Episode 69: Hybrid Work Series: In the Office or Work from Home? Why Giving Employees Autonomy Works Best with Kim Magnus
Happy Wednesday, improve it! Fam! Our series is back and with a very special guest, Kim Magnus. As you enter the new and improved world of hybrid work, this inspirational leader shares what motivates her and her team, how to be an autonomous leader, as well as her handy dandy leadership toolkit she created.
Listen in to week 2 of this series and learn the why and how on creating an engaging and cultivating company culture as you work from home and in office! Enjoy and let us know what you think.
Show Links:
Send a screenshot of your review to info@learntoimproveit.com to receive a free gift from Erin!
Get your Hybrid Hype Handout – follow along with us in the series!
Listen to Episode 10 - Own Your Mornings
Book: 100x Leader
Connect with Kim Magnus:
Kim is a passionate sales & marketing professional who has held leadership roles in the toy and beer industries working for companies like Mattel, Heineken, and Pabst Blue Ribbon. Currently, Kim is the Canadian country manager for The NPD Group. As a global research company, The NPD Group partners with many retailers you shop at and most of the brands you buy, combining data, industry expertise, and prescriptive analytics to help them grow their businesses. Kim is privileged with the opportunity to coach, motivate and inspire the Canadian NPD office.
Kim is a self-proclaimed CIO (chief inspiration officer) who has been blessed with fellow leaders that truly believed in her throughout her career and companies who invested in her providing opportunities to gain experience and perspectives across North America. She is a recovering workaholic who has learned the value of living life both intentionally and authentically. Always embracing change, Kim recognizes the importance of being uncomfortable to make your comfort that much better. Her approach to lifelong learning transcends her personal and professional networks. Kim has been described as an inspirational leader who thrives by enabling others to believe in themselves. There is no shortage of positive energy and Kim’s enthusiastic style is very contagious to all she connects with. Kim’s leadership style is anchored in empowering her people to drive organizational excellence. She is truly a growth agent helping others maximize their potential to live their best lives!
When she’s not sporting her yoga pants & business top, Kim is a proud mom of two teenagers and two fur babies. She married her high school sweetheart, Brad. As a family they can be found on the golf course, on the lake or battling over whose turn it is on the peloton.
#inspire#empower#grow
Connect with Erin:
Erin Diehl is the founder and Chief “Yes, And” officer of improve it! and host of the improve it! Podcast. She’s a performer, facilitator and professional risk-taker who lives by the mantra, “get comfortable with the uncomfortable.” Through a series of unrelated dares, Erin has created improve it!, a unique professional development company that pushes others to laugh, learn and grow. Her work with clients such as United Airlines, PepsiCo, Groupon, Deloitte, Motorola, Walgreens, and The Obama Foundation earned her the 2014 Chicago RedEye Big Idea Award and has nominated her for the 2015-2019 Chicago Innovations Award.
This graduate from Clemson University is a former experiential marketing and recruiting professional as well as a veteran improviser from the top improvisational training programs in Chicago, including The Second City, i.O. Theater, and The Annoyance Theatre.
When she is not playing pretend or facilitating, she enjoys running and beach dates with her husband and son, and their eight-pound toy poodle, BIGG Diehl.
You can follow the failed it! podcast on Instagram @learntoimproveit and facebook, and you can follow Erin personally on Instagram @keepinitrealdiehl here. You can also check out improve it! and how we can help your organization at www.learntoimproveit.com. We can’t wait to connect with you online!
Episode 69 Transcription
Erin (00:00):
Okay. Improve it! Family, today's guest is a long time Kim. And now, as you know, I call you the amazing person right now listening to this show, the improve it! Family. Today, we have a very special guest who is actually a pinnacle member of the improve it! Fam on the show. Number one, she has never missed an episode of the failed it! Now improve it! Podcast. She is a client of improve it! Turned friend, turned mentor, turned chief inspiration officer here at the good improve it! So today failed it! Family, I'm going to introduce you to one of your own, the one, the only Kim Magnus. Now let me just give you a little bit background on how Ms. Kim Magnus is improving it. Kim is a passionate sales and marketing professional who has a leadership role in the toy and beer industries working for companies like Mattel, Heineken and Pabst blue ribbon, just small companies.
Erin (01:06):
Right? So currently Kim is the Canadian country manager for the N P D group. Now as a global research company, the MPD group partners with many retailers you shop at, and most of the brands you buy combining data, industry expertise and prescriptive, that's a tongue twister, prescriptive analytics to help them grow their businesses. Now, Kim is privileged with the opportunity to coach motivate and inspire the Canadian NPD office. She is also a self-proclaimed CIO, chief inspiration officer if you will, who has been blessed with fellow leaders that truly believed in her throughout her career and companies who invested in her providing opportunities to gain experience and perspectives across north America. She is a recovering workaholic who has learned the value of living both intentionally and authentically. I love that. She is always embracing change and Kim recognizes the importance of being uncomfortable to make your comfort that much better.
