The Teams That Win All Have This One Thing

Show Notes

What do winning teams consistently get right? In this episode of Building Leadership Community, Coach Dora Mendez and HR expert Kyle Patrick Smith explore leadership as responsibility and service.

They unpack authenticity, accountability, and why people-first leadership creates teams that thrive, especially during times of change.

Check out Kyle Patrick Smith’s books:
Recruiting Is Easy!: If You Approach It Like Sales And Marketing
https://amzn.to/45c8qMj
Get the Job You Love
https://amzn.to/3LjZA8x

Key Takeaways

• Winning teams are built through service, not control
• Authentic leadership requires accountability
• Leaders succeed when they lift others up
• People-first culture drives long-term results

Guest Credentials

Kyle Patrick Smith is an HR expert, bestselling author, and founder of HR Kyle with over 25 years of corporate HR experience.

Connect with Kyle Patrick Smith
https://www.linkedin.com/in/thehrkyle/
https://hrkyle.com

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome back, amazing leaders, to season three of Building Leadership Community Podcast. I'm your host, Coach Dora Mendez, and today's episode is one you won't want to miss. We're diving into the world of human resources, leadership development, and what it really takes to build thriving teams in today's workplace. Our guest is a powerhouse in the HR space, an Amazon best-selling author, recognized thought leader, and someone who has spent over 25 years transforming how organizations attract, develop, and retain top talent. Joining us today is Kyle Patrick Smith, founder of HR Kyle, and the host of a highly recommended podcast that's changing the conversation around work, leadership, and career success, the HR Kyle Podcast. By the end of this conversation, you will walk away with actionable strategies to elevate your leadership, practical insights on building engaged teams, and a renewed confidence in your ability to create workspaces where people truly thrive. This episode is your roadmap to leading with intention, impact, and heart. So settle in, take a breath, and get ready. Hello and welcome to Building Leadership Community Underpendence. I'm your host, Laura Mendez. I am the founder and CEO of Coach Door LLC. Our guests will be entrepreneurs, small business owners, and community leaders that drive social impact. It can be lonely at the top, but it doesn't have to be. Hello. It means so much that you joined us this week and that you join us every week for these conversations. That you are back with us for season three. It can be lonely at the top, but it doesn't have to be. That is why we started this podcast. If you are new to the Building Leadership Community podcast, we are so glad you are here. Please don't forget to like, share, and subscribe. Hit those buttons at the end of the screen, at the bottom of your screen. Don't forget to like, share, and subscribe so you never miss an episode. Say hi in the comments, and we have some great resources to share with you today. Do you or your friend or loved one struggle with what to do next in your career? I get it. I've been there and I've spent many years on the other side doing the hiring. That's why I've created something that will meet you right where you are. The resume reboot, Coach Door's career relaunch program. It's designed for job seekers, mid-career professionals craving change, and anyone navigating a transition, especially those rebuilding confidence. Inside the resume reboot, you'll receive a powerful modern resume built to stand out. It's not a template, it's a transformation. You'll gain clarity on your next role and direction as we define your narrative together, clearly, confidently, and strategically. The resume reboot also gets you a hiring mindset drawn from my 12 plus years as an HR professional on the other side of the table. This is a real playbook. I've seen the process, and I can give you insight from a hiring manager's perspective. We shape messaging that elevates your skills, bringing forward the strongest, most compelling parts of your experience. And finally, confidence, not by hyping you up, but by showing you even on paper who you really are. You deserve a resume that reflects your brilliance, not your burnout. If you're ready to relaunch your career with intention, the link is in the description. Now let's continue season three with another incredible leader. Let me tell you about our guest today, Kyle Patrick Smith. Kyle is the first person who reached out to me asking to be on the show. This is season three now, the first two seasons. Folks that I know, folks that were referred. But Kyle was the first person who organically reached out. And it means so much as we hit 13,000 views on YouTube. Our show is growing. People are loving the content. And I was so over the moon when Kyle reached out and I started listening and watching his show, which he also co-produces with his spouse, as we do on our show here. You'll learn. And if you've been following us, you know that my co-producer is my spouse, Dylan Rogers. And so with no further ado, let me just quickly introduce you to Kyle, read you a little bit about his background before we bring him onto the stage to share with you all of his incredible knowledge. Kyle is an Amazon best-selling author, recognized thought leader, and seasoned HR expert with over 25 years of corporate HR experience. As founder of HR Kyle, Kyle offers impactful consulting and leadership development, employee engagement, and organizational growth, empowering professionals and teams alike. He holds an MBA in human resources, a bachelor's in psychology, and an associate's in business management, complemented by further studies in counseling, performance psychology, and organizational dynamics. So, yes, we only bring you the finest experts here at Building Leadership Community. His keynote speeches captivate audiences, blending practical insights with transformative strategies that inspire lasting change. Kyle's expertise is also highlighted in his book, Recruiting is Easy and Get the Job You Love, and on his highly recommended podcast. Today, Kyle is here to pour into you, sharing his wealth of knowledge on leadership, talent development, and creating workspaces where everyone can succeed. Let's bring him on to the stage.

