Latest / Executive Alliance Podcast / E4: From Corporate Executive to Founder: Stephanie Bagley on Purpose, Growth, and Giving Back

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E4: From Corporate Executive to Founder: Stephanie Bagley on Purpose, Growth, and Giving Back · Executive Alliance Podcast

• Rebecca Snyder: Welcome everyone. Today I'm delighted to have in our studio Stephanie Bagley, who is the ⁓ founder and CEO of SCB Management Consulting, which is a Baltimore-based strategy and implementation consulting firm. So Stephanie, welcome to the program. Stephanie Bagley: Thank you for having me, Rebecca. Rebecca Snyder: Yeah, no, it's great to have you because not only are you this amazingly accomplished woman working in Baltimore, helping organizations navigate transformation and improve performance, but you also, near and dear to my heart, are the treasurer of Executive Alliance. So we get to work together in a lot of different capacities. So really excited to get to know you a little bit more about the ⁓ in in your world. so in you've had Stephanie Bagley: Very good. Rebecca Snyder: A tremendous number of years in in corporate leadership. You've consulted in Big Four, and you have have done so many things in the world, and then you launched your own management consulting firm. So tell me, and and you were successful in what you were doing, but what made you think now is the time? You know, I think a lot of women kind of hover on that precipice of like things are going really well. Stephanie Bagley: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Rebecca Snyder: but I still feel like there's something out there for you. So tell me about that reinvention and when that happened. Stephanie Bagley: Right. ⁓ well I've had the benefit of a couple of reinventions, but that one in particular was about a life ⁓ inflection point. I had done corporate relocations for 20 years after business school. And my last corporate relocation took me to Philadelphia. My children were graduating from high school and going off to college. And I was thinking about family. And family's in Maryland and wanted to relocate back home. So I thought about do I go and get another job? And then ⁓ I had been doing some soul searching probably about six months to a year before that. I actually took a strength finders again. I had done it before. ⁓ ⁓ but took a strength finders and consulting just kept wobbling up. I'm a I'm a problem solver. you know, I love figuring out you know, creative solutions to to the things that people are experiencing. And so literally I just decided, you know what, instead of me going and getting another job, whether it's big four consulting or a corporation, let me just see what would happen if I do for myself what I've been doing for corporations for decades now, which was saving them a lot of money. Rebecca Snyder: Mm-hmm. Stephanie Bagley: And ⁓ really streamlining operations. So that's what I did. Rebecca Snyder: So was that hard like how was that to sort of apply all those ⁓ all those tactical skills on behalf of someone else to like turn that inward and start because it is, you know, as a small business owner, you are building the plane as you're flying it, you're you know, you're looking you're you're you're making it look right and and and acting on on your skills for others. So like how how was that shift? Stephanie Bagley: Yeah. Yep. Yeah. Yeah. The consulting part itself was easy because I had done consulting before. So I knew I would knew how would I would deliver for my clients. I would say then I was we all know the next big part is getting the clients. I was extremely fortunate. just so happened to have a conversation with one of my business school colleagues who I had always stayed in contact with. We had be we were just friends, right? We our kids were the same age. You know, I mentioned what I was doing. And ⁓ you know, so through relationships, she's like, ⁓ you know, she had started her own consulting firm. She was doing federal government contracting in the DC area. And she said, Hey, send me your resume. If something comes up, I'll give you a call. ⁓ 24 hours later, she texted me and said, Send me your resume. I think I have a project. That turned into five years of nonstop billable work. ⁓ it just yeah, go ahead. Rebecca Snyder: Wow. At your ten year anniversary, gosh, was it last fall? You know, sand's a ton. ⁓ my gosh. Okay, so so A, congratulations again on ten years. But I think she spoke at that ⁓ at that event. And so I think, you know, you're right. It's that power of relationships and sort of building building bridges and seeing where people can really help one another. Stephanie Bagley: No, it's actually in January. January fifteenth of this year. Yeah. Thank you. Yes. That's right. Yep. Right. That's right. Rebecca Snyder: And I feel like that idea of service kind of permeates everything that you do. And of course, I Executive Alliance is a direct beneficiary of that service. But tell me about some of the other things that you do. Because I think that service mindset, when you look at your website, the idea of how can we help you? Rather than like, how can we fix your problem or you know, whatever, that kind of permeates everything you do. So tell me more about that. Stephanie Bagley: Mm-hmm. That's right. Right. Right. Well I probably put myself in the shoes of my clients, right? I was there. I mean, someone at that leadership level, C-suite, you know, that next level down, director level, especially today, but it's been probably since the beginning of the time, do more with less, right? So there's always budget constraints. ⁓ you know, so you have to think strategically moving your advancing your organization forward while maintaining the day-to-day operations. And so sometimes you just don't have those internal resources. Rebecca Snyder: ⁓ Stephanie Bagley: Is the skill set