Erin (02:13):
Her approach to lifelong learning transcends her personal and professional networks. And I know this for a fact. So Kim has been described as an inspirational leader who thrives by enabling others to believe in themselves. There is no shortage of positive energy here, and Kim's enthusiastic style is very contagious to all she connects with. Kim's leadership style is anchored in empowering her people to drive organizational excellence. She is truly a growth agent, helping others maximize their potential to live their best lives. Now, when she is not sporting her yoga pants and business top the old business mullet Kim is a proud mom of two teenagers and two fur babies. She married her high school, sweetheart, Brad, and as a family, they can be found on the golf course on the lake or battling over whose turn it is on the Peloton. I love it so much. So today improve it! Fam you are going to hear her talk about so much. I loved this conversation. I have actually been asking her to come on this show for the past year and finally made it happen. And let me just say this. She does not disappoint. So she's going to talk to you today about how she finds inspiration during this hybrid workforce, working from home, working, virtually working in the office to lead her team, how to know what motivates your team and how you can use that motivation to help groom them and grow. She talks about the sea of sameness. And when she said that, but my eyeballs just lit up. Why having a sea of sameness as a team, doesn't help you grow. Doesn't help the team grow. It doesn't help the organization grow. Why your culture has to be anchored in a people first mentality. She tells us about her own leadership toolkit that she has personally created.
Erin (04:15):
And she also talks to us about how improv can help you be a more autonomous leader. It is such a jam packed episode. Now, before we get into today's show, I want to remind you to go to our website, learntoimproveit.com and grab the handout that we have that goes all along with this hybrid work series, you can find it on our website, which is learn to improve it.com back splash hybrid hype. So it's learntoimprove it.com/hybrid-hype. Or if you just were like, what did you just say, Aaron? And you want to click on the link in the show notes. You can do that, but get your handout because it's going to get you thinking along the mindset that we want you to be in as we continue this series. So I have just spoken for far too long. Let's get to improve it with one of our very own improvement family, Kim Magnus.
Erin (05:11):
Are you a leader or change maker inside of your business organization or corporation? Are you looking for new, innovative ways to drive morale through the roof? Are you looking for fun and exciting icebreakers team-building exercises and activities that will foster team growth, friendships, loyalty, and completely transform your organization from the inside out? Have you been searching for a fun and unique way to create change instead of this same old dry, boring leadership books and icebreakers that aren't actually working? Hi, I'm Erin Diehl, business improv edutainer, failfluencer, and professional zoombie who is ready to help you improve it. My mission in life is to help you develop teams and leaders through play improv and experiential learning. And this podcast, we will deep dive into professional development, team building, effective communication, networking, presentation, skills, leadership training, how to think more quickly on your feet and everything in between. We have helped everyone from fortune 500 companies to small mom and pop shops transform their business, their leadership, and their people through play. So grab your chicken hat. We are about to have some fun, welcome to improve it! The podcast.
Erin (06:49):
Oh my gosh improve it! Family. I am dying. I'm dying on the inside. If you could see me, I'm dying on the outside. I also look disgusting cause I'm coming to you live in the podcast closet with Kim Magnus.
Kim (07:10):
Thank you, Erin. I'm so excited to be here finally.
Erin (07:14):
I mean, finally. Okay. So I did fill the improve it! Fam about how important you are to this family. So they now know about you. They know about your bio. They know about all of the amazing things that you add to the world. But if they wanted to know that Kim Magnus that I know, maybe I don't know this. This is a fun question for me. What's a fun fact about you that we couldn't find on your bio, your LinkedIn profile, your resume. What is one fun fact about Kim? I would like to say your full name. You're one of those people like my husband, his name is John Diehl. You're Kim Magnus to me. So what is one fun fact about Kim Magnus we couldn't find on your bio or your LinkedIn profile?
Kim (07:59):
You know, I knew you were going to ask this question and I asked my husband, I said, what is fun about me? Cause I don't think I'm that fun. And I kind of, I said a couple things and he kept saying, no, no, that's not fun. So what I landed on was that I have a retail problem. That I am a shopaholic. So if I'm having a crappy day and I just need to get out there and feel better, I go shopping and I subscribe to five of the, like the box services, the subscription boxes. I don't even know if I said those words in the right order that Taylor goes through first and I get the leftovers. We have a bark box for our dogs. We have a fishing one for Mason. We do a food one. And there's another one that I'm blanking on, but I'm a bit of a retailaholic person.
