0:00:03 - (Kate Davis): Hello, I'm Kate Davis and this is Humor in the C Suite, a show about how leaders use humor to create an extraordinary work culture. Hi, everyone and welcome to this week's episode of Humor in the C Suite. My guest this week is Melissa Hurley, VP of learning and people development at the Bill Gosling Outsourcing. She is not your typical corporate leader. With a global outreach across four continents. She. She is on a mission to make leadership and people development accessible and a little bit more fun in the world of global contact centers. Look. With over 15 years experience spanning financial services, operations, sales and people development, Melissa has navigated high stakes environment with both grit, grace, and I might say, humor.
0:00:45 - (Kate Davis): She has two kids, a dog, a husband. What I know. We actually met at a leadership development weekend which was military style called Outside the Wire, where I even learned to shoot a gun. We have so many stories to tell you and I can't wait. So please welcome Alyssa Hurley. Mel, welcome to Humor in the C Suite.
0:01:10 - (Melissa Hurley): Thank you. I'm so excited to be here.
0:01:12 - (Kate Davis): I thought we would just start off by telling everyone how we met and sort of some context about what you do with your company and who you guys are. Yeah.
0:01:22 - (Melissa Hurley): So I'll do the formal stuff. Right. So, Melissa Hurley, I'm vice president of learning and people development. I work with Bill Gosling outsourcing. I've been with them for just under five years. And really I'm responsible for the learning and content development strategy on a global basis. So we're in seven different regions across the world, which gives me exposure to learning about different cultures and backgrounds. And really I get to travel around the world every single day from UK to India to the Philippines. And you know, it's. I get to do that world tour on a regular basis and I absolutely love what I do.
0:02:02 - (Melissa Hurley): How we met was actually part of the people development side of things that, that I work on, which is all things leadership development. And I've been recently working with the Gosperado group on creating a senior manager director style, kind of that middle senior manager type of learning program. It runs for about five days. Between five days or two and a half. And five days, I should say, depending on how much we want to squeeze in. But we do a little bit of a modification of the trust building camp. And I'll talk more about that in a second because you've experienced that, but not a modification version of that.
0:02:43 - (Melissa Hurley): So how you and I met was we met doing Outside the Wire with.
0:02:49 - (Kate Davis): Gasparado, and that is a full fledged military exercise.
0:02:57 - (Melissa Hurley): Yeah, it is. It is. I learned a lot about myself personally and professionally through that experience, I have to say. But what a time that was.
0:03:08 - (Kate Davis): It's interesting because I don't know about you, but I've never even held a gun. So we were doing this military. It was like an escape room, but military style.
0:03:19 - (Melissa Hurley): Like a full three day simulation.
0:03:21 - (Kate Davis): Yeah, it's a three day simulation where we actually had to like pretend we got like operative news and we had to break into a house and there was bomb building material there. And then we had to like go in the field, which I did not like. Guys, I'm not going to lie. Grass as tall as me. Uneven ground. I'm like, where's my Uber and my Starbucks? I don't think I'd be. I don't think. I don't think I'd do well in war.
0:03:48 - (Kate Davis): I don't think anyone does that well in war. But I would definitely hide. I think I'd just hide. I'd be like, I don't know, find a tree stump. I don't know. I mean, it was a lot once it got started.
0:04:02 - (Melissa Hurley): You were really into it, especially the combat. The combat portion. Like once we got over the climbing through the bush and really into the.
0:04:11 - (Kate Davis): Although you ran out of bullets. I did not.
0:04:17 - (Melissa Hurley): I ran out three times in the span of what, 10 minutes? So I might have like. I don't know.
0:04:22 - (Kate Davis): Yeah, yeah. I was like. I was a sharpshooter. I like aimed just one and just peg them. No, it never reached anyone. I think I just got a few trees, honestly.
0:04:33 - (Melissa Hurley): That's okay. That's a target, right? We weren't counting if it was people or targets. And to be clear for the audience so that it doesn't get flagged, these were paintball, combat.
0:04:43 - (Kate Davis): Yes, they were. They were paintball. It was all virtual or paintball. It was interesting and it was great getting to know you in that format because I feel like it was like pretend high stress, I guess.