SPEAKER_01 6:49

Hi, Kyle. How are you? Hello, Coach Nora. Thank you so much for having me. Um, we're really uh incredible.

SPEAKER_00 6:58

This is such a perfect time to have you because um so many people are getting laid off. There's so much chaos in the workplace. And so while this while here at Building Leadership Community, we really focus on your leadership. I think you have so much to share. I think our audience will really get so much out of your story. So can you share your leadership um story with us, your unique career trajectory?

SPEAKER_02 7:23

Yeah, I sure can. So I started off actually out of college, not quite sure what I wanted to do. I was the first one in my family to have gone to college. So I got a business degree and started working a little bit, felt drawn to sales and marketing and customer service. After a few years in that, I thought there's more than I can do. And I immediately felt drawn to human resources just to test the theory a little bit. I worked a couple of internships, and all that did was draw me in further. And then, as the BIOS says, I spent the last 25 plus years in corporate HR, working my way up the ladder from intern to senior HR executive, the top HR person in the companies that I represented. And the lessons that I speak about now relative to leadership have really been curated from that. And when I had the opportunity to move from corporate HR to my own organization, HR Kyle Services, that's what I wanted this to be about. And ultimately, Dora, what it came down to is I want to work with individuals and organizations to create the kind of workplace that we want to work in. Because just like anybody who's in the workforce for a little while, you work at really good employers and you work at some that not so good. Well, we all want to work for a really good employer. So why couldn't I take my talents and work with organizations to make them desirable to their candidates and to their employees? So that's what's brought us here today.

SPEAKER_00 8:55

And that's something that we have in common because I pivoted from many years working, and then we decided to take our expertise and talents and start our own um companies, our own businesses to do just that. So I re I can really relate to that, and I think that story resonates, uh, what will resonate really strongly with our audience.

SPEAKER_02 9:16

Um, Dora, not to cut you off there, but you mentioned about me reaching out to you. That's precisely why I did. I'm very impressed with what you're doing, and just as importantly, the way that you're doing it. Because one of the things we talk about in our organization is we've been there and done that. And that's exactly where you're coming from. And and as I did some research on you and looked at the work you're doing, it's no fluff, it's just facts. And I was immediately drawn to that message. So if you wonder why I reached out, that's exactly why. And it sure was an added bonus that you're doing this together with your spouse because I'm doing the same thing.

SPEAKER_00 9:52

Thank you, Kyle. I just love your genuineness and I and your um generosity also with your time and your knowledge. Um, and I I think that's gonna shine through so much and why it's a why people um will want to work with you. So that's a great segue to our sort of our next question because we're our conversation problem, because we really don't have questions, right? We just have conversations, right, Kyle? So um, this is Building Leadership Community Podcast. So we always talk about what leadership means to you because leadership can be lonely, it can be isolating. Um, so here's your opportunity really to share what community means to you and maybe share some you know wellness tips.

SPEAKER_02 10:38

Yeah. Well, you know, we we've had a saying in our household for a long, long time, and I passed it along to my son that says, of much is given, much is expected. And if I had to sum up my leadership style maybe in one sentence, that's what it would be about. You know, leadership to me, when you're granted that opportunity, that is a responsibility that you have, not a responsibility to yourself. Because once you put into that position, it's no longer about you, it's about others that are around you. And I always say leaders are judged by how well their teams do, not how well they do. So, as leaders, regardless if that's by title or by designation or wherever that comes about, at that point we have a responsibility to lift others up. And maybe it's in our organization, maybe it's in our communities and so on. Uh, when I've worked in corporate HR, one of the things that I've always said is as an organization, we have access to resources that the individual will never have access to. And because of that, we have a responsibility to utilize those resources to help others. So, again, if I were summaring up my leadership philosophy, it really honestly comes down to that. I like to think of an organizational structure as really being upside down. Me as a leader, I'm no longer up here. I'm here and I'm working to lift those up around me.

SPEAKER_00 12:07

Thank you for sharing that. I kind of like that upside down pineapple cake, kind of like analogy.

SPEAKER_02 12:14

That's a good neutral.

SPEAKER_00 12:16

And could you um repeat what it is that you told your son? It kind of sounds like um, you know, like what Spider-Man was told by her by his uncle Ben.