Erin (08:54):
Okay. I never knew this about you. I've known you for a long time. This was a very fun fact. Also like I'm so down with those boxes, they're so fun. It's like a little like birthday every month, right? Like you, it makes you feel good. So, okay. That is a fun fact. And now very interesting that I know that because Kim we've known each other for four or five years now. So I want you to tell the improve it! Fam in your words, how, how do we know each other? How did this all come to me?
Kim (09:27):
So the first time that I met you was when I was working at Pabst blue ribbon. And there was a training that I went to, you came in and you got everybody off of our feet, you got us doing the chicken dance, wearing chicken hats. It was just incredible. I just loved every second of it. And once you were in my life, that's it. You're never getting out of my life now. It was just so much fun. It was just a different approach to getting. And we were, you know, a relatively new leadership team that came together and you know, we're in the beer business.
Kim (10:06):
It's not crazy serious, but it is serious enough and you just made it so fun. And we all stepped out of our comfort zones and that's what you've done. Like even last night I was kind of scrolling through our chat. I don't know if you've ever done this. It was going through our messages. Cause I was trying to refer back to some of the previous podcasts that I have listened to, to get what the, so what's where, and it just made me smile. Like the pictures we send each other, the, just the positive reinforcement, the crazy stuff we send each other. I just like do that one day when you're feeling crappy, it just made me so happy.
Erin (10:40):
Kim, I literally, okay. I just got new fake eyelashes. I cannot cry. But I am like, okay, well teary-eyed because I improve it! Fam. This is like the matriarch of the improve it! Fam like Kim Magnus. And I say this with a lot of love. I work with so many leaders. I love all of our clients. I love who I've gotten to know over the years. And I, you know, I've said this to you, Kim, you were an exceptional leader. Like you are. You're one of those people when like, just like you said, after I met you, I was like, Nope, she will always be a part of my life. And I, I just, I just love your energy and it's not the energy that you just give to me. It's who you give to everyone. So it's so interesting. So, so you, so we worked together at Pabst with a big group. Then you brought me in for your team specifically. And that's when I really was just blown away by you as a leader. I mean, we'll get into that a little later today, but I was always like, man.
Erin (11:43):
So you're like the person I think of when I think of great leadership, you are this person who I know people love in their organizations. I've worked with your new team at MPD. And then when you say your name, everybody, just their eyes light up. And funny enough, I moved to Charleston, right. And I was in my neighborhood walking around and a neighbor of mine goes, you know, I think I know you. And I was like, no, no, no, I don't know why you don't look familiar. And he was like, no, no, you've definitely did, do you like lead improv workshops? And he was in the Pabst workshop the very first one. And he actually found the workbook and sent a picture of it to John, my husband. And we just had a big giggle. And then I said, you know, Kim Magnus. And of course he, you know, his eyes lit up and everybody who knows you just loves you. So no, you're like, you really are one of those people when your name is said, and it's a full name, Kim Magnus people just go, oh, so I'm so happy. You're here. Thank you for doing this with me today.
Kim (12:48):
Oh, thank you. You are so good for my ego. You always make me feel special. And I love you for that. Thank you.
Erin (12:54):
Well feel it because you are. Okay. So let's keep the vibe going because we have so much to talk about. We are in our hybrid work series and we're talking about this notion of being in the office or working from home, but why giving employees autonomy works best. So tell me and tell the improve it! Fam real quick. What's the current state of where you're at at NPD? Are you all virtual in the office or is it a hybrid of the two?
Kim (13:26):
Yeah. So we're still 100% at home. Our offices, if somebody has a personal need that requires them to go in the office, we obviously will accommodate that, but we're still 100% at home and safety first mentality, you know, people first thinking our company is amazing and has been through this entire pandemic. And we're getting ready. I'm really excited to think about the days of being able to go back into the office and we're working on this space to make sure that when we go back, people aren't walking back into March, 2020. But I still think it's a little bit of a ways out because we are being very, very intentional about how we return so that our employees feel like we're being respectful. And I mean, the business has been performing from home. So it's, there's no need to rush back and we're, we're getting really creative with ways of collaborating with our team and driving that connection. And I think we're we're okay so far.
Erin (14:25):
Yeah, I think, I mean, for sure. And you're in Canada, that's something I think the improvement fam should know. So I know we I've heard a lot of different clients that we work with in companies, wherever everybody was getting ready to go back. Right. Or sort of like ease back in, not completely back, but do some hybrid work. And here in the states, we've had quite a bit of a reprieve from that with the Delta variants. So we, I think a lot of companies are realizing, okay, we're going to be back home for a while. And then like you said, when we go back, it's not going to be like March of 2020. So yeah. That's interesting. I want to just reiterate, you're one of the best leaders I know. I mean, I'll never forget this Kim and I always tell you this, you know, where I'm going to go.
