• Consistent Reflection: Regularly assessing and reflecting on leadership practices ensures continuous improvement and alignment with organizational goals.

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Notable Quotes

• Hayley Park:
  "You don't have to do this alone was probably the biggest learning that I had through the Academy."
  — Hayley Park, [15:34]

• Hayley Park:
  "What's on your mind?"
  — Hayley Park, [08:33]

• Dave Stachowiak:
  "Leaders aren't born, they're made."
  — Dave Stachowiak, [15:43]

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This episode offers valuable insights for leaders seeking to elevate their leadership skills, emphasizing the importance of focused growth, relationship-building, and community support in achieving organizational excellence.

Transcript

[Dave Stahoviak]

Hi, Dave Stahoviak here, host of the Coaching for Leaders podcast. My friend and mentor, Tom Henschel often uses the analogy of a GPS map and clicking to zoom out in order to see the bigger picture. It's an important analogy he uses for leaders because part of leadership is getting up to more altitude. Today, a conversation with Haley park, one of our academy alums who worked this past year to do just that. I sat down with her recently to explore it more. Here's our chat. I'm talking today with Haley Park. Haley is an alum of our Academy and an executive in the healthcare space. Hello, Hayley. It's good to see you.

[Haley Park]

Hi, Dave. Thanks so much for having me here today.

[Dave Stahoviak]

I am so looking forward to this conversation, and it's always fun to chat with you because you. You have been doing so much to learn and grow and put things into practice, as I know we'll get into in this conversation. But we should probably start with a little bit of who you are. Would you tell us a little bit about your work?

[Haley Park]

Yeah. Thanks, Dave. So I lead a pharmacy team in a large integrated healthcare system where we have probably all facets that you can possibly think of when it comes to pharmacy practice, from dispensing medications to clinical pharmacy services, to inpatient acute care services, mail order services, call center. So we truly have probably every part of a pharmacy experience that people would think of when they think of pharmacy.

[Dave Stahoviak]

And you work for a large organization, so it's a really big job. A lot of complexity, a lot of the politics that happen in any large organization. Right. And that's part of what I think led you to seek out the podcast initially. How did you come across upon the podcast the first time, do you recall?

[Haley Park]

I do. It's when I was newly promoted so into not this role, but the role before this one. And, you know, as part of our leader development, we do 360 surveys. And the survey, I had them before, but in this particular time, it wasn't necessarily the content, but the way it was delivered. That was a little bit of an uncomfortable experience for me. So I went in search of answers to help me improve and spoke with a lot of different people, some mentors that I'd had in past positions. I've been a lifelong learner. I love reading. So I stuck with my tried and true method and started to look for podcasts that really would, you know, run the gamut of different topics and issues that I was coming across. And in particular, Coaching for Leaders really stood out because of the breadth of topics that were being aired. So I just, I came across a podcast, just naturally searching for ideas.

[Dave Stahoviak]

You heard about the Academy at some point. Listen to the podcast. What is it that prompted you to decide to apply and what did you hope to get from it?

[Haley Park]

Yeah, the Academy was really intriguing because it came from the coaching sort of mindset led by you, an expert, and again, that wide variety of topics. You weren't just focused on one thing, but a lot of different types of issues that could come up. As a leader, I knew that I wanted to practice. I needed to have that hands on, problem based approach because even though I was reading and listening and knew where I wanted to go in the moment, I wasn't able to get there. So for the Academy, I sensed that it was a safe space, you're not alone, and you had some accountability partners who were on a similar journey that together you could problem solve and get to that place where you wanted to be as a leader.

[Dave Stahoviak]

One of the things that you and I have talked about in this process is the importance of zeroing down and deciding on what's important. And as an executive, of course, so much is coming at you every day, just in the normal course of work. And then when you think about, like all the things to improve on, move upon. Part of our process, of course, is getting down on paper. Where are we really going to focus on? Zero in on. What was that process like for you in doing that?

[Haley Park]

Yeah, this is a great question. When I think about that exercise, it was. It seemed really simple, but when you put the pen to paper, it was actually really daunting. I remember thinking there was so many things that I wanted to do, so many things I wanted to practice. I couldn't just come up with one thing. I remember my first draft was actually a few pages long because I had too much on there. Just like in the real world where we're trying to multitask and take on too many priorities. But it was through the sessions, the one on ones, the small groups, listening to the other folks going through this journey, that I was able to narrow that focus down to just three areas, which I thought was just pretty amazing because when you take a step back and you look at it, it really did hone in on, in a really simple way, the things that I wanted to improve upon.