SPEAKER_02 12:26

That's great. Of much is given, much is expected.

SPEAKER_00 12:30

I love that. And so that's a great segue. We always love for folks to um give some advice to the next generation of leaders, or maybe something that you would want to tell your younger self when you were early in your career. Um, what would you want to share with the next generation of leaders?

SPEAKER_02 12:53

You know, there's a few things. One, show up consistently every day because we're we're judged by how what we repeatedly do. We're not judged by those things that we occasionally do. We're ultimately judged and we're seen, and and our results are about what we repeatedly do. So so show up consistently every day. The other thing I would say is show up authentically. You know, I all young leaders struggle with this, and and and I'm no different. Uh, you know, I was a leadership student way back when, even as a teenager, I was curious about leadership. But what I came to realize over time is those are lessons that I needed to learn, but craft them in a way that that was consistent with my delivery and who I am and what I'm about. So first and foremost, show up consistently, show up with your true self. And again, that sounds like a worn-out phrase sometimes, but that means just be genuine, be who you are. Uh the other thing is I work to always come from a good place. And my experience has taught me that I can approach every single situation, giving the other person the benefit of the doubt. And if I do that, it tends to lower the stress, mine and the other person. It tends to lower the tension and all the other negative things that can come into a situation. When you just try to collaborate with that other person, no matter what the issue is, if they've broken a policy or a procedure or they've done something wrong, work with them. Don't work against them, don't make the conversation punitive. Work with that person because the other thing that I've found, and I have a whole talk about this, I call it the 95% rule. And what that means is the vast majority of people in your organization, in the world, want to do the right thing. They want to do the right thing, they want to do a good job, they want to receive recognition, they want to receive those rewards that go along with doing a good job. And ultimately, they want to go home to their families and their loved ones and have a good personal life and do travel and do all these wonderful things. That's the vast majority of people. And we as leaders, that's who we need to lead. Then we deal with those exceptions, that 5% that falls outside of that. Those are the exceptions. So let's lead to the majority, not to the exceptions. And if you do that, you'll be a happier boss, and that's one thing that's important, right? But the other thing is the people around you will be a lot happier.

SPEAKER_00 15:19

So um I want to elevate a couple of things you said. So uh consistency, yeah, um, authenticity, yeah, and lead to the majority, not the minority.

SPEAKER_02 15:34

Exactly.

SPEAKER_00 15:34

Yeah. So I I want to um interrogate just one of the things that you mentioned uh a little bit further, because I think people need to hear this. There's sort of this myth that authenticity means you can um just do whatever you want. Yeah. So I had a leader the other day come to me and tell me someone was being uh someone was uh oversharing a little bit too much and making others feel uncomfortable. Yep. And uh, you know, they talked with this person, and the person said, Well, you tell me I have to be my authentic self. Yeah, and so my view is you can be authentic and bring your whole self to work, but you're still accountable. Yes. So can you talk about accountability? Because accountability, authenticity, and uh and accountability to me come hand in hand. Because you can you want to be your best, you want to bring your best self to work, you want to bring your whole self, you want to be genuine, you want to be authentic, um, not want to be, but just be. But at the same time, there's accountability. Can you speak to that a bit?

SPEAKER_02 16:54

Yeah. In any sort of role in any organization, when you join that organization, you have, of course, a responsibility to yourself, but you also have a responsibility to others. And that's an inherent contract that we sign when we join an organization. And I talk to my new hires about that. And what that means is your responsibility to yourself is to make sure that you do your best and you come in and you you follow these policies and procedures. But your responsibility to others is to also nurture a positive environment for them to work in. And to your point, when we do things such as overshare or we cross boundaries that everyone should have, at that point we're we're no longer honoring that responsibility that we have to others. And to me, that's ultimately what it comes down to that responsibility to self and that responsibility to others. That's that inherent contract that we sign, that's an imaginary contract, when we join an organization, a team, a group, whatever it may be, a club, um, you know, sports organization, whatever it is, those two responsibilities always exist.

SPEAKER_00 18:03

So thank you for sharing that about uh response responsibility, because I think um authenticity is a superpower. Um, you know, and um I guess maybe because we're both an HR and HR has such a PR problem, like you know, we hire fire everyone. Uh oh, HR's here, you know, and you know, um I often think of like the stereotype of the HR person, but really we're there to support people. Yes. We want people to be successful.

SPEAKER_02 18:40

And Dora, I'm so glad that you brought that up. And I know it's a little bit off script here, but it's very refreshing to talk with another HR professional that admits we've got a PR problem because I talk to so many that that either don't realize it, don't recognize it, or just don't know it's there. And it is. And it's something that we as HR professionals, to make sure that we're doing our best, we need to recognize it and then uh obviously then act accordingly to try to dispel that myth in the work that we do.