Erin (15:12):
The story about the dinner, the snack. Okay. So Kim for the improve it! Fam brought myself and Christy, our director of talent to an event for her team. And this was in Michigan, probably like three or four years ago. And we go to dinner and she invites us to dinner with the team. When I tell you it was like the last meal that like, it was like one of those meals that just the food was amazing. It kept coming. She went above and beyond and it, and she said, the purpose of that was to show the team that that's how you can treat your clients. That's how you can wow them. That's how you can give them an experience. And I'll never forget, it was such an experience. But on top of that, you were so thoughtful. You did this exercise, which I want you to explain really quick. You know what I'm talking about the paper bag and the snacks we tell the improvement fam about the paperback snacks sort of icebreaker.
Kim (16:11):
Yeah. I forgot about that. That's right. I loved it. I'll never forget it ever. So we asked everybody what their favorite snack was and we were going to be together for a long day and everybody knows what those days can be like. And we went and bought everyone's personalized snacks and we put them in a bag and then we just put someone else's bag in front of them. And when they sat down at the table, they weren't allowed to look in the bag. And as an ice breaker, they had to go find whose bag they had. They had to go find the person whose bag they had, but they were not allowed to talk like, or maybe we said they could use one or two words.
Kim (16:48):
I don't remember exactly, but it was a communications icebreaker to say, it's going to be hard. Like if you can't talk and you can't communicate, you're not going to find whose person's snack you have. And it was a hoot. It was so much fun and everyone really loved it, but we made it personal because we got them their favorite snacks too. So it was easy and inexpensive, but very impactful.
Erin (17:11):
It really was. I mean, and that, from that moment on, I mean that was day one night, one, I think we had like personal time together. I just witnessed Kim and her glory and just how her team really respects her. And because it's because you do those things Kim you do those things that make people feel special. So right now in this right now for you, you're completely virtual, but essentially things might eventually go back to this hybrid model. How are you currently inspiring your team right now?
Kim (17:46):
Oh goodness. So I feel like that's the most thing I do. I wake up every morning and that's what I think about is who am I inspiring today? How am I inspiring them? And that's why you're such a big part of my day. I joked before we started recording that I shower with you every morning because well, you're episode number 10. And it sounds like I'm promoting you here. And I really am promoting you here. That really changed my life. And that during this pandemic got me out of what was probably the rut that everybody felt. And, and I started to own my mornings and I made sure that I set the tone of my day. And if I have a day now where I wake up and I just hit the ground running, I don't have a great day.
Kim (18:29):
I just don't feel the vibes that I need to feel. So I wake up every morning and I get inspirations from listening to your podcasts, you're my Wednesday, I shower with you every Wednesday morning, I have the speaker in my shower. That's how bad it is, but I listened to some of your other guests like you've had, you know, Judy holler. I listened to her quite a bit. I listened to her when this morning, which if you have a listen to it, it's really great. You know, there's so many of your guests who do podcasts that I rotate throughout the week. And that's where I get my inspiration. So, you know, top of mind, even this morning was Judy was talking about table topics that her and her husband had this game on their counter. And the topic last night was how do you, if you could come back into the world and be anything, what would you be and why?
Kim (19:15):
And so I literally went into this. I have a leadership toolkit where I just, I put all these ideas in a place so that someday I can pull them out. And I wrote this little workshop idea or like a brainstorm idea of ask your team. That question, let them think about it for five minutes and then ask them why. And let them think about it for five minutes. And that simple 10 minute exercise will bring out of them. All of their passion points that you then, as a leader, know their motivations, you can do so much with that. And that was 10 minutes so that I get inspirations from things like that. And it all started with you kicking me in the butt to get out of bed. But that's the type of stuff that I do.
Erin (19:52):
I can't wait. Now I have to know what, what would you come back as? Like, what is your thing?
Kim (19:58):
I have to think about it, but my, I mean, I live and breathe and I've self-proclaimed as you know to become this chief inspiration officer. So I would come back as anything that lets me inspire other people, whatever that looks like. I might, I don't know what that would be yet, you know, but maybe a life coach maybe, I don't know, but something that just lets me spend my days doing what I'm doing is just helping people see themselves bigger than they see themselves now. Okay.
Erin (20:27):
See, and Kim, I don't think you need to come back in a different life for, you know, you're doing it. You can still do that. And you're currently doing it just through the lens of a different way. So Kim okay. That was eye opening. Just food for thought there, keep that in the hopper. Keep that don't lose felt. All right. Okay. So then I want to ask you this, knowing that you have this, which I never knew you had a leadership toolkit, which is phenomenal, which I want to deep dive in that. But you keep these thoughts, these inspirational things to use to motivate your team. How do you know what motivates them by? Is it by using those types of, of icebreakers and questions? How do you know what motivates them? And then once you know what motivates motivates them how do you go about motivating them?