0:04:56 - (Melissa Hurley): I think what I felt really was it was the decisions that you were making. Folks who were out in the field, who have been sleeping in tents and truly eating rations every day for three days and living and breathing in cold, then it went a little bit warmer. They were dependent or simulation wise? Dependent on information that we gathered and gave to them.
0:05:25 - (Kate Davis): That's right.
0:05:25 - (Melissa Hurley): So if you think about what we do day in and day out, and one thing that I tell my team on a regular basis is we don't save lives. We're here to make them better, right?
0:05:34 - (Kate Davis): Yes.
0:05:34 - (Melissa Hurley): I'm not A doctor. I'm not a surgeon. I'm. I'm not in the military, which they would be saving lives.
0:05:41 - (Kate Davis): And you just seem like you have that demeanor or that work ethic of you're going to work really hard, but you're also going to laugh along the way.
0:05:50 - (Melissa Hurley): I think for me, laughter is a medicine. Right. It's. It's something that you need in stressful times, it's something that you need in sad times, and it's something that you need in happy times. And to be able to create a space that is balanced.
0:06:09 - (Kate Davis): Yes.
0:06:10 - (Melissa Hurley): Especially in times of stress or uncertainty, we still need to realize that we are human at the end of the day and that it's so incredibly important to humanize our team members, our peers. And what better way to do that than through making small jokes here? They're at an appropriate time. Right. Obviously you need to know your audience. You need to. And the way that you bring humor into things is different depending on that audience, you know, and sometimes you're a little bit more witty and sarcastic and that's funny. And sometimes you're trying to land jokes or even coming into this.
0:06:51 - (Melissa Hurley): I was in a global meeting with all of my, my managers that work across the globe and I was like, I'm gonna go and try and be funny. And you know, just the way that I was building it up and talking about it and yeah, it was. I have a great relationship with my team, I have a great relationship with my peers. And I think that that's critical in making sure that you have a fun environment. Right. One of our core values is have fun and energetic.
0:07:20 - (Kate Davis): Oh, I love that.
0:07:21 - (Melissa Hurley): Like, yeah, so. So it's important that we bring that or try to bring that into everything that we do. We work hard, you play hard. That's what my husband always says. Right? Work hard, play hard. And that, that's important to bring in, in the workplace as well. It's not just about a work life balance. Right. So it's really has to be.
0:07:41 - (Kate Davis): So do you have a favorite joke? I know you were stewing over this chat. This all about Chat GPT does not know jokes. It doesn't know how to write them.
0:07:52 - (Melissa Hurley): It doesn't?
0:07:54 - (Kate Davis): No, it doesn't.
0:07:55 - (Melissa Hurley): So. So I got some, I got some good ones from Chat GPT actually. Well, they're not, they're not that funny. And I'll share a little bit about my humor and maybe we can laugh about that. But. So my kids joke was. What do you call. Because I needed help.
0:08:14 - (Kate Davis): Yeah.
0:08:15 - (Melissa Hurley): What do you Call a bear with no teeth, Mom.
0:08:18 - (Kate Davis): What?
0:08:19 - (Melissa Hurley): And I said, I don't know. And they said, a gummy bear.
0:08:25 - (Kate Davis): That's pretty cute.
0:08:27 - (Melissa Hurley): Yeah, it's cute. I mean, joke wise, not too sure.
0:08:31 - (Kate Davis): Like it's a child. Why are you so hard on your kid?
0:08:34 - (Melissa Hurley): I'm not. I thought it was good they were helping me. Why did the scarecrow get promoted?
0:08:40 - (Kate Davis): Why?
0:08:41 - (Melissa Hurley): Because he was outstanding in his field.
0:08:44 - (Kate Davis): Wow. You know. Okay, we're going to move on. No, I'm kidding.
0:08:50 - (Melissa Hurley): Well, so here's the thing. We're going to judge Mel for a second here. I laugh at things that happen to people as long as they don't get hurt.
0:09:03 - (Kate Davis): Okay.
0:09:04 - (Melissa Hurley): So there are times that you could come to my house and I might be scrolling on Facebook or Instagram or threads and I am dying, laughing, literally. Like, sometimes my asthma kicks in and you know what I had to deal with with the thing so my asthma will kick in. I'm laughing so hard at some of these people who've made not right decisions and ended up.