or the capacity. And so we come in with that mindset, right? Having been in their shoes. So two things. One, I'm able to pay it forward. So what you know, my mentor did for me, my first client did for me, I now do for others. I bring in other small businesses to be my partners. So I have a core set of employees at the project management, but I bring in subject matter experts all the time who are other small business owners. And so we come in with that perspective of, you know. How can we help you? Because we know you have a lot on your plate. We can bring the skill set, we can bring the capacity. From two perspectives, most of my clients or my partners also have had that internal leadership experience and consulting. So it's there's no cookie cutter framework, right? We can tailor our solutions to meet their specific needs. So it is very rewarding to be able to come in and literally relieve you know, a corporate. leader, government leader who is just stretched thin with a lot on their plate. So yeah. Rebecca Snyder: Well, and it strikes me like when hearing you talk through that, that it's very much that you're slotting into someone else's vision. And I think sometimes when there's a consultant in the world, they're like, Let me give you my report and my thoughts. And it feels like you're really listening first and then saying, Here's here are the things that we can truly, you know, slot in or help you do. Am I getting that right? Stephanie Bagley: Yeah. Mm-hmm. Right. Yeah. Absolutely. ⁓ and so sometimes, you know, we so we do strategic planning, right? And so we come in and we we identify who the key stakeholders are, we make it a very collaborative process, we go through the SWOT analysis, we bring all that together and say, hey, this is what we heard, right? And let's bump it up against what your vision is and let's see what you can and cannot do. Sometimes we're actually then brought in to help them implement that strategic plan because yes, we want to take on these actions, we just don't have the resources, right? But then some Sometimes, you know, they do have the resources and we lay out a very detailed roadmap for them that they can use that, you know, let's say it's an Excel spreadsheet, they can use that really to track their success. We give them the KPIs and those sorts of things. So it's always a very collaborative effort. What we also do though is, you know, we bring in our experience working across different industries, working within their industries. We do benchmarking to say, this is where you are, this is what your peers are doing as well. They that's typically very rewarding. Sometimes we go out and collective. One of our recent clients, we actually brought them into some of the interviews with ⁓ this is a state client. We brought them into the interviews with some of the other states and they heard for themselves what some of their peers are doing across the country. So yeah. Rebecca Snyder: That's actually I I love the way you do that. And I and it sounds it feels like a leadership journey there in in some respects. Because you know, I think we've all thought, ⁓ gosh, I wanna take my next step in my leadership journey or whatnot. And maybe you you're you're trying to fit yourself into like, ⁓ I should do this, this, and this. But you're really kind of turning that upside down and then saying, Stephanie Bagley: Yeah. Yeah. Mm. Rebecca Snyder: Where do you want to go and how can we create tools that help you get there? So when you're thinking about your own leadership journey, you know, how what does that trajectory look like? Because you've been a a female leader in a kind of male dominated world. Management consulting is not exactly woman spirit USA. Like how did you chart your path? Stephanie Bagley: Right. Correct. Correct. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Right. Yeah. You know, it's so right. Rebecca Snyder: Or did you chart? I mean sometimes we're it's like serendipity and you just fall into the next thing. Stephanie Bagley: Yeah, I that it really has been much more of that. I'll be honest with you. For me it started in business school. I was just never this cookie cutter person. I remember I was a little bit older when I went to business school. I would had the good fortune of getting a full fellowship for Duke University and got my MBA there. And I remember again, I had already been working. I had been a manager for quite some time. And usually people back then people picked a track. It was operations or finance. And I'm like, why like both? And people were like, You're gonna get kill yourself if you don't go in and you're not specific, you know. So I had offers from Wall Street, all different industries. I was just honest. And I think for me being authentic with what where my gifts were, where my interests were, ⁓ and for me, it was really about problem solving. And to me, operations and finance always have to align. Right. And so most of my opportunities came because I always came with that perspective. I came with an open mind. And so my first job after consulting, after business school, I actually ended up heading up corporate audit. And most people would say, corporate audit. But my leadership started because I like to have the big picture. And Rebecca Snyder: Mm. Stephanie Bagley: I was present I literally, you know, reached, I was living in Philadelphia then, reached out ⁓ because I was ready to leave consulting. It wasn't conducive to the lifestyle of a mother, young mother. And they offered me to interview for two roles because they told me I was too seasoned for their leadership development program. ⁓ but they wanted to find something for me. And so ⁓ I had an interview with investor relations and one with corporate audit, and I could pick which one I wanted. I end up Corporate audit. It was an operational audit. It wasn't ⁓ like the external auditors. It was an