Kim (21:24):
Oh goodness. All right. You said we only have 30 minutes.
Erin (21:27):
I know. I don't care. Big question big question. No, tell me, tell me just, if you could sum it up, how would you, how do you know what motivates them and then how do you do that?
Kim (21:37):
So it's really it's, it's hard to learn what motivates people and the way that I do it is by making sure that I have processes in place to make people feel comfortable and believe, first of all, that I'm showing up with the right intentions and that I'm not like I care about people. So number one, they have to feel that you care about them. And if you care about them, they'll be more vulnerable and opening up to you. And you know, when we have that environment, that typical Brene brown takeaway, then people are more willing to be open and show up as their whole self. And if we can create an environment where people, oh, there goes the dogs, I apologize.
Erin (22:17):
Hey dog. Don't worry. Big Diehl is by my feet right now. And I'm just waiting for a doorbell rang. So no, this is no mistakes, only gifts. That's perfect.
Kim (22:25):
Um but I just, I think it's important to number one, create the environment. And then number two, it's important to listen. And it's been my biggest opportunity area as a leader is to stop trying to solve everyone's problems and listen, because I go into solve mode right away. And you know, my 15 year old daughter Taylor, who, you know, is just such a blessing, always says to me, mom, you don't have to solve like, can you just listen? Like don't solve right now, just listen. And I take that to heart and try and bring it to work because that's what people need. Sometimes it's just listen. And when I listened, I learned, and I started a tactic of taking notes when I'm listening, instead of jumping in and trying not to interrupt as much and thinking about what that little note is and going back to it later. So, you know, most importantly have a forum, have trust, create the environment. And then when you think, you know, someone's motivations, respect them and realize that, you know what motivates that person might be really different than what motivates me and creating a culture where people really appreciate the differences.
Kim (23:31):
You know, that that takes tools and that takes frameworks. And you have to have the right forums to bring those into play. But they're important too, because a lot of us want to create a sea of sameness. We want to hang out with people that are just like, but really that doesn't help us grow. And if you can open people's minds up to, to think about what motivates other people and think about your audience, then we can just move the needle so much more impactfully.
Erin (23:58):
Okay. I love the sea of sameness. I've never heard that, but that is, I love that. And that's absolutely true because if you have a culture of people, just like you, you're not going to grow. You're not going to see what's outside and what, you know, what different types of personalities can bring to your organization and how they can help you innovate. I love that Kim Magnus or two named person for me, Kim Magnus. I can never call you just Kim. I don't know why I, I used to call my husband before we dated John Diehl. So, okay. There we are. So let's talk about this too, because you know, this whole notion of hybrid work, right? A lot of companies are, they add to work from home. They were forced to work from home. And now a lot of leaders are like, get people back to the office, get people back to the office when we're seeing that work can be done at home. Just like you mentioned at the beginning, like you have been so productive at NPD has been really thoughtful in their approach to bringing people back to work and what that looks like. So with this idea and notion of giving employees and team members autonomy, how would you define an ideal culture in this new normal, and I hate that quote unquote, new normal, but how would you define the ideal culture where we are currently at right now?
Kim (25:26):
So the ideal culture is one. I mean, it's, it's, it's all about collaboration. Culture has to be anchored in collaboration and it has to be anchored in a people first mentality, whether you're hybrid or not. I don't think that the type of working environment changes it. Like I think that is the recipe for any company to fuel success. You have to start with people. If your people are happy, they'll make your clients happy. If your clients are happy, your revenue will grow. And if you try to do it backwards, it's just not going to work. It's going to fall apart.
Erin (26:03):
Love it, love it. And that's so true. And it's, I remember in my recruiting days back when, before I ever started improve it, our CEO really started to focus on making, not only at the internal team at the recruiting firm happy, but then all of the people that were candidates. And I remember flipping that from servicing our clients, but servicing the candidates first and really what that did for that culture was so life-changing because you're absolutely right. If the people within your organization are happy, they're going to serve in the right way. And they're going to show up with purpose and they're going to want to be there, which is part of the entire battle. So let me ask you this. If you could give advice to anyone in the improve it! Fam today, when it comes to giving their employees the ability to work autonomously, what would you say to the, to the member of the improve it! Fam who's like, you know what? I need to still be in touch with my team multiple times a day. I need to check in with them. I need to have them back in the office. How could you kind of flip that in their minds?
Kim (27:16):
So I'm going to give to my leadership toolkit, open it up, open it up. There's, there's two things that I think I use all the time and I go to this, I've created this leadership tool kit first. Let me digress for one second. Have I created this toolkit? Because one of my current direct reports he's on my leadership team recently, promoted is amazing. I can't even tell you how amazing is when we first started working together, he was very candid with feedback and, and pulled me aside one day and said, I love all your inspirations. They're phenomenal, but you're killing me. He said he was so good about how he brought this message to me. He just said, and he is, he is a go getter, you know, type a, wants to make everything perfect. He's a perfectionist, he's a recovering perfectionist too Erin. We're working on this together.
