Good Humans Doing Good Things in Our Industry: Shari Starkey  

Speaking with: Shari Starkey, Vice President, Claims for Corvel 

"Kind people are magnets for all of the good things in life." -- Tom Giaquinto  

Good humans come in all forms. When we find leaders doing their best to lead their teams by investing in themselves to be the best versions of themselves, it directly impacts the injured employees in our industry. How they are spoken to and treated and how much more kind and open questions they give to the injured employees and their families.  

This goes such a long way.  

You may notice that the past few articles, there’s been a focus on leadership in workers’ compensation – leaders being good humans and learning more about what they are implementing in their organizations that directly impact the people that get hurt every single day.  

Organizations that handle workers’ compensation claims see over 5 million claims a year collectively and spread across the board. Step back and imagine having only 5 percent of these – that’s still 250,000 claims. How we treat each one of these individuals going through a human transition matters. 

How we lead our teams matters as it directly impacts how we help them feel as leaders, how they feel about themselves – then it directly impacts the clients and injured employees they deal with.  

What a wonderful opportunity to speak with Shari Starkey, Vice President, who provided me with valuable insight on how she made a change within herself to be a better leader for herself to lead her teams and gain her on understanding around how to help others be leaders to empower them. Shari is a leader in her organization, has a great team culture that took time to build, invests in herself and her team and continues to learn more to be a better leader. 

Shari shares with us “leading yourself exceptionally well” and how that has an impact on our injured employees. 

"A great person attracts great people and knows how to hold them together." 
-- Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe 

Invest in Yourself – Building your Personal Brand 

How do you invest in yourself and build your personal brand? Shari shared that as a working mom in the industry, doing so many things for so many, she had forgotten to focus on herself. So the focus shifted to investing in herself and building her personal brand. That helped her grow in her career and grow as a leader.  

When you begin to do this, and being a better you for you, it helps those around you in your life and who work with you, it helps you become a better leader for your team. A personal brand will stay with you forever, it’s who you are, how you treat people, your work ethic, how you dress – and this will stay with you. If you are leading a team, think about how investing in yourself and building your personal brand can help your team do the same, how you can help them, and how they will feel when you invest the time in them to also help them be a leader. 

Emotional Intelligence 

Shari began to learn more about emotional intelligence. Another tool in her toolbox to be a better leader. Understanding the emotional side of humans and how we can work better with them, build trust, motivate them each day and create a positive work environment.  

She learned how to take on other’s feelings at the same time learn how to draw boundaries. We are in an industry of rules and regulation, we can have the compassion, but still have the boundaries. Both are equally important.  

“Emotional intelligence is crucial for effective leadership, impacting a leader's ability to inspire, motivate, and build relationships. It involves understanding and managing one's own emotions, recognizing and responding to the emotions of others, and using this knowledge to guide decisions and relationships within a team. Leaders with high emotional intelligence can foster trust, improve communication, manage conflict, and create a positive work environment.” – unknown 

This has had a direct impact on their culture. How adjusters in the organization treat the injured employees. It’s helped shape a culture of positivity this industry.   

Leading yourself exceptionally well… 

And empower your team to do the same.  

This is one of the key takeaways from Shari. She focuses on leading herself exceptionally well – that means doing things better, setting attainable goals to be a better version of herself. Be your own leader to be a better leader for others.  

The most important thing she does is empowers her team to do the same – and everyone on her team is deemed a leader. They are empowered to make their own decisions, hold themselves accountable for their actions.  

Each day companies that handle work comp claims are dealing with the injured employees and their families. When you create a culture of empowerment, things change. Communication changes. Behaviors change. It creates a positive impact and experience for the person that got hurt.  

Building Culture Takes Time  

Culture is everything to an organization and it takes time to build. Years to build. Shari shared that it’s taken over 10 years to build the culture. It was one person at a time. And she protects that culture.  

As a leader, do you protect the culture you have? What are you investing in each person on your team to empower them, to build a culture of positivity?  

Every action we take, how we treat people, how we gain a better understanding of people – will always have an impact on their actions too.  

Keep doing good things as leaders. Lead yourself exceptionally well like Shari. Continue to make this industry a better place one person at a time!  

“The joy of leadership comes from seeing others achieve more than they thought they were capable of. So goes the leader, so goes the culture. So goes the culture, so goes the company. For an employee to take responsibility, they must first be given it.” -- Simon Sinek 

Share This Article: