Training Technologists to be Storytellers with Patricia Martin

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On today’s episode, we’re speaking with Patricia Martin of Cox Communications about the importance of effective storytelling and communication among technologists. Patricia also shares some insight into the impact good leaders can have on inspiring others.

More About Patricia Martin

Patricia Martin joined Cox Communications in 2005. In her time there, she has led several key initiatives at Cox, including the creation of the first national team of virtual construction estimators and Cox’s first-generation Video Back Office National Center of Excellence. Martin oversees the Network Operations Centers and Tier II support teams for both Residential and Cox Business support models. In 2017, Martin streamlined the Service Assurance NOC to one operating model with two locations, Atlanta and Phoenix. She synchronized national teams and subject matter experts toward improving customers’ experience and set a new road map within the company for other functions to emulate.

Martin is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma and of the WICT Betsy Magness Leadership Institute. She has been recognized by Women in Cable Technology (WICT) and CableFax for her leadership skills, her ability to drive results, her unwavering commitment to her team and customers, and the positive changes she has delivered at Cox Communications.

Show Highlights

What is Technology Service Assurance? How do you successfully keep multiple platforms operating while knowing who is the right technologist to contact?

PIR – Post Instant Report- It’s important to communicate with your customer base letting them know what occurred and how it won’t happen again.

How does a team communicate internally to non-technical audiences when they are facing a challenge?

Why is it important to be a good storyteller especially during budgeting time?

How do you build confidence in your technologist through storytelling? Focus on the issue, and leave the details for others who will understand.

What is the importance of developing a structure to share information? Consistency in how you deliver your message in a technology world is extremely important.

Why is communication important when leading an organization? People who are great communicators will be great management and directors.

How do you establish a connection with an audience? Make sure your message meets people where they are. Set them up with a storyline to help people digest it and explain the reason of “why”.

How can using stories help lessen the blow of a big change for employees? Helping people understand why tough decisions were made allows them to see that it was something happening with them and not to them.

Why is it important for leadership to tell stories and be vulnerable? People want to know who they work for. Listeners connect to stories on challenges and disappointments, they want to see the journey.

Connect with people as a leader, because that is what people will remember.

What makes a good leader? Vision, strategy, empathy, and a backbone of steel.

Telling the Difficult Stories with Allison Ausband and Evia Golde

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On today’s episode, we’re speaking with Allison Ausband of Delta Airlines and Evia Golde, formally of United Way of Greater Atlanta, about how they are taking on one of Atlanta’s darkest topics, human trafficking, and are bringing it to life so the statistics become more than numbers. Allison and Evia also shared a few success stories that have come out of Delta’s #GetOnBoard training.

More About Allison Ausband

Allison Ausband is Senior Vice President–In-Flight Service for Delta Air Lines, leading a team of 24,000 flight attendants, supervisory and support personnel around the globe,as well as Delta’s onboard global food and beverage operation and experience.

She previously served as Vice President–Reservation Sales and Customer Care, where she was responsible for 10 customer engagement centers in four countries, which handle over 37 million customer contacts each year and generate over $2 billion in annual revenue.

Under Allison’s leadership, Delta’s In-Flight Service team has achieved all time customer satisfaction scores. While in Reservation Sales, she developed and launched Delta’s social media customer service model as well as a home-based employment program, creating a new virtual workforce culture that yields more than $2 million in savings each year. She also led the corporation’s strategy to move from the bottom to the No. 2 position in DOT Consumer rankings, and under her leadership achieved JD Power certification for Delta’s engagement centers–the first US airline to ever achieve.

Allison began her career at Delta in May 1985 as a flight attendant.

Currently, Allison is Delta’s executive sponsor for human trafficking and leads their annual Breast Cancer Research Foundation campaign. She is a member of Leadership Atlanta Class of 2014. She is a University of Georgia Board of Trustee and serves on the Board of Directors for Delta Community Credit Union and the Board of Trustees for the William R. and Sara Babb Smith Foundation. She is also an active member of her local church serving on the personnel committee.

More About Evia Golde

A retired attorney, Evia has served as the Human Trafficking Committee Chair for Women United Atlanta since 2014. Women United is a group of 100+ donors who support the work of the United Way of Greater Atlanta, and Women United’s signature issue is to eradicate child sex trafficking in Atlanta and Georgia. During her tenure with the UWGA Women United, she has held the role of Cabinet Chair and in 2016 was Co-Chair of the Safe Harbor Ballot Committee, a campaign that helped successfully pass the Safe Harbor Amendment to create a permanent Fund for victims of exploitation in Georgia. She is the recipient of the United Way of Greater Atlanta 2017 Leading a Life of Purpose Award.

In addition to her work at the United Way of Greater Atlanta, Evia has been a Community Advocate raising awareness to combat the sex trafficking of Georgia’s children. She has been involved as a volunteer, advocate and fundraiser with multiple organizations fighting to end child sex trafficking, including Wellspring Living, youthSparke & Street Grace. She currently sits on the Board of Wellspring Living, a non profit that has been serving survivors of childhood sexual abuse and exploitation since 2001.

Show Highlights

There are 25 million victims of human trafficking – How do you take a tough topic and bring it to life so the statistics become more than numbers?
Why did Delta take on this dark topic and how did it get involved in the prevention of it?
2011 ECPAT Code of Conduct was created and Delta was the first airline to sign it and took a leadership role as a company to fight human trafficking
What has been Deltas biggest success story? -Getting people on board to take the initiative to stop human trafficking. #getonboard
What are the signs of human trafficking? Examples of human trafficking identifying training: employees were able to save two young girls because of what they learned in the training
Why is the awareness piece so important? Why wasn’t it talked about before?
How and why did the United Way get involved?
Why does Atlanta have such a huge human trafficking problem?
How has UPS been involved in combating human trafficking?
How did the See Something Say Something campaign begin?
During the Superbowl, there were169 arrests over 11 days.
What is Georgia Pacific’s role in the fight?
What is the Safe Harbor Law and what does it do and how did it impact Georgia?
How do relatable stories change the way you look at the issue?
Why are people willing to listen now as opposed to a few years ago?
What are the things the victims are doing to help other victims?

Like what you hear? Hear more episodes like this on the What’s Your Story podcast page!