Erin (28:07):
And I feel him. I feel him.
Kim (28:08):
But he wants to like take everything that I sent him and get it done right away that day. And I was, I was literally just making him crazy. And so I created this tool kit because I needed a place to put my inspiration so I didn't lose them, but I had to be more thoughtful about bringing them to my team. So that's why this tool kit exists. I just had to tell you that. So now that I have the toolkit, it's really great because sometimes I share like some of the visuals with clients and sometimes I just pull them out sporadically with my people. But to answer the original question that you said back in my pre early days of Mattel, I sat through a three-day workshop that was called situational leadership. It is, there's a little card that they give you when you walk out of that workshop.
Kim (28:52):
And my takeaway of that has stayed with me forever. And it is a simple quadrant that says you have to lead people based on this situations that they're in. There is no how this person is there is how has this task that they're working on? How was it working for them and where do they need help? So there's a there's a lens of how, what their competency level is. And then the other axis is what is their motivation level. So if you have somebody that has a low competency and a low motivation from a leadership perspective, then you need to flex both your support and your direction. Conversely, if you have somebody that has high competency and high motivation, then you flex your leadership style to have low support and low direction. And then you understand how the model works from there. But if you don't follow that, you could be stifling, really good employees.
Kim (29:49):
So in a hybrid environment, I think as leaders, we can just ask ourselves, you know, what do I think their motivation levels are? What are their competency levels? Or even better yet ask them, Hey, here's this model. This is going to be our framework. What quadrant are you in today? And they tell you the quadrant and you say, okay, perfect. Then I'm going to back away. And I'm not really going to stifle you, but if you need me, call me, know that I'm here and you've just empowered people to go. And so that's the first model that I use. The second one that I'll share, there's a book that was life-changing for me called a hundred times leader. And you can read the book or you can just go in and find the page that has the quadrant. And it's somewhat of a similar concept, but it, it talks about it's a little different because it, it evaluates you as a leader in terms of what you're doing to your employees.
Kim (30:40):
So it is it's how much support do you give your challenge, your employees for one act season, then the other one is how much challenge do you give them? And I'm going to get real personal here. And I'm going to give you the example of my son, who is amazing. He's very different than my daughter, both my kids are self-motivated, do well in school, but my daughter's self-motivated and my son's a lot more chill, right? And he's not as intense as she is. And so sometimes he needs the kick in the butt that she doesn't need. And sometimes he needs the structure that she doesn't need. So I give him a lot of challenge, but I don't support him as much because I feel that he needs the structure and the challenge. So I put him in a different quadrant. That's the bottom right-hand quadrant, high challenge, low support.
Kim (31:30):
And what I'm doing sometimes is I'm creating this culture of manipulation or fear because I am just always on it. It's like, I'm amazed to do this piece and do that. And, and he calls me on it and Taylor calls me on it. But I feel that he needs that my husband conversely says, you know, you're always on him. So I have to give him more support. So he flexes his, his support up and he lets up on the challenge. So he puts him in the upper left-hand quadrant and that's a culture of entitlement. So we are really messing with this kid because quadrants from Mason to be in is the upper right-hand quadrant. And that's the liberate quadrant. That's the quadrant that says, we're going to challenge you and we're going to support you. And this is going to liberate you. And that should be the goal for everybody.
Kim (32:19):
And I'll just finish the model just for purposes of telling the whole story. The bottom left-hand is no support and no challenge that creates a culture of apathy. So as leaders, if I'm giving you advice, use this framework, it's again, a hundred times later, it's phenomenal. Keep your people in the upper right quadrant, keep your kids in the upper right quadrant because your goal is to liberate them. And if you're not challenging them enough and you're not supporting them enough, they're not being liberated. And then you implicate all those other three quadrants. And so it's powerful.
Erin (32:52):
Wow. Okay. Where does this leadership toolkit exist? Is this like in a drive on your computer? Like, where is this? Where, where do we find this tool? It's not live? I know it's probably at a hard drive somewhere with like a million passwords. That's fine. That's fine.
Kim (33:10):
No, we have a director and above we use Microsoft teams, which I'll give a call out to our IT departments who has just really this year invested in tools. We call them our collaboration tools that makes us 10 times more efficient. So I'll do a shout out for my my buddy Darren person who leads our organization on this. And it has just changed the world for us. And so we have a channel that we call our director and above and I put it there and I'm trying to encourage others to add to it. So it is a collaborative toolkit that as leaders, we all, if you read an article, you know, you can go in and put in a slide and write it with a, so what is the takeaway of that article? And we just are, I'm trying to get traction. It's really still my toolkit, but my long-term goal is to have this available for everybody. So every month we meet and I bring our attention to it and I will share one slide that I updated. And I think it's starting to get a little bit attraction, but it's not where it needs to be yet, but it'll get there.
