Haley Prophet, a visionary in creating nurturing work environments, joins us to share her transformative journey and the bedrock principles that can make any organization a haven for its people. Her two decades of experience shine through as she unfolds the essentials of building trust, granting autonomy, and the undeniable impact this has on the mental health and productivity of employees. It's an episode packed with wisdom and heart, reminding us that workplaces are more than just profit centers; they're ecosystems where culture and well-being go hand in hand.
This conversation isn't just about why a healthy workplace matters, but how we can bring this ideal to life. From the pivotal role of management in preventing burnout to the actionable steps you can take right now, Haley Prophet breaks it down into digestible strategies. We touch on the subtle art of aligning company values with real-world practices and how even small, accessible initiatives can kickstart a revolution in well-being within your business. For anyone who's ever believed that their work environment could—and should—be a source of empowerment and not just employment, this episode is a must-listen, charting a course for change that resonates with every level of an organization.
Haley Prophet, a visionary in creating nurturing work environments, joins us to share her transformative journey and the bedrock principles that can make any organization a haven for its people. Her two decades of experience shine through as she unfolds the essentials of building trust, granting autonomy, and the undeniable impact this has on the mental health and productivity of employees. It's an episode packed with wisdom and heart, reminding us that workplaces are more than just profit centers; they're ecosystems where culture and well-being go hand in hand.
This conversation isn't just about why a healthy workplace matters, but how we can bring this ideal to life. From the pivotal role of management in preventing burnout to the actionable steps you can take right now, Haley Prophet breaks it down into digestible strategies. We touch on the subtle art of aligning company values with real-world practices and how even small, accessible initiatives can kickstart a revolution in well-being within your business. For anyone who's ever believed that their work environment could—and should—be a source of empowerment and not just employment, this episode is a must-listen, charting a course for change that resonates with every level of an organization.
Go on. Hi everyone, welcome back to the Path to Leadership. I am so excited for this conversation. I know I say it all the time, but I truly have one of my most favorite people in the world, haley Prophet. Hey Haley, how are you?
Haley Prophet:
Hello, I'm so excited to be here and I feel the same, haley.
Dr. Katie Ervin:
Yeah, you know, it was so funny because, as I was getting ready for this and I was thinking, gosh, we just met. It's been maybe about a year ago, but it feels like we've known each other so much longer.
Haley Prophet:
Yeah, I agree, it's really a testament to you meet the right people at the right time too, and just leaning into the trust and the connection, and I agree, it feels like we've known each other a lifetime.
Dr. Katie Ervin:
Yeah, yeah, I love it Well and I'm excited to introduce everybody to you. I know a lot of people in the Kansas City community know you or know your name, and I'm excited to share a little bit of your story and get you out there even further. So can you tell everyone who you are, what you do? All of that good?
Haley Prophet:
stuff? Yeah, absolutely so. Thank you again for the invite. You know having the discussion is the best place for me to start with the work I do. But leading into that, so I'm Haley Prophet.
Haley Prophet:
I have been working in corporate well-being for almost two decades now. Crazy to say that out loud and think about what that journey looks like. But in reflecting over this last year, I love kind of these little aha moments that I've even had. I've been doing this work for so long that it's easy to take for granted what that journey looks like. I am so blessed that it is my full background. It is what I went to college for, it is what I am credentialed in and certified in.
Haley Prophet:
I've just been blessed to be on this journey of so passionate about the work I do and helping workplaces, helping cultures, helping communities through the business aspect of corporate well-being and recognizing what that is. So I reflect on the journey of deciding to get into this path when I was still a teen and early 20s, but then jumping into the workforce and kind of just figuring it out as I went, testing the water in some places, seeing what I love but also learning so much about myself and where my strengths were, where I really knew I could drive impact and change in an organization, again with that entire mindset of where people are our greatest asset. So what are we doing to genuinely align our actions with what we're saying?
Dr. Katie Ervin:
Yeah, yeah, and I love that, and I think one of the things that I love about you Not just your spirit and everything is this really is your life's work. Like I tell people at time with me you know, I didn't wake up right, I didn't sleep at a holiday in last night Like it's literally my schooling, my research, my work, and it's the exact same for you of everything. And yeah, when you said two decades, it's like I hate it when people ask me how long I've been doing it, because then I'm like, but I'm only 24 and it's like, oh no, I've been doing right. Yeah, so can you talk a little bit more? You kind of talked about your journey, but like how you decided to like go out on your own and and the work you did and what kind of led you here through your career journey.