0:09:30 - (Kate Davis): Yeah, I often laugh. Like some of my favorite things is just to watch, you know, animals, cats failing at jumping, you know, or like all the. I think we all laugh at all that. Come on. You know, a cat swatting a kid. Come on. Hilarious. Yeah.
0:09:47 - (Melissa Hurley): Like right at the back of the head. Like that's.
0:09:49 - (Kate Davis): Yeah.
0:09:49 - (Melissa Hurley): You know, or that little kid who.
0:09:50 - (Kate Davis): Falls off his bike and then just gets up and starts doing the cha cha. You're like, yeah, good. Yeah.
0:09:55 - (Melissa Hurley): Have you seen the video of the kid that goes down the slide and it's kind of like a curved slide and he's just like a ping pong back and forth. That's one of my favorite.
0:10:06 - (Kate Davis): See? And you know what? It's just getting in your laughs as. It's as important as getting in your steps. So you want to get those. Yeah. So do you find when you're leading with your teams, I'm so curious. I'm going to get to like the culture part of it because you're dealing with so many different cultures, which I find so interesting. But so when you are dealing with your team, do you find that humor or having team building days like you are maybe on a lighter level than the military kind of stuff, but are you finding it helps with team cohesion and collaboration and all that sort of stuff?
0:10:45 - (Melissa Hurley): Yeah, I think what it does is it just builds a. It builds relationships. Right. And it creates a different dynamic of a relationship than just work or hierarchy or like it. It creates more of a balance. Right. And even Looking back at Gosperado, Gosper Auto is about bringing everybody to the same level. Right. Their. Their whole motto from the outside the wire is to dirt.
0:11:15 - (Kate Davis): Right.
0:11:16 - (Melissa Hurley): And. And when you. You can use humor in such a way that it allows everybody to be equal on the same playing field and build a level of comfort.
0:11:28 - (Kate Davis): Yeah.
0:11:29 - (Melissa Hurley): Which helps build that relationship of trust. Right. So that when. When things do go away or when things, you know, there's going to be times that stuff sucks and there's going to be times that things are hard. So making sure that when they're not sucky or hard, that you have the ability to have a little bit of that fun and balance that out so that you're able to handle it a little bit differently. And to your point, like, team cohesion is so cohesiveness is extremely important.
0:12:00 - (Kate Davis): Yeah.
0:12:01 - (Melissa Hurley): And making sure I use myself as the main point of humor. Right. So I try to make I. To me, that feels like a safe space. I don't want to insult anyone. And sometimes, like I said earlier, like, it's all about the balance, so I definitely don't want to insult anyone. So I use myself. I put myself on that, out on the limb, and I'm. I'm the point of. Of laughter, and I try and do that, but that demonstrates vulnerability.
0:12:27 - (Kate Davis): Absolutely. Like, you never want to, you know, punch down. I've said this over and over on this podcast, you know, and just you saying that is you saying, yeah, I'll, you know, I'll take it for the team. I'll make fun of me and, you know, everyone. But it does. It makes. It allows people to be themselves. And I think that's so important when we're trying to get people to bring their best selves to the job.
0:12:51 - (Kate Davis): You know, you didn't. You didn't hire someone so that they were able to be like everyone else. You hired them so they can be themselves. And I think that's. Humor really lends to that and allows people to do that.
0:13:04 - (Melissa Hurley): Absolutely. I want, you know, there's going to be days that we have to wake up and we. We have to go to work, but I really try and create a culture within my team that through osmosis, you know, feeds out and others. I see my peers doing it as well, where we want people to feel like they get to come to work versus they have to come to work.
0:13:24 - (Kate Davis): Yes. I love that.
0:13:26 - (Melissa Hurley): Like, it's so important that we have to create that environment of growth and development and trust and honesty, and I think humor is a big portion of that. Because it alleviates tension on situations or just the constant rigidness that work can feel like we're getting stuff done and that's great, but let's just take a break from all of that. Right. And let's laugh about some of the lessons learned and let's grow and grow together and just share personally and that that helps us be connected a little bit differently as well. When you're able to do that and so much.
0:14:05 - (Kate Davis): Is so much of your work remote still? For most of.
