Episode #14: Leading with Care from a Distance and Redefining Success with Chris Bird, EVP & COO at Life Care Services

In today's episode, Christie sat down with Chris Bird. Capitalizing on his reputation as a change agent, Chris Bird brings his expertise to the communities LCS serves. By leading operations, building community occupancy, fostering capital partner relationships, and developing new business, Chris implements strategies to deliver on the expectations of owners and shareholders. As executive vice president, chief operating officer, Chris oversees Life Care Services, CPS, asset management, procurement, and onboarding operations. His ability to analyze issues, devise continuous process improvements, and incorporate business process initiatives drives performance improvement for the overall operation.    

Highlights: "Leading with Care from a Distance and Redefining Success"  

• Life Care Services put a team together to start crisis planning for COVID in late February when the first cases were being reported in the West Coast.
• Communication and recognizing the organization could experience burnout from their employees.
• It is important to ask yourself as leaders, “How can I help my team with the small things?”
• If your organization has great leaders, the leaders likely hired great people and you need to make sure you take time off. This shows that you trust your team(s).
• If your batteries die, you will not be able to meet the needs of your team.
• COVID has shown a greater rise in employee burnout because our brains need to focus harder on video calls. We may have had the same number of meetings pre-COVID, however it was easier for our brains to focus.
• Leaders need to stay focused on the need in the present. With so many potential distractions, it is important to center yourself so that you can make better decisions.
• You can only do the best you can do with the information in the moment.
• Listening can also be practiced by asking lots of questions to truly understand what your team members are saying.
• Education never ends and thinking you have nothing left to learn is going to stop a leader from growing.
• Storytelling is powerful and can include your story or someone else’s story, and lay out new perspectives or lessons to the listener.

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LEADING FORWARD breaks down professional assumptions through meaningful conversations that remind us all that leading, effectively, can and often does look different for each of us.  

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