[Dave Stahoviak]

It seems like there are some things that are really common amongst all of us. And one of the things I keep running into, Hayley, and you saw this as we went through this. Me too, is anytime we try to decide on, like all right, what do I want to improve upon? We write down the list and inevitably there's like 23 things on the list. Right. And part of the. Which is good, like it's a good starting point. The part that a lot of times I think we don't go further on is, all right, we've got 23. Realistically, we can't do all those things all at once, or if we tried, it's not. We're not going to get much traction. We got to narrow down, and you did narrow down to three. And one of them you narrowed down to was building relationships and gaining altitude. We talked about altitude a lot during the academy. What did you decide to zero in on with that and why did that surface for you?

[Haley Park]

Yeah, thanks, Dave. And I think it's interesting to note that I didn't start there, but as you look at the root causes of some of the surface behaviors, altitude was really the action that I could take to find the improvements that would address multiple different things if I took a step back. I think when I started to take a look at the focus areas, I knew that what had got me to where I was wasn't going to help me be successful in my current role and certainly wouldn't help me to get that next role. And this is probably why I was feeling like a failure. My tried and true methods weren't working. One thing that I lean upon as something that I contribute to the organization is the ability to connect the dots between strategy and operational execution. I thrive in complexity, in leading large teams, but in my current role, it's a highly political, relationship based organization. And the information that I needed to leverage my strength wasn't readily available to me. And this was causing a lot of friction both internally within myself and with others. So how did I get to the altitude in the relationship? It was based on the situation that I was in. And it's such a simple concept. And you'll read about this, and this goes back to. You can read about it, you can hear about it. This concept of seeing the world through the eyes of others and meeting them where they're at, being outwardly focused rather than too much of inward focus. So it all makes sense. But taking that concept and then saying, oh gosh, that's the one that I need to focus on. It was a journey to get there.

[Dave Stahoviak]

And you took the journey and you did it. And I recall especially a lot of conversations between you and peers, you and more senior leaders, of approaching those in a different way than you had in the past. What Changed about your thinking and then how you showed up in those conversations.

[Haley Park]

Yeah, it's interesting because when I thought about having and building that upward relationship, my mindset going into those meetings were always, well, I need to add value. And the way I add value is by providing information, providing data, providing issues that may come up, giving them a heads up and that's still really important to do. What I didn't think about was what I needed out of the meeting. So in our member focus sessions we talked about the one simple action and I love the simplicity of it. So the question that I started with before I brought the information forward was to ask the senior leader, what's on your mind? I didn't think I was going to get a lot, but I was amazed at how people opened up that they shared what was important to them. And it really made me think, gosh, how does my work then connect to what's important to them? And it was just a much, much richer discussion that I was able to have.

[Dave Stahoviak]

I remember when you started doing that and asking that question and it's one of Michael Bungay Stanier's questions from the coaching habit. Right. And I think a lot of times we think about it as managers, leaders. Either we're coaching someone or leading an employee and they show up for a meeting and we're asking them what's on their mind. And I think like how interesting and intentional that you took that question and looked upwards with it and said, hey, in order to get to altitude and see the bigger picture, I'm going to just ask that open ended question when I sit down with more senior leaders and really fascinating how much people opened up and what you heard.

[Haley Park]

Yeah, absolutely. And I think it was interesting too because as I met with different senior leaders I could hear the themes coming through and many times they were connected to the work that I was leading for our team and sometimes I was pursuing things that maybe wasn't like the most important or the priority that we should be spending our time on. So that connecting and that place where I thrive around connecting the strategy to the operations, I was able to do a better job of that because of the discussions and really hearing from the senior leaders and what they were working on.

[Dave Stahoviak]

As you started doing this as a practice and I know you did it with your team as well too of starting to ask more open ended questions. What happened, what happened with you with the team and just how that went.