Haley Prophet:
Yeah, absolutely so. As I said, you know, I've been on the journey of corporate well-being for so long, but that journey was predominantly in the workplace, in the business, in that corporate setting, really supporting that Internal aspect to a culture of well-being. And, as you had alluded, on this journey of recognizing Not only am I passionate about the work but part of my life's purpose. Over my professional career and Leaning into just my maturity and age in life, I Draw a distinct correlation to what I'm doing. And so now that takes me into a capacity of Providing fractional support to businesses and I love this space so much because it's taking a work I've done, the experience, the expertise again awards and recognitions that I have brought to workplaces, but truly spreading that love to more, finding leaders that are just as passionate about supporting their people but maybe aren't quite sure.
Haley Prophet:
What is this journey of well-being look like? How do I ensure that my culture does align and is supported? You know we both have our good friend, corey shear. How is trust a part of having a well-being conversation and the autonomy to bring these topics to the forefront and not just be a Backburner? So my role now is predominantly in that fractional space, but I love the opportunity through speaking and facilitation and workshop engagement as a way, as an Entry point for a lot of organizations that just maybe they're not quite sure yet, maybe they're still in this journey of figuring out what this does mean, and that's fine too. I think the first step is acknowledging maybe we could do better about supporting our employees well-being and making it a larger priority. So frequently again, it's some of that facilitation that just starts the conversation and creates the language in the workplace when employees, leaders, business owners, c-suite can all know okay, this is what we mean. This is us being able to put our words into action now in our organization.
Dr. Katie Ervin:
Yeah, and I love that and I love the work you're doing as a fractional partner with organizations and the reason I love that so much is it's truly that partnership where you go into organizations and really help them. A lot of organizations and we hear this in the leadership side as well like we can't afford that or that's not an FTE that we can do, or this or that. And it's the beauty is you can go in with all of your experience and all your knowledge and all of your experience and background that they probably couldn't afford at a full time basis because they're smaller or for whatever reason, and you can really partner with them to meet their their needs.
Haley Prophet:
Yeah, absolutely, and nor should they. You know, an FTE isn't always the right model and, and because this space is growing and evolving so much, it also allows me to cultivate relationships with, perhaps internal vendors they're already working with, brokers they're already working with, so I love the experience of being very supplementary and complimentary to things that they're doing. Again, and my ultimate goal that I always tell clients is you shouldn't want me here for decades. Our goal is to really create that strategy. You know it sounds so bizarre as a business owner to say, but I truly want them to be able to thrive on their own, and so it's creating this foundation and a roadmap and a place to start and audit the existing workplace, get them on the right path and then know that they can carry it on from there.
Dr. Katie Ervin:
Yeah, yeah, that is so perfect because it's true like you want to come in and and help them create that path, but then you want to empower them to really love and care and Pay attention to the well-being of their their employees, and so they don't need you all the time. They just sometimes have you come back in occasionally, did just either right right frame them or even just add to their knowledge as you gain more knowledge and the research that you're constantly doing to make sure that you're staying up to date.
Haley Prophet:
Absolutely, and that's just it is. It's pushing those trends for a reason. They're there for a reason sharing with them what just may be a blind spot or something they weren't even aware of that could be a significant opportunity.
Dr. Katie Ervin:
Yeah, yeah, and so we talk about well-being. I think we all hear the term well-being, but for you, as the expert in this rise is so important for individuals and organizations and, quite frankly, what really is well-being?
Haley Prophet:
Yeah, of course that's a question that I get all the time. I mean, I got that the first year I graduated at college into, you know, a couple weeks ago, having some conversations with senior leaders and a business on. We just don't even know what it means and I always take a very clear stance. I'm working with partners and businesses and organizations on. The beautiful part of well-being is the business can also help to really curate what their meaning of it is. So, if we take a step back, well-being at its core is how we as humans are Thriving, and we all know that there's multiple dimensions and multiple capacities to that and Neither one or the other is necessarily more important. It's how we're creating an environment and an ethos where it's being supported. So whether we want to spend, you know, the next two hours talking about what those individual dimensions of well-being are, really the crux of it is. This is how we work better in a business. You know I always go back to my influences strictly from a business and organization side empowering that framework in our communities and in our world. To know this is a shared responsibility of Well-being, and so you know you had, you had asked or mentioned why is this even so important for workplaces. Why are organizations considering these things? And it's a journey that every business is on at just a different step.
Haley Prophet:
I use staircase analogies a lot. You know every business might be on a different step of that staircase. Some might be on a landing and they're a little stuck on. What do we do? We think all of a sudden we're recognizing some concerns of maybe stress or some other health limitations for our population, but it's more about continuing up the staircase and even if we step back a few, like a pandemic certainly Influenced a lot of us. How do we just reevaluate? How do we ensure that the business and the organization are living up to their values, that they're sharing? And talking about Not living under the values, not just saying that this is our mission, but living up to the mission. And so what I especially am really passionate about in the workplace is Well-being doesn't need to be, nor should it be, a silo that one single HR person or one leader themselves are over here with a rally cry Trying to influence the entire culture. It truly is Part of the way we work and we all have influence on that.