operational role. I was one, I was getting to create the department. It was new. They needed to split off international from everything else. The existing director was going to keep international. And they wanted me to create an organization that looked over the rest of the entire organization. And I found that exciting. Rebecca Snyder: Mm. Stephanie Bagley: So yeah. Yeah. That yeah, it was a it was a tremendous opportunity. ⁓ my next role I had to do a you know corporate relocation because of my family back to Maryland. I've been back and forth a few times. ⁓ Rebecca Snyder: That is exciting, overwhelming, but exciting too. Stephanie Bagley: Posted my resume on one of these new job boards called Hot Jobs. I'm dating myself, Rebecca. And ⁓ like within two weeks, I got picked up by Coventry Healthcare. They ⁓ saw my resume and literally they wanted me to create their new risk management organization. I'll be honest with you, Rebecca. I interviewed for the job. Rebecca Snyder: Yeah. Stephanie Bagley: Don't I don't remember what I said. They offered me the position and I told this is the vice president of Actuary who was responsible for risk management. I was like, And why do you want to hire? Me? Why do you think I can do this job? So I kind of reversed the interview. And he's like, you know, you can identify risk. You can create organizations. You're evidently, you know, smart because you have your MBA and that sort of thing. So that was another opportunity to create a brand new organization. And then after that, I got recruited to come back to Cygna in Philadelphia, which is where I ended up for 11 years, to head up their much risk organization that was about 10 times larger. I had worked with the CFO when I was there before and Rebecca Snyder: Mm-hmm. Stephanie Bagley: He asked HR to find me and come back and transform that under organization under his leadership. So I didn't have a plan. And I was just very open-minded, ⁓ took on new opportunities when they arose. Every time I actually had, ⁓ you know, my organization under me grew. And, you know, quite frankly, I probably grew my leadership skills as I went, right? A lot of it was trial and error, of course, taking executive development courses and that. Rebecca Snyder: Mm-hmm. Stephanie Bagley: sort of thing. But a lot of my journey has been because I was just open-minded and people presented opportunities to me. Rebecca Snyder: And all this discussion of risk makes me wonder, do you like to take like what's your perspective on risk? Like for me, I I ⁓ like I like stability and I like security, but I also like change. And so I will step out and do different things, but I like layer contingency plans in as a self-soothing mechanism. So how are you able how are you able to like take risks? Because you've done Stephanie Bagley: Yeah. Mm. Yeah. Right. Rebecca Snyder: You've moved, you've you've taken on huge projects that maybe didn't really have an idea that sh how you were gonna do it. How do you get the courage to take risks? Stephanie Bagley: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. You know, that's so interesting, Rebecca, 'cause w as soon as you said that, it just kinda brought back a memory in my head. So first of all, I guess I don't probably see them as risk. I just I honestly see them as opportunities. It's probably the way my brain works. But I remember ⁓ before so I'm a non traditional student. ⁓ I had to work after high school. My parents didn't have the money for college. I had graduated in the top five percent of my class. I lived in a part of Maryland, nobody was talking about scholarships or anything else. So I had to work right after high school. But Rebecca Snyder: Mm-hmm. Because you're from Southern Maryland, right? Stephanie Bagley: I'm from Southern Maryland. Things have changed, thankfully, because I've been kind of keeping, you know, in in touch and that sort of stuff. Thankfully, kids down there have a lot more opportunities today. But I had to work. And I had managed to work myself into again a manager role. I didn't ask for it, but I got tapped. She's still my mentor today. She lives out in Phoenix, Arizona. And she said, Hey, I'd like to take for you to take on this marketing management role. And I'm like I said yes, but I'm telling you, Rebecca, the first time I walked into my new office, I was like, ⁓ my God, what have I done? Right. And I had these major projects. One, I had to represent we were a government contractor. I had to represent us ⁓ with Northrop Grumman. I had to go sit at the table and represent our interests on this joint deal. And then the other ones, I had this huge trade show that I had to put together. And this was all within my first six months. And I remember getting through those successfully. And at that moment, I was like, you know what? You can figure out anything. I'm serious. I just told myself that I you can figure out anything. And I I think that has just stuck with me. I'm just Been extremely blessed. I really have. I don't think it's all just me. I think I've been really, really fortunate. But I guess I just see things as opportunities as opposed to ⁓ challenges or risk. And I think I'm able to bring that same perspective to my clients because every day corporations, government agencies, they do have to balance risk and reward. But if you don't take on some of those opportunities or risk, whatever you want to call them, you'll never move your organization. forward. So yeah, I'm able to bring that perspective. Rebecca Snyder: Well, and I it feels like you have this sort of innate confidence and you also it sounds like in your conversations, ⁓ that so many people have supported you and like that you had a mentor from early on, I mean you went from high school straight into the working world. When did you loop back and do college and I mean, Duke business school it's nothing to sneeze at? Like what made you