Erin (34:09):
Do you see it? This is the Kim Magnus. I'm talking about this. Like you're, you're championing it. You're allowing others to view it. I love this. And I love those, those quadrants. Thank you for sharing those. I think anyone listening right now is thinking about their family. And then they're also thinking about their direct reports and they're like, oh God, which I just, I literally, as we were going through this, I'm like, I need to shift. I need to shift quadrants. So thank you, Kim. And I, I know that you've done improv because you have been in many improve it! Workshops, both virtual and in person. But I want, first of all, I want to kind of shift from this quadrant model to a more experiential approach, if you will. So knowing that you have done some improv in your day, first of all, can you just share with the improve it! Fam what your experience with improv has been and what it was like for you?
Kim (35:06):
So the experience with improv I'm thinking of is the afternoon that we spent with your team in Michigan. And we just did a ton of workshops that were great. I mean, you pulled us out of our comfort zones. And if I remember correctly, I think we were trying to focus on creativity. So one of the workshops was around creativity, and then I think the other one was teamwork, but you just, I mean, you got the 25 year old, new young, and really amazing, you know, people that joined team out of their seats. And then you also got people that were ready to retire out of their seats and everybody, we just, we did things we never could have imagined.
Erin (35:47):
Oh my God. Well, thank you. And also, I know, like, for example, thinking back to that experience, thinking back to you were just such a big supporter of us last year, when we had to shift everything to a virtual model, Kim has just really stepped out of her comfort zone in many ways. And I think improv has been a guiding light for me to teach, but it's also been a way for me to kind of use my own toolkit to help others. But where I want to go with this is this notion of improv from what you know of improv, how can you use those fundamentals of improv to help lead a teams in an autonomous way right now, how can you use some of the tools that, you know, because I will say this, Kim, you have a really good knowledge of improv from an improve it! Perspective, right? So you've used improv to improve soft skills through your team. How can you use some of those skills that, you know, to help your team be more or help leaders be more autonomous with their teams?
Kim (36:52):
No, I think it's mindset. Like I remember when we did the work from home, when you launched that series and we would meet, you know, at lunchtime once a week with the group, the, one of the biggest takeaways I had from that. And it was probably the very first session you did, where you reinforced the things you can control. And I think that's what improv is about is like, there's a lot in your life that you can control. And my dad told me this message growing up throughout my whole life is, you know, change the things that you can control. That's what you need to focus on is your effort, your attitude, and the people you surround yourself.
Kim (37:25):
I don't know if you remember that day when you taught us all that. And that's what improv is about. You can choose who's around you. If someone is in your life, that sucks your energy, remove them from your life and you can do it without being confrontational. Taylor taught me to unfollow people on Facebook that has been life-changing. It's so life changing, clean up my feed so that it's positive. And if it's not going to enrich my life, get out of there. But I think that's the key. There is just how much effort you put into something. That's your choice, own your calendar, own how you spend your mornings, episode, number 10, own your mornings. Like these are things we can control. And I think we put a lot of pressure on ourselves. This, this is an improv insure too, is we, we, we joke I'm stealing all your language.
Kim (38:11):
I'm a recovering perfectionist because, you know, path of least resistance is something that we have to learn. And we have to, we, we still strive for greatness, but not everything has to be perfect. And at some point you have to say, good is good enough. You know that my CEO says that all the time, like sometimes good has to be good enough. So there's just, there's a lot of things we can control. And once I think we all realize we can live intentionally and, and take a handle on some of those things, your life can be so different.
Erin (38:42):
Oh my gosh, she has taken us to church. I okay. First and foremost, that resonated with me so much because I think right now here where I'm at in South Carolina and just in the states, we're experiencing another shift, right? If, of sort of this like fourth wave of COVID and just the kind of feeling of uncertainty again. And I think that is so true for where we are just currently in our state of the world, but also the state of work. And if we can control our attitude and our effort and just be conscious of what we conscious, I said, I sounded like cautious conscious of what we intake then our outputs can be that much better because we can output to the world what we want to see in it. And that's what improv does. And I love that you said that so much Kim Magnus. That makes me so happy. This is a question I'm pretty sure I know the answer to, but I want to hear it from you, you know, improve it. We say that the, it can mean so many things, but what is your it, or what would you say is that thing that you were put on this earth to do?
Kim (39:53):
No, I'll go back to my CEO. I just, I have learned through my leadership journey, how much I love to empower other people and inspire them so that they can grow. That's my, it is in this job that I'm in right now. This leadership role is allowing me to do that in so many capacities. And this new pandemic world has allowed me to open that up. And that is my it, I just love spending time with people and trying to help them look at the world through maybe different lenses that it's a little bit more productive for them. And that's my it. And I love it.