Haley Prophet:
So organizations have to Acknowledge and begin justifying, maybe, why they're not focusing on well-being. I mean when we see staggering stats like 70% of individuals indicating that their manager Impacts their mental health more than a doctor, a therapist the equivalent of a spouse or partner in their home that's that's impactful. We need to address it, knowing that employees and managers are indicating they're burning out I mean it's 80 plus percent of workers and in that, 50, 60 percentile for leaders and that high performers burn out even more. So you know there's plenty of data and statistics to indicate why we have these challenges that we need to address. Now it's up to the workplace to determine what's relevant for your existing culture. Now, what data points do you have to help you determine Okay, where do we need to focus? And so a lot of what I do is just come in and put that puzzle together with them. They have all the pieces, but maybe they're just not sure how they fit appropriately.
Dr. Katie Ervin:
Yeah, yeah, I'm just digesting those stats because those are such carful and shouldn't be shocking stats, you know, and I get a lot of questions for the work that I do, like pre-pandemic, post-pandemic, and I firmly believe was there pre-pandemic. We just weren't talking about it as much and it wasn't as normalized. I do think the stresses and and everything have increased. Post-pandemic and whatever this new normal or whatever we we call it is, and I think about the health aspects of this, all it's. It's go read for women months and it's heart health month and a lot of the work that I'm doing this month is around, you know, taking care of our heart, and I think about stress and anxiety and burnout and all of these type of things that happen because of work. And those stats that you talked about just pulled me back to the work that you're doing and why it's so important.
Haley Prophet:
Yeah Well, and I think that you're acknowledging a whole nother point. That would take us another half day to really dissect, but it is from a chronic condition management perspective. If I have an employer that says you know, hey, well-being is important, or maybe not ready to invest, we don't know what that means to us. But on the other hand, they're also looking at their plan performance, their medical data, and they see an increase in these statistics. We know chronic conditions and preventable disease is impacted by things like stress, by burnout, and so it's marrying all of this together Again. That's why none of it can be a silo and why well-being is so interconnected to how we show up, how we perform, how we produce and, more importantly, the relationships that we're cultivating and really emphasizing in the workplace of trust and autonomy and accountability. You know having those crucial conversations in a healthy manner, and so there's just so much in this giant pot that is swirling that we just have to start somewhere.
Dr. Katie Ervin:
Yeah, yeah, and I love that because it is so much and it's kind of that. You know how do you eat an elephant. You know one bite at a time, like take a bite. And that made me think. As you were talking earlier about well-being, I was so fortunate to see you do a workshop on thriving and I had never really heard that before and even after, like, I still have my worksheet sitting over here on my desk that we went through and so you had talked about, you know, kind of that step in the door for organizations. Are those kind of the easiest ways to start the conversations or these lunch and learns or workshops or programs, just to kind of even level set? Is that the best way for people to start this?
Haley Prophet:
Yeah, yeah, it's certainly one option. You know, if it's a workplace that perhaps isn't already, if they're a small enough business, maybe they're not already collecting data something like a workshop, a series of lunch and learns that are also informational. It's almost a time for a listening tour, but you're not telling the employees. But that is an opportunity for me to start hearing from them and provide them kind of that external third party view on here's kind of the perception or here's some challenges and struggles. Were you aware? You know, another thing that I love to do with workplaces is a well-being audit. In fact, I have a really easy, just kind of checklist out on my LinkedIn page. Is a great starter for anyone to give them an idea. But coming in, working hand in hand with them to go through this audit of well-being in their workplace and it goes back to you earlier asking how do we define it right? This audit takes that 30,000 foot view to assess all these different areas and what that is doing is helping that business to self identify. Actually, we want to prioritize this focus a little bit more and all of that comes full circle.
Haley Prophet:
You know me, I love the terms flourishing and thriving because there's this connotation that in the workplace, well-being has to start with our health and our vitality, and when I work through that process, that's actually the last step. First, we need to talk about meaning and purpose and relationships in our life, both personal and professional. You know different areas that we're engaged in our life, both work and personal. So, yeah, it's a holistic when we use the term whole person. That's exactly what we're talking about. It's well-being for the people that are showing up for us, doing the work and helping our businesses to thrive.
Dr. Katie Ervin:
Yeah, yeah, that is not as cool and I'm excited to share all of your contact information in the show notes. So we'll make sure we put your LinkedIn in there so people can go and pull down that assessment and start dipping their toes in the water. And, and something that you said that kind of pulled me a little to the right, is you know you coming in and doing these type of programs, that employees will share stuff with you and and I find too like with me being an outsider, being a real partner with an organization a lot of times leaders inside the organization will say, well, we haven't heard that this is a problem, or people aren't telling us this, or I'm not sure we need this. And it's fascinating, when we go in as a trusted partner, what people will share with us and really expose opportunity for, for growth and really to to lean into these type of things.