decide I'm gonna go for that and I need that? Stephanie Bagley: Yeah. ⁓ yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yep. Yep. So when I got promoted into that first management role newspaper, right? We have internet back then. I I literally so I was on my own, right? Had my own expenses and I did, I looked in the newspaper and I said, if this job went away, this I said, this is great. But if this job went away, would I be able to get one comparable? And when I looked in the newspaper, all of them required a degree. So I decided at that moment I was gonna go back and get my degree. And so I did I I didn't know if I was going to get accepted or not. But I submitted ⁓ my application to the university Rebecca Snyder: Hmm. Stephanie Bagley: Maryland because said, you what? If I do it, I'm gonna get my four-year. And again, things are different now with community college. They make it so much easier to transition into the four-year, but it wasn't that way then. I knew people were losing credits, didn't want that to happen. So my company was I got accepted. My company was super supportive. I didn't even know about the night school when I first enrolled. And I my very first semester, I took daytime classes. Our company was out in Annapolis. ⁓ I lived in Prince George. County, so I made it to ⁓ yeah. So but you know what? Again, it it was before I had children. I did get married along the way. And so I and I don't I wish I remember someone along the way said don't stop. Rebecca Snyder: I don't want to travel. Stephanie Bagley: Right, 'cause you especially as adults, we you know, I guess they knew that it could get in the way of things. And so I remembered that. I wish I remember who said that. That was the best advice. I took that and ran with it. I went to school, ⁓ and it was different. There was no online. We were in class, seven to ten for every class, and I went every spring, summer, fall, nonstop. usually three classes at a time, maybe more. ⁓ and I work full time and I did it in five years. Rebecca Snyder: That's a really heavy load, working full time as well. That's impressive. Stephanie Bagley: I was motivated, Rebecca. I was motivated. I was motivated. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, I was motivated. Rebecca Snyder: But you did it. I bet, I bet. And then is that why you decided on business school you felt like you needed to level up again? 'Cause I I I love that idea of of you ascertained what the gap was and then you r consciously moved to close that gap. So how did Duke fit in? Stephanie Bagley: Yeah. Right. Yep. Yeah. Yep. Yeah, so a couple of things. One, Then was ready for the next relocation again, family, ⁓ to New Jersey. ⁓ I was in the getting ready to start my very last semester at the University of Maryland. I had to negotiate with the counseling office to take my final classes. Thankfully, they weren't any part of my majors, they were mostly extracurricular, but I ended up taking finance classes and stuff at Rudger's. So they approved it because I really had met most of my requirements. But I was like, okay, well, let me use the opportunity to try to do something different. And ⁓ I did some cold calls to all the big Rebecca Snyder: Mm. Stephanie Bagley: accounting firms and I'm getting myself a couple of interviews and I got an offer from Deloitte and PWC. So I spent my last semester actually doing accounting, which was fine. That was my major. ⁓ But then along the way I just started thinking and I had met more people, right? More exposure by this time and I knew I was gonna have to get my MBA. ⁓ And again, so I had the work experience and so I started researching, met someone on vacation that told me about some programs to kind of help people figure out the application process Rebecca Snyder: Mm-hmm. Stephanie Bagley: Process and one of them was at Duke University. It was just a workshop, just kind of go and learn about the process. So I said, okay, I'll apply to that. Well, I got accepted, and while I was there, again, this was all very new to me. I didn't have the traditional interviewing, you know, research careers, none of that experience. And so, you know, we just had different activities, they had career panels, it was great. At the end, they actually told me we'd love for. Rebecca Snyder: Mm-hmm. Stephanie Bagley: you to apply. I'm like, really? And I had no intention of going. I lived in New Jersey with my husband. I intended to go. I was gonna and I did apply. NYU Columbia, I was gonna commute into the city. and I did get accepted into Columbia, but I got accepted into Duke. And then they gave me a full fellowship. Rebecca Snyder: ⁓ and that's compelling for sure. Stephanie Bagley: that was a no-brainer. Yeah. So I was very for so I got to flip it. I got to go to business school full time. and ⁓ yeah, it really did change a trajectory of my life. Between relationships and just, you know, just the credentials and you know, the education has just been phenomenal. And I'll be honest with you, when I moved to Baltimore all these years later Rebecca Snyder: Yeah. I'm sure. Stephanie Bagley: You know, they have a great network. and I I tapped into it. So Karen Bond. I met her and then I learned about Executive Alliance. So it's the relationships have just been phenomenal. So yeah. Rebecca Snyder: Mm-hmm. Exactly. Well, and I wanted to to go back to relationships and building your network because as a as a woman leader, you know, that is that's critical. And so when you're when you're consciously trying to build that network and you have such an open way about you, you know, you're so easy to talk to. But do you have strategies on how you build the network you need, rather than, you know, most of us kind of go through the world and you're like, Hi Stephanie Bagley: Yeah, yeah. Thank you. Rebecca Snyder: over here and you know, it's all very organic. Do you feel like you have a