0:14:12 - (Melissa Hurley): So for me, yes, as a global leader, kind of a little bit more strategic. Right. Leading at, you know, 30,000ft for the most part. I, I do spend. I'm hybrid, so I'm two days in the office in, in our Barry, headquartered off location. And you know, I do have some managers there, but like I said, I get to do the world tour. Right. So I have managers in Costa Rica that I work with and then they have people who are on site.
0:14:42 - (Melissa Hurley): So our facilitators and our training is all on site.
0:14:45 - (Kate Davis): Oh, amazing.
0:14:46 - (Melissa Hurley): Yeah, for the most part. But we live in more of a virtual environment when we're bringing. When we all come together as a team.
0:14:53 - (Kate Davis): Right. And how do you use humor in your leadership style?
0:14:58 - (Melissa Hurley): Well, you know, I think that that's. That goes back to kind of what I said earlier. It's about showcasing myself and putting myself in a vulnerable, vulnerable position. Whether it's, you know, this week earlier I kind of talked to my team about how I thought it was this week I learned how to clean a barbecue. And I also learned that I will never learn how to clean a barbecue again and I will just hire somebody to do that.
0:15:23 - (Melissa Hurley): That was a tough job, let me tell you. For those folks who might be watching that clean barbecues on the regular, kudos to you because that shit was hard.
0:15:33 - (Kate Davis): Yeah, but.
0:15:34 - (Melissa Hurley): But yeah, it's. It's just me. I just try and create an environment where I'm just another person. Right.
0:15:42 - (Kate Davis): Yeah.
0:15:43 - (Melissa Hurley): Sometimes, especially in different cultures that I respect a lot. Titles are a level of respect that's provided or viewed in kind of authoritative role. And it's, it's still making sure that I'm respecting that view and their perspective and their respect that they give to the title while also still showcasing that I'm a human being. And that's how I like to bring humor in is. Is through that or funny things that happen between me and other team members and we share those stories that I ask for permission to do. Right. So and that, that's an important part in humor you have to ask. If you share a moment with someone, it's important to.
0:16:30 - (Melissa Hurley): To ask permission to share that to a broader group. Right. Because maybe they don't want to be put on the spot. And, you know, you talked earlier about you don't want to punch somebody down, I think was what you had said.
0:16:42 - (Kate Davis): Yeah, you don't want to punch down.
0:16:43 - (Melissa Hurley): Yeah, yeah, you don't want to punch down. And that's part of it is making sure that you are respectful of what they prefer in public settings. Right. Not everybody likes to be recognized in a public setting or have stories shared, so.
0:17:01 - (Kate Davis): I didn't know that. No, I'm kidding. Oh, no, no.
0:17:08 - (Melissa Hurley): I absolutely hate podcasts, by the way. And here you forced me to promote.
0:17:12 - (Kate Davis): I love it. So good. It's so good.
0:17:15 - (Melissa Hurley): I'm not public speaker at all.
0:17:17 - (Kate Davis): Well, you're doing pretty good. That's all I'm gonna say. Well, you know what. But what you're saying really leads to, you know, how we're using humor and staying professional, you know, and consent is a huge part of that in life, asking that permission. But also, you know, for me, it's not about telling the next best joke. It's really about not taking ourselves so seriously and bringing that yes to everything we're doing, which is going to make us more innovative and more, you know, exploratory and allow us to take those risks that leads to better business.
0:17:51 - (Melissa Hurley): It's a big confidence builder. Right. Like when you build those different connections with people, it just leads to. You're going out there, then, you know, where you could potentially get additional information. You feel like you're comfortable with a certain person that makes you confident and feeling not judged in certain situations as well, because you have that balanced type of relationship just through small things, like small little jokes here or there that are not insulting.
0:18:15 - (Melissa Hurley): And it. I think you said it best earlier when it kind of eases a little bit of this, the, you know, what we do on a regular basis, and it just adds a little bit of.
0:18:26 - (Kate Davis): Yeah, just character to break the tension, for sure.
0:18:30 - (Melissa Hurley): Break the tension, absolutely.
0:18:31 - (Kate Davis): How are you finding it? Like when you are in Costa Rica or India or any of, like, when you're really dealing with huge culture differences, you know, a lot of the time, are you finding any sort of common ground in terms of humor there?