Erin (40:29):
It really is your it. I knew it. The CIO chief inspiration officer make a business card. Will you please? Okay, Kim, you are a longtime listener. First time caller of the improve it! Podcast. Okay. This is the first time I've ever said that. And it makes absolute sense. So wow. You might know what's coming. This is it. The fail. Yeah. Lightning round, as you know, this used to be the failed it! Podcasts, but we're pulling from one of the biggest rules of improv. There are no mistakes, only gifts. I'm going to give you a rapid fire round of questions. And I want you to respond with only one word answers. And you know, if I say, or if you say more than one word, I'm going to give you a big fail yeah. Just like that with like very creepy undertones in my voice. Okay. All right. Let's do, are you ready for the failure lightning round?
Kim (41:23):
I am ready, but ready is a lie, but I am ready.
Erin (41:27):
Oh hey Angie Lee come back at all these episodes. Lovin it. Okay, here we go. Okay. One word to describe your early leadership style.
Kim (41:38):
Awful.
Erin (41:39):
One word to describe where your current, where you're at at your current leadership style.
Kim (41:45):
Fulfilled.
Erin (41:46):
One word to describe your favorite boss.
Kim (41:50):
Empowering.
Erin (41:52):
One word to describe your least favorite boss.
Kim (41:56):
Wet blankets.
Erin (42:00):
Yeah, but that was necessary. What blanket is the best answer I've literally ever heard to that question. Okay. One word to describe your work from home fashion style.
Kim (42:09):
Business mullet. Hyphen!
Erin (42:18):
I'm going to give that a big clap because I'm doing it with you. All right. And then one word to describe this interview.
Kim (42:25):
Overdue.
Erin (42:30):
Kim. You, you really, you failed yeah that one, I can't even say you nailed that you failed yet, but it was perfect. It was absolutely perfect. No mistakes. Only guests, Kim magnets. If somebody listening to this show wants to get in touch with you and ask you questions about the quadrants about these books, which we will link to all of the things that she mentioned that we can link to in the show notes. How can they find you?
Kim (42:53):
I am predominantly on LinkedIn. I don't have a, an Insta handle it as public or anything like that. I really just on LinkedIn, but I'm more than happy to meet with anybody who has questions about any of these things.
Erin (43:05):
Uh and she will. I'm telling you right now improve it! Fam she will. She has a joy of a human being. So Kim, what's your middle name? Kim. Let me, can I know, can I know your middle name is that weird to ask?
Kim (43:17):
When they say my middle name, you have to say my first name. So it's Kimberly, Kimberly Anne Magnus.
Erin (43:23):
I feel like I needed that. I've always wondered. Okay. Kimberly and Magnus. Okay. First of all, it's been a joy. It's been an honor and improve it. Fam you got to meet a part of our tribe today and I am so grateful for that. And we're so grateful, Kim, for your insight, your wisdom, and all the joy that you bring to me, your team, and now all the joy that you've given the improve it! Fam. So thank you so much for being here.
Kim (43:49):
Thank you, Erin, for having me and for continuing to ask me to be a guest, your video or your phone, I should say your voice message was what did it, but I just, I like to end with the saying that you have reinforced into my head, which is you can't sell someone else's teacup until you feel your own kettle. So if anyone takes anything away from today, it is just be intentional so that you can be your best for everybody else.
Erin (44:17):
We are going to end with that. My kettle is now full because I got to talk to you this morning. So thank you, Kim.
Kim (44:24):
Thanks, Erin!
Erin (44:33):
Okay. improve it! Family still have chills. I still am just on one cup of coffee, but like feeling like I had five. I love talking to Kim and I'm sure you loved hearing what she had to say. Now, if you want to take anything away from today's show, besides the amazing gifts that came close with us at the end, I want you to just remember that autonomy, authenticity connection. That's how you're going to make it in this hybrid world. Trust the people that you lead, give them direction, then get out of their way, your culture and your people will thank you for it. So my beautiful improve it! Fam go out there and improve it because the world needs that special. It that only you can bring see you next time.
Erin (45:28):
Hey friends, thanks for tuning in to improve it. I am so happy you are along for the ride. If you enjoyed this show, head on over to iTunes to leave us a five star review and subscribe to the show. So you never miss an episode. New episodes drop every Wednesday. Now, if you're really feeling today's show and you've improved it even just a little bit, please take a screenshot and tag me at keeping it real deal on Instagram and share it in your stories. I'll see you next week, but I want to leave you with this thought, what did you improve today and how will that help your future successful self? Think about it. I am rooting for you and the world needs that special. It that only you can bring see you next time.