are you building the network you want or how does that come together for you? Stephanie Bagley: probably more the way you just described how So you know in all honesty the reason I first went to a Duke Women's event where I was getting emails is because before this was I had moved to Maryland and for the Rebecca Snyder: Ha ha ha. Stephanie Bagley: 18 years before that, most of my network was built around my children, right? Because outside of work, you know, they had activities and all of those women are sometimes my colleagues today, but just even personally or they know what I'm doing and they spread the word. It's just very organic. And so when I came here, I realized okay, there are no baseball teams and right, like tennis teams. And I if I want to meet people, I actually have to be intentional. So ⁓ I Rebecca Snyder: ⁓ yeah. There's no play dates. Stephanie Bagley: I went to you know, a Duke event which was actually so much fun. It was the Faberge ⁓ exhibit at the Walters all those years ago. Rebecca Snyder: ⁓ that was a great exhibit. Yeah. Stephanie Bagley: Yeah, it really was, right? So for me it's been very organic. Yeah. And I'll be honest with you, ⁓ another woman that I met through Duke, and it 'cause it goes both ways, right? I just like I love meeting really good people. I have two interns here with me right now. They come from the Bridges program. Anita Hilson is actually a Duke right as well that I yeah, that I end up meeting. And she reached out a couple of months ago and said, Hey, we have a you know, ⁓ we need we want to place some of our interns. Would you, you know, be willing to host? Rebecca Snyder: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. I didn't know that. Stephanie Bagley: A couple, I'm like, sure. So I'm teaching them about consulting and project management and all those sorts of things over the next couple weeks. So, you know, for me, relationships are really organic. Like, did I think my first client was gonna be my business school colleagues? No, we when we graduated, we all had so much in common. We started this book club, we called it our time 'cause we all had little kids. So once a month we'd get together for brunch. We never had time to read the books, but we had a really good time getting getting together. You know, but so I just built really organic relationships with people that I just truly like. And guess what? Sometimes opportunities come from them. And now, you know, they actually are subcontractors for me. And, you know, it just it just kinda goes it's very organic for me. It's like I just get to meet really good people and if we can do work together, if I can help you in any way, I'm so happy to. yep, so there's a young lady, Annie, she's coming with me tomorrow to the baseball game. You know, been introducing her to ⁓ met her through the Center Club, been introducing her to Executive Alliance. She's been a consultant for me. She has her own small business. ⁓ so she's been doing consulting for me ⁓ as well over the last few years. So it's just all very organic. Rebecca Snyder: And i it feels like you bring people that you like around you that you have things maybe in common with and not with the predisposed like this is how it will work out, but just literally staying open and seeing those possibilities. Stephanie Bagley: ⁓ Yeah. Right. You know it is I think it's true. I think that everyone can remember that people like to work with people that they like, know and trust. I think that's really what it comes down to and that to me that's very organic. So when I You know, I I'm an introvert as well. ⁓ so when I go to an event, I'm usually not gonna be that one in the center of the crowd. I'm usually gonna, you know, be off talking to one or two people 'cause that's just what's comfortable for me. And I think that's what kinda leads to that organic relationship 'cause usually especially we have a good conversation, like, wow, let's get together and let's have lunch. Let's have coffee, you know. Let's go have happy hour or whatever it is, you know. Let's go to the baseball game tomorrow night. You know, yeah. Rebecca Snyder: Well, and I do find like when because you are especially in the professional world when you're like building relationships, like if you don't get to know the actual person, that y that it's such a superficial relationship. And so making that extra effort to have coffee or go to an event together, ⁓ really really deepens that. And it feels like ⁓ you know, you are in a position to mentor a lot of of Stephanie Bagley: Mm-hmm. Rebecca Snyder: the n next generation and you know at executive lines we're a lot about peer mentoring as well because everyone has something to give and everyone has something to receive. And it feels like you've had a lot of mentors in your life. So tell me about that process. I mean I it it's always felt very awkward to like I'm never gonna trot up to someone and be like, Will you be my mentor? ⁓ and I think a lot of women are nervous about that, but there's such a not a pressure, but everyone's like Stephanie Bagley: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Right. Mm-hmm. Rebecca Snyder: ⁓ you need a mentor. So how did how did that work for you and and what ⁓ and how do you pay it forward now? Stephanie Bagley: Yeah. Yeah. So I don't think I've ever had an official mentor. ⁓ I just had really good people that I worked with who looked out for me. So one I use them as role models and then, you know, reaching back if I have a question here and there and then vice versa. I do remember ⁓ when I had my first risk management job and One of these huge projects that got put on my plate the day after that I had no idea. And someone said, ⁓ reach out. This was at ⁓ when I was at Cygna. They're like, ⁓ reach out to your peer at Aetna. ⁓ reached out to him and he ended up becoming a one his name is Mike Kane, he's retired now. He