0:18:46 - (Melissa Hurley): Yeah, so. So I like to observe. Right. So I take it in before I immediately go in and react. And I think that that's extremely important to do, especially when you're kind of integrating yourself into a Different culture, and you're coming into their home. It's like going into anybody else's home is you want to. You want to feel what it's like. You want to be respectful and you want to honor, you know, the. The rules and the culture.
0:19:08 - (Melissa Hurley): So taking time to observe is extremely important. I have gone in and made some jokes that make sense when English is your first language, but perhaps don't translate into Spanish that well, so they haven't landed. And I felt that moment of like you kind of get red in the face being like, oh, goodness, all right, that one didn't land. And then I just. I literally say that. Right. Okay, so that wasn't a good one. We'll try another one another time.
0:19:32 - (Kate Davis): Yes.
0:19:32 - (Melissa Hurley): Just to make it comfortable. Right again, that's right. We're just going to move on. I'll find another way. Open to feedback, Guys, how can I make this, you know, so share with me what I can do better and differently. And, you know, I think anybody working with multiple cultures, it's extremely important to do that, is to observe and digest and do that with an open mind to be willing to adapt. It's not all about you expecting someone to adapt to you. You need to be flexible and adapting to other people as well. Right. So, yeah, years ago, I read this amazing book when I was working at my previous organization called say Anything to Anyone Anywhere.
0:20:16 - (Melissa Hurley): And it talks about. Yeah, it's probably within my nerdy library of books. These are my current books that I'm reading.
0:20:24 - (Kate Davis): Such a nerd.
0:20:26 - (Melissa Hurley): I am. I love it, though. There's nothing wrong with it. You gotta keep learning.
0:20:30 - (Kate Davis): You're a mom of two.
0:20:31 - (Melissa Hurley): How.
0:20:31 - (Kate Davis): And you're executive. Like, how do you find time to read?
0:20:35 - (Melissa Hurley): You gotta make the time. Right? So there's, you know, we have book clubs that work, which are fantastic. We're reading Good Power right now. There's. There's a group of women on our executive team that are coming together, led by our CEO, Sorry, our executive chairman. And we're reading Good Power, and this is really where we get to talk about resilience and vulnerability in the workplace. And another fantastic book as well.
0:21:04 - (Melissa Hurley): A couple of these I've read a couple of times, but it's really. I reference them back and I'm like, oh, okay, you know what? I remember something in this chapter, and I might not read it chapter for chapter, by the way. I might jump around the book unless it's a story, because I just want to pull bits and pieces from it. And then there's times that I'll go back and I'll read the full thing. So you got it. You got to invest in yourself.
0:21:27 - (Melissa Hurley): If you're not learning, then that's when we start to fail. Right. You got to continue learning. So important.
0:21:35 - (Kate Davis): Absolutely. Because you've been working at this company for five years. Like, that was like so much pandemic time for you.
0:21:45 - (Melissa Hurley): Just was very interesting.
0:21:47 - (Kate Davis): Yeah, yeah. And just like keeping your team together during those times. But I find. Do you find like the humor is darker in those times when, you know, it's more stressful or.
0:21:58 - (Melissa Hurley): Yes, but I think that that also builds a different type of connection. Right. And I think it's important that we share. So pandemic. Oh, I got. This is story time now. Is that okay?
0:22:12 - (Kate Davis): Yes, please.
0:22:13 - (Melissa Hurley): All right.
0:22:17 - (Kate Davis): Hi, it's Kate. I can't believe you made it halfway through the show. Look, if you or anyone you know would like to be a guest on Humor in the C Suite, I would love to have you, so email me. Kate Davis, ca.
0:22:33 - (Melissa Hurley): So we were three weeks into the pandemic. I'm at this company, you know, I started In January of 2020, March, everything shut down. I came into the organization with a, you know, one, three and five year plan. And here I am executing on my three year plan, which was all things virtual, right?
0:22:51 - (Kate Davis): Yeah.
0:22:51 - (Melissa Hurley): But we're doing it eight weeks in, nine weeks in to me working there. And so I have two kids at home. One is four and one is two. And it was not easy, let me tell you. There's no daycare. The four year old was pulled out of kindergarten. And now I have two children who are just trying to figure out their way while I'm working a new job. I didn't even have an office at home because we were on site. So I was sitting at my dining room table just surviving.