[Haley Park]

Yeah, that's. And I love that question because it was part of our member focus and probably one of the most difficult things to reflect on was you're taking this small action to get to where you want to go, but how do you know it's working? And we talked about this a lot within our group. We talked about like, do you ask for feedback? Do you hear things? And it's probably a combination of a lot of ways that you can say, well, is this working for me in this situation? Part of the goal was to build the relationship. And building the relationship means having those touch points so that when you really do need some help or assistance, that it's not awkward, like it's just part of your regular touch points or that you can reach out sort of maybe out of cadence. So I think that was a really big win. You know, another one, the one I mentioned was just the, the ability to understand what other departments were experiencing, what leaders were focused on, and being able to prioritize for our team. So we weren't trying to chase too many different things at one time and being able to land where they thought our focus needed to be. So that was more around focusing and prioritizing the time that our team was spending. And I think just the last one, I would say is just feeling much more comfortable and confident in the actions that I was taking. I think before in the place where I started, it was a little bit opaque because we are, and we're a big organization, so you would expect it to be somewhat siloed at times. So there's times, especially in this remote environment where you, you think, well, do I really understand where things are headed? And just that level of confidence I felt for my. So all in all, I think those were sort of the process steps. At the end of the year, we as a team performed excellent in our ratings, our performance goals. And just hearing from our team that it was a collaborative process, it was inclusive, this is probably our best performance in years was I think, more of the concrete piece that gaining that altitude and gaining alignment as an organization really helps you to win together.

[Dave Stahoviak]

Indeed. And you know, I think a lot of times we get zeroed in on the small steps, like you said of like, okay, I'm going to ask the open ended questions, I'm going to start making space for that. I'm going to approach these conversations with a different mindset. And it's hard because in the moment I think a lot of us, I know I do in the back of my mind I'm like, okay, how is this actually going to like make a difference 90 days from now, six months from now on, results and yet you saw that not only performance wise, but some of the surveys and engagement numbers. I mean, it's really like. But it does take a bit of faith to just start with the consistency of doing it, doesn't it?

[Haley Park]

It sure does. And that's. It's so well said. In the moment, you feel awkward and unsure, but that confidence builds over time.

[Dave Stahoviak]

You know, I often ask people what they've changed their minds on. We've been working together now. Well, let's see. It's been about a year since we met. Since we met and you went through this process and worked with us in the Academy. What, if anything, have you changed your mind on?

[Haley Park]

Yeah, there's many things, small things, big things that I've changed my mind on through this whole journey. And the Academy was excellent at helping you to take those steps. If I were to think back, I think we each have such a personal journey and sometimes it can be messy, it can be complicated, and. And based on our experiences and filters in which we see the world that's going to shape that journey that we take. I think for me, it was the community of support and the importance of reflecting that came through. I think as an introvert, I tend to try to tackle things on my own all the time. But I really learned that many of our challenges and barriers are the same across industries. As human beings, we have similar challenges and barriers and we have tools that we all try and hearing other perspectives and hearing how we share and go on, that was just so incredibly powerful. I still think of those folks in my small group and the tools that we shared and the experiences, and I use those today. So for me, that you don't have to do this alone was probably the biggest learning that I had through the Academy.

[Dave Stahoviak]

Hailey, thank you so much for the privilege to support you and thank you so much for sharing your story with us. I so appreciate it.

[Haley Park]

Thanks so much, Dave, for having me.

[Dave Stahoviak]

What Hayley said at the end there, the fact that we don't need to do it alone, that's huge. And how we learn and grow. I love that she leaned into our community to help her team have such a great year. We all know that it's helpful to have someone alongside us as we build skills. It's exactly why I've always been intentional about bringing leaders together. In our academy, we get so much objective perspective, but more importantly, we cheer each other on and help each other when we get stuck and also keep each other accountable to keep moving. It's why our academy cohorts are groups of six to seven leaders and myself working together the entire time. If you're at an inflection point right now and getting movement is important, I hope you'll consider the Academy applications open officially on Friday, March 7th. However, I'm airing this a few days before that date, and I've just sent out some early invitations for folks to apply. Meaning if you go to the page now, you could actually apply early. So to get there, go over to Coaching for Leaders. Otherwise, check out all the details this Friday, March 7th at the same place coaching4leaders.com academy once applications are open, we'll have them open only until the following Friday, March 14th. Thanks so much for listening. It's an honor to support you here through the podcast. And remember, Leaders aren't born, they're made.