became a wonderful mentor for me. So sometimes women, sometimes men, it's about, you know, and we hit it off in that first conversation, and we end up helping each other. So I end up doing something that he had never And we end up forming this round table of all of our peers in the healthcare industry that lasted for several years while it was at Cigna. So I would Rebecca Snyder: ⁓ that's such an interesting way to go. I like that. Stephanie Bagley: again, very organic, right? It's just like I'm I'm just so authentic. I'm probably you know, I'm just very authentic and I have a question. I have no idea what this is. Can you help me, right? And then you end up talking and talking about people's kids and and you just find out other ways that you can naturally help somebody. ⁓ it's not Tit for tat, it's not keeping score. It's just for me, it's just always been extremely organic. And I think, you know, how I'm able to pay it for when I was in corporate America, I would mentor people. I remember this one young lady, she came to me after a meeting, she was like, You are the first woman I've seen in a in one of these meetings. Like, can we have coffee sometime? I'm like, Absolutely, right? And we would have start having coffee like once a week. And now now in the business world, it ends up being so when we did mentor in the room. I had women who came to my table who were really interested in they were at the precipice of do I start my own business? Or I had started my own business, how do I get new clients? And I've actually have follow ups with just about every one of them. I'm like, give me a call. Let's talk about, you know, what you're doing. it's it's just you know, why not, right? Like Rebecca Snyder: Yeah. Stephanie Bagley: There's probably a a lot and I have tr I've been very fortunate but I have a lot of lessons learned, right? Like paying people to do my website who had no idea what they're doing. So my first recommendation for everybody is use referrals. Use other people who have had success with people. Now we have ratings and stuff that we didn't have before. So I've made some mistakes. I want to make sure I pass that forward to people so they don't make some of the same mistakes I did. And then the other piece when I'm meeting especially people who want to go into consulting, I'll be honest with you, I'm looking at them, you know, I'm helping them answer a question, but hmm, maybe they could be a partner, right? Like, you know, maybe they have a skill skill set that complements mine, helps me with capacity building. Do we align on our values, how we approach our clients, you know, how we treat our clients, and they could be potentially a partner for me as well. So yeah, I'm looking at things like that. Rebecca Snyder: Mm-hmm. I love it. That abundance mindset I think is is really critical that, you know, you're not seeing people who are in that same vein that you're working in as competitors, but you're seeing them as potential partners. Is that right? Stephanie Bagley: ⁓ yeah. Absolutely. ⁓ absolutely. I definitely believe like we're stronger together. Absolutely. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Rebecca Snyder: And so in the course of your career you've really stepped into a lot of spaces where there was like intense transformational change. And so as a leader, how do you how do you manage that change and s and still I guess pe put people first? You still have to get the work done, but you are a very warm person. So I can't imagine that you're just like, We're all about the process and not the people. But like how do you integrate it and and Stephanie Bagley: Yeah. Yeah Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Rebecca Snyder: what are some of your lessons learned in that that kind of change? Stephanie Bagley: Yeah, it there's definitely lessons learned. Also, I went through training, right? So I'm a certified, you know, change management specialist because the people are really important. I've actually seen it firsthand, you know, organizations that have had the same systems for 20 years, and we've always done it this way, right? So it really actually has to start with the people. You know, you when I come in and working with especially senior leadership, that message has to start from the top down, right? And that's how I'm working with my clients. Let us put Together a communication plan for you. you know, you identify the early adopters, right? And the people of influence, right? So there's this whole strategy around it. But if you don't bring the people along, it's not gonna work, you know. and so that is super important. So when I look at ⁓ my clients' organizations, they might think they're They want me to help them implement a system or fix a process. But no, we're looking at people, process, and technology. You have to. Because otherwise you can change all you want. But if you don't have the adoption, it's not going to be successful. ⁓ Rebecca Snyder: How do you get people to adopt? I mean, ⁓ it's it's I think people call it like buy-in or whatnot, but it feels very like pushing on to someone else when you say it that way. So how do you how do you involve the people and still get the process done? Stephanie Bagley: But Yeah. Yeah, well you start off by finding out what their pain points are, right? And then as you find out the pain points at the leadership level, at the management level, at the staff level, right, then one, you have to fix their problems. And then two, you know, tell them with this transformation, what's it going to do for them? Right. You know, and I it always sounds that sounds easier said than done. I'll be honest with you, especially today when you think about AI, right? Or any kind of we implement a lot of ⁓ enterprise resource planning systems like workday. We're on the City of Philadelphia project to implement workday. We looked at Baltimore City's