SPEAKER_00 19:09

And it's so it's I I appreciate that because um the it's very rare to be able, people a lot of people don't understand that. And um transparency is so important for us and to be transparent and we often share. But there's also that line. Like you there's that line where there's confidentiality and there's transparency. So, and I think sometimes people conflate conflate the two.

SPEAKER_02 19:38

Well, Dora, the way the way I've explained it to my teams, every team I've ever joined, when I've explained that dynamic that you just described, here's what I call it friendly, not friends. We in HR especially have that responsibility, be friendly to everyone, but we can't be friends with anyone because that puts us in a very vulnerable position. And as you and I both know, in some organizations, there are those people that like to have the insight-tracked information. And wow, isn't it nice to have that HR friend that I've got and I can get some insight information? We have to be careful of that. And again, it's not it's not a really terrible thing, but to your point, it can put us in a position to where we maybe violate a confidentiality or a responsibility that we have in HR.

SPEAKER_00 20:20

So I like that. Friendly, not friends. Yeah. Right? That's a great, that's a great way to put it. Um uh so it I would love for folks, can you share a little bit more about you, your company, how people can get to know you? Because um, first I guess I should ground by saying uh where are you physically in the world?

SPEAKER_02 20:47

Yeah, so we're physically in a town called Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. And to give you some geographical bearing, we're on the outskirts of Akron, Ohio. And many people, especially sports fans, have heard of Akron because of a man by the name of LeBron James. Uh, he's from here. My son actually went to the same high school with LeBron, or not with LeBron, but same high school that he went to. But again, to give you further bearing as to where we are, we're about 40 miles driving distance from downtown Cleveland.

SPEAKER_00 21:17

Very cool. Cleveland Rocks. Um so and so, and and uh I'm here in New York, as folks who follow follow me know, I'm here in New York in New York State. And uh for those who are new here, so um tell folks a little bit about HR Kyle, how they can get involved with you, what your services are. We'd love for folks to um get to know you because in the short time that I've gotten to know you, and just just in this brief conversation, um, you know, I know people want to work with you.

SPEAKER_02 21:51

Oh, thank you, Dora. I appreciate that. And believe me, the feelings mutual. I shared that with you from the beginning. I I came into this with such a uh a wonderful feeling. About you and your husband both, just based upon the work that you do and the way that you help people. I think that's you know, that's something we definitely share in common. We're are we looking to work with people? Yeah, but we we ultimately we want to help people. And and where we come from on this is we want to work with them to create work for places that they want to be in. So that comes down to our work in talent management. So the training components and some of the other things that we do from a talent acquisition standpoint, we will certainly work with them on individual talent needs, but we'll also work with them to create a more consistent, effective, efficient uh talent acquisition process. So that relates to the recruiting and all the communication that goes around that. We also work with organizations with some subcategories there, for example, mentoring programs, internship programs, young professional programs. So we help that as well. And then on the other side, this may sound unusual, but I think it'll make sense based upon what I've shared. We also work with organizations as it relates to outplacement, meaning you've got a reduction in force that you need to go through, and some employees are going to be impacted. We want to work with those employees to make sure that the process is handled legally, but also just as important, ethically. We want to give those individuals who are impact a soft landing. So we're helping them make that transition from current employer to next employer and all the steps that are involved there. So, again, our goal with all the things that we do is to work with individuals and organizations to create a workplace that everyone wants to work in.

SPEAKER_00 23:33

So thank you for sharing that. And we will certainly share those links um in the description, how to follow you, how to get in touch with you in the description of this episode. Uh, I also want to just say it's so interesting that you talk about outplacement. It's ironically, it's it's something that's uh happening so much um in this economy. But also, I have to say, uh it was made famous by a movie with George Clooney, also. So also for people who don't understand what outplacement services are. George Clooney made that famous in that in that movie where he flew around the country doing that. Um but we do it with heart. Um so thanks so much. If you could hold on there, we're gonna roll our closing credits. Um, and just hold on one moment. Uh thank you so much, Kyle, for being here, for sharing your knowledge and your uh consistency, authenticity, and uh lead to the majority, not the minority.

SPEAKER_02 24:38

Dora, thank you so much for having me. I appreciate it. Love talking with you, love being here. So thank you.

SPEAKER_00 24:45

You've been listening to Building Leadership Community. Watch on YouTube at Coach Dora M. Listen wherever you get your podcast. Follow me on LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube at Coach Dora M. Visit me on the web at CoachDoraMendez.com. Hosted by me, Dora Mendez. Produced by Dora Mendez and Dylan Rogers. Graphics, editing, and sound mixing by Dylan Rogers.