Haley Prophet:
Absolutely. Yeah, I you know it's always very humbling to know that, as you had said, we can go in as an outsider, but that there can be trust immediately. There can be a level of safety. I know that there has been some controversy around the term psychological safety, and is it being used too much? Is it not enough? You know it's important in a workplace and it is a part of every culture, whether you're addressing it or not just like well being, and so when we're there, it's a huge opportunity for the leaders we're working with to hear the feedback and the advice that we do bring to the table, because there could be a lot under that current could easily be fixed. They just maybe don't have an outlet or a platform or any way for it to be addressed right now with their employees.
Dr. Katie Ervin:
Yeah, yeah. And and that's the cool thing about being experts in the areas you know, our different areas is we've done the work, we've done the research we kind of know. And so I'm always fascinated when people say, Well, you make that look easy and it's like, Well, this is literally what I do. If you asked me to like accounting and balance a checkbook, like, don't call me for that, that's not what I do. And so to bring experts in on the things that we do and the things that you do is really powerful.
Haley Prophet:
Absolutely Well. And I love it, katie, because we are two great examples of we supplement one another so well. We compliment one another so well because we are experts in that niche, niche, piece of the market. Yet it can also be so cohesive when brought together.
Dr. Katie Ervin:
Yeah, yeah, I agree, well, and you do so many fantastic things in the community you speaking engagements and all kinds of cool things. I'm so fortunate because you've agreed to be a part of the Catalyst Leaders Institute. This is our second year, yay, and so you lead our very last session, which is resilience, and it's the session right before they graduate, and it's what's cool about the year long program is each session, people are like, oh, that's what I needed at this time, in my moment, that's what I needed. And after your session, it's what we heard was I feel like I had this self awareness and I was kind of pulled all the way through the year as this like deep reflection of myself, and then Haley put us back together in this like gift of resilience and how we move forward taking care of ourselves, which I think was just such a cool bow on the year.
Haley Prophet:
Yeah, I love it. It feels like it's such a bow on the beautiful package that you give all of these attendees to really leave them with. Now it's about you. You know own own you and your health, your vitality, your Resilience as a leader, because we all know it takes resilience in life as it is you and I have shared many stories, but it takes resilience to be a leader too. Absolutely so. Thank you for the opportunity. It's so much fun working with the group.
Dr. Katie Ervin:
Oh well, we just love you and and the whole catalyst team, everyone adores you. So how can people see you and get to know you and have the opportunity to, to learn from you? What do you got going on?
Haley Prophet:
Yeah, absolutely. So definitely follow me on LinkedIn my personal page, haley profit, as well as my business page Haley profit consulting, because I do post out there every speaking Event or opportunity that is community facing that I am a part of and so super excited about that. Just wrapped up a couple in January. It were a great kickoff to the year. Talking about you know how our employees that thrive help the business to thrive, talking about a lot of the trends that are up and coming. Super excited to also be doing Tuesday a webinar with motion connected. You can check that out online as well as sign up because you can check out the recording after.
Haley Prophet:
And then for the Kansas City crew there's a really exciting event coming up soon, on Friday March 1st, called night at the museum. It is being put on and part of the freedom project, really looking at the future and unveiling at that event this forum, nexus that is going to be hosted in May around mental health. But night at the museum is free but you do need to register and there's going to be a panel event again the intention focusing focusing on mental health here in Kansas City, such a diverse group of panelists. Again, cory, who we mentioned, is going to be the moderator of that so excited and thank you to Abraham for putting that on from Freedom Project. Mental health is absolutely a specific dimension of well-being that I personally am passionate about, and so it's a part of my work Constantly as I go through my journey.
Dr. Katie Ervin:
Yeah, I love it. I saw that night at the museum pop up and the first thing I did was go to my calendar and I'm like, okay, that's, I'm in town, I can do it. I mean, then you look at the panel and you're like, oh, that is a Powerful group, that, oh, that one's gonna learn so much from it's gonna be amazing.
Dr. Katie Ervin:
So well, we will share all of that in the show notes. So you all, make sure you go to the show notes, make sure you connect with Haley, register for these events and Shoot out to her. Let her know what questions you have and she's happy to To connect and see if there's a good fit to to really support the work you're doing.
Haley Prophet:
Absolutely. We've got to help every workplace know that they can do this.
Dr. Katie Ervin:
Right, well, thank you. Thank you for your time today, but, more importantly, just thank you for your friendship and your supports and your willingness to collaborate, and You're just a light in my life, and so I just really appreciate you is.
Haley Prophet:
Very mutual, so thank you for the opportunity.
Dr. Katie Ervin:
Well, thanks everyone for joining us and we will see you again next time on the path to leadership.