workday, realization after the fact to see if they were able to achieve what they wanted, Oracle, you know, all those big systems. And it sounds easier said than done. People get concerned that they're gonna lose their. Rebecca Snyder: Yeah, so scary. Stephanie Bagley: job right and so that's always a tough one so that mess yeah yeah it's very scary and so a lot of times we're you know we're talking about you know what's in it for them right so use the opportunity I've done change management trainings right like figure out how to help them not just survive but thrive right hey if they're implementing AI start learning ai Rebecca Snyder: Sure. It's scary. Stephanie Bagley: Right? Because there's always that human element that's still needed. Think about how you can start reinventing yourself. You have a lens into this new world where the organization's going. How could you fit in? What are some of your strengths that you could bring to the table? Right? Knowledge of the company. How can you, you know, volunteer to meet maybe a part of you know, a focus group or leading some part of the initiative? You know, at the end of the day, we're looking for the change agents, right? So we when whenever we're implementing a system, we call them like superusers. They're the ones that get trained early at first. How we identify them are the ones when we s sit at that initial table. interviewing them about what their pain points we're looking for people who are open to change and open to opportunities and bringing forth the ideas so we try to position it that you know you have control over your career right that's all you have control over in your mindset so let us help you and you work with us on how we can kind of implement this change so Rebecca Snyder: You know, it just strikes me as you were talking like that seems like philosophically how you have organized your professional life, that you've been so open to change and sort of thinking and being grounded in the skills that you have and the attitudes that you have and saying, Okay, I have these these things, how can I apply it to the situation? Or how can I take advantage of that opportunity? I I mean, that feels like your your in some ways your your professional philosophy Stephanie Bagley: Right. Right. Rebecca Snyder: Is that right? Stephanie Bagley: It is and then you say, I don't have everything. So how do I bring people to the table who have the skills that I don't have? Rebecca Snyder: Mm-hmm. Stephanie Bagley: Right. So I'm actually getting ready to start this sustainability project. So I have project management. I have change. I have transformation. I'm bringing in an environmental sustainability partner that I met through my Goldman Sachs class. Right. So that's with everything. Every leader has to identify what are you really good at? Some people are good, they're visionaries, right? And then what are you not good at or don't like, right? Maybe you don't like the tactical stuff. Bring in somebody who's a good process person, a really good operations, because here's a here's what I know. I don't have everything. So I have to bring in people who compliment me. So, yeah. Rebecca Snyder: And I also feel like you're such a lifelong learner. So not only did you go back to college, you did business school, you went through the Goldman Sachs program. Last year you you went through the Executive Alliance Quick Start Program. And so I is that all about sort of closing the gap the skill and knowledge gaps that you see, or I mean you're also just naturally curious. But tell me a little bit about that idea of lifelong learning. Stephanie Bagley: Right. Yeah, I think it is a lot of it is just being curious. And I think there's just that awareness, like, you know, went back and got I think it was during COVID, I think I got my change management certification, right? It's just that awareness that ⁓ sometimes, you know, you need that additional education behind you, you know, credentials behind you. you know, and it's just that infinite curiosity. So, you know, and I'll be honest with you, I'm one of these people. I would rather kind of go through a program. ⁓ I I'm my hats off to people who can do one hundred percent of their education online, you know, self study. I'm a It's so interesting because I am an introvert, but I am I like the people interaction. And so I actually like it when courses are kind of a little bit hybrid. You always have to do your own study, but I like when there's that interaction because you learn so much from other people, right? When people ha raise their hand and give an example of something they've been through, how they've solved a problem. I think there's so much opportunity to learn from other people. So yeah. So it's a little bit above. Mm-hmm. Rebecca Snyder: Absolutely. Well, so then what's next? Is there something stirring in your soul for you you've done a lot of different ⁓ a lot of different things, the world keeps changing. Sort of what's what's next for you? Stephanie Bagley: ⁓ Yeah, so you know, I'm actually in the middle of next, right? I had a plan. ⁓ I had this whole growth plan and then quite frankly I was ⁓ thankfully I was diversified across multiple industries, not just federal government. A lot of times here, especially in the DMV area, they say, you know, dive into one sector. And people have done that. In 2019, I was still kind of a solopreneur. And that's when the government shut federal government shut down then I thought to myself, ⁓ my God, what if I have people working for me? This is crazy. And so I was intentionally diversified across different sectors. So I'll be honest with you, when Doge hit last year, I was so thankful to be across sectors. And so I had to pivot as well. Right, there was a lot of you know my revenue coming in from the federal government. So, quite frankly, I'm actually in the middle of next, and I'm really refining that partnership strategy because my plan, you know, prior to that was really to kind of grow my team, and so I'll be honest with you, I'm in the middle of next. And so for me, next, how do I take next into ⁓ planning for retirement? So I'm not sure if I'll ever retire, but maybe semi-retire. What might that look like with this model? Now, you know, if I don't have all these people working. Rebecca Snyder: Mm-hmm. Stephanie Bagley: For me, if I had this partnership network, you know, network, you know, maybe this just becomes my semi-retirement plan. So that's probably what's next for me. And then how can I continue helping other people? That that model really excites me. ⁓ if I can constantly help other small businesses grow what they call pat gain their past performance, working under me. And then they kind of get their legs, and then you know, sometimes it's vice versa, just like I bring my original. partners in now they work do work with me and so it's just become this really nice ecosystem. So that's actually I'm in the middle of next right now. My son got married last year, so I'm expecting maybe in a few years I'll be a grandmother. It'll free up some time to do that. So but yeah I really enjoy what I do. I can't ever see myself truly stop doing this. I'll be doing it in one way or another like maybe you know get a board position where I can kind of bring all these years of experience and core Rebecca Snyder: Cross fingers. Mm-hmm. Stephanie Bagley: and consulting, ⁓ you know, bring it to the table for you know a nice mid-size company that really wants to grow and looking for some strategic help with that. So okay. Rebecca Snyder: Yeah. No, that that makes perfect sense. And so th in as you kind of look through that trajectory and and you know sort of where you want to go next, what do you think you would tell your younger self? Stephanie Bagley: Hmm. You know, I've actually asked that question a lot of times 'cause you know, I w you know, wonder like, gosh, I wish I had the wherewithal to know how to go and search and s done the traditional college. But you know, at some point, Rebecca, you say to yourself, everything happens for a reason. You know, I think my trajectory, quite frankly, led me to do. They were very much looking for, you know, a diverse student body. I came with a completely different story. You know, did my essay of working while I went full time and moving into management and those experiences that I had where I was able to go to school at night and apply them the next day. That probably led to my fellowship, you know? And then, you know, every journey that I've taken, you know, ⁓ It's kind of hard not to say everything happens for a reason. The one thing I wish that I had, and I know you have this, is more sales and marketing experience before I started my business. That has that has been a little bit more to kind of uncover and figure out. Again, I've just been blessed because it's been organic how I've gained my clients. But you know, sometimes I do wish, like, if I had one thing to do differently, maybe I would have gone and got a real sales and marketing job before I started my business and really learned. all those skills. So yeah. Rebecca Snyder: Well and and i it's you're always looking at the thing like, ⁓ here's the gap that I need to close. But there's so many other gaps that you did close. Where would you you know, I I think sometimes when you when you look around like, ⁓ I wish I had that skill or whatnot, like would that have held you back? It didn't held you back from launching the business. And so in in some ways, like, how do you get off the the the how do you make the jump? You know, like when do you have Stephanie Bagley: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Right. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Right. Rebecca Snyder: enough. And I was as I was sipping my tea, I was ⁓ reminded of my strength finders, which ⁓ through our Executive Alliance program we we put on our ⁓ on mugs for people and one of my strengths is input, which basically means that I like to have a lot of data, luckily balanced by activators of strength. But like if you how do you know when to make the jump on things? And what would you say to a woman who's like on that precipice? Stephanie Bagley: ⁓ yeah. Lá. Uh-huh. Mm-hmm. Yeah. I think Yeah. I actually said this I think it was last week when I followed up with one of the women from ⁓ mentoring in the room. Go with your instinct. Right? When it feels right, when you're not concerned, that's when you make the move, right? And everybody's gonna be different. you know, you're gonna get all kinds of advice from people, but when you feel like you've checked the boxes you need to check or that you don't need to check those boxes, right? I said, you know, if you have the money, great, go out, but you know, line up that first client. But at the end of the day, follow your instinct. And I'll be honest with you, my mug I don't have a here is actually at home is enjoy the journey. That's that's my motto that I live by every day. So you know Be smart, be sh definitely be strategic, right? Kinda come up with your own strategic plan. But I don't think anybody can decide for someone else. I think, you know, we were given this gift of instinct and that's kind of what I've think I have followed. when you don't listen to it, when something's telling you not to do it, that's probably when you get yourself in trouble. But when when your gut is telling you, you know what, let's give this a try. I'm I'm ready, I can do this. ⁓ then I would say, you know, follow your instinct. And enjoy the journey. You're welcome. Well thank you. Thank you for having me, Rebecca. This has been fun. I appreciate it. Rebecca Snyder: And enjoy the journey. Those were amazing words to end with. Thank you so much, Stephanie, for coming to talk to me. This has been terrific.