0:23:33 - (Melissa Hurley): And I remember I had been. It was my first deadline. It was performance reviews. I had to get them done on a certain time. And it's like time crunch. I'm hammering through these things. My husband had a office down in the basement and he's down working away. And I had my head down for a good hour and a half and the kids were just playing and they were laughing. And that's how I monitored them through their voices. Right.
0:23:56 - (Melissa Hurley): And I look up and Kate, from one end of my house, in the kitchen, all the way past my dining room, past my living room, out to the front of the house was flour. And I mean a Costco bag size of flour. And it was everywhere. And I walk in to the play. The playroom. And they had a play kitchen. I have this on video, by the way, of when I walked in to the play area, and I was like, what are you doing? They're like, we're making you a cake. Okay.
0:24:35 - (Melissa Hurley): I'm like, okay, It'll dry. It'll dry, Mom. It's okay. And there is just. They used water, and there is just goop everywhere in this playroom, all down the kitchen. And in the moment, I'm not going to lie, when they walked, I was so proud of them. Right. Good job. You're making a great cake. And then when they walked away and I started cleaning, the tears came. How am I gonna handle this? How am I gonna manage this? Like, this is a lot of work.
0:25:03 - (Melissa Hurley): It's a pandemic, and we're new in it. Right?
0:25:06 - (Kate Davis): Yeah.
0:25:07 - (Melissa Hurley): But now, looking back and sharing that story with my team, because they were going through the same thing, they helped me find the humor in that.
0:25:16 - (Kate Davis): Yes.
0:25:17 - (Melissa Hurley): Because having somebody else's perspective, when you're in it, it can feel a lot heavier and a lot darker. But having somebody else be like, oh, look at that video. You were covered in flour. You didn't even know. And they're laughing. And that helps you lighten the mood on that.
0:25:32 - (Kate Davis): Absolutely.
0:25:34 - (Melissa Hurley): That's just one example. I have many.
0:25:37 - (Kate Davis): I remember coming in and my kids were cleaning the wall, and I was like, that's so nice. You're cleaning the wall. And then I realized they were cleaning the wall with baby oil. I'm like, no. Yeah, yeah. And then I wanted to start a game show just for parents, just called what the Hell Is that on the Wall?
0:25:57 - (Melissa Hurley): Yeah, absolutely. I would have so many pictures to submit to that. You know, we can start that now. Maybe it's like a look back.
0:26:05 - (Kate Davis): We should. Yeah, absolutely.
0:26:07 - (Melissa Hurley): Throwback Thursdays. What is on the wall?
0:26:11 - (Kate Davis): Actually live, one of your videos that you love to watch. It just says flour everywhere. Like, oh, it was. Yeah.
0:26:19 - (Melissa Hurley): And slippery. Right? Like, how did they not fall? I don't even.
0:26:24 - (Kate Davis): Oh, my gosh.
0:26:25 - (Melissa Hurley): The full bag, you guys know. Come on. Like a Costco bag of flour.
0:26:29 - (Kate Davis): Like, can't even fit. Yeah, yeah, it was.
0:26:32 - (Melissa Hurley): But they were making that cake and they were so proud.
0:26:35 - (Kate Davis): Oh, so you couldn't even get mad. I love it. And now it's a good story and a great laugh, and that's what it comes down to. Right. Have you found that humor has really made you a better person somehow?
0:26:47 - (Melissa Hurley): Yes.
0:26:48 - (Kate Davis): Yeah.
0:26:49 - (Melissa Hurley): How could it not? I think it's not just about the Humor, it's about how you receive it too, right?
0:26:53 - (Kate Davis): Yes.
0:26:55 - (Melissa Hurley): It brings a lightheartedness to everything that you do. And I think that smiling and laughing and enjoying things and trying to see the best in it. And that's what humor is, is trying to make light of tough situations respectfully, right at the right time. And it's. It's really just. Just makes you a happier person. It brings joy. And I think it's so important for people to have that in their lives.
0:27:29 - (Melissa Hurley): And everyone has a different sense of humor. So getting to know that and learn about people, it's. It's just an act. We all laugh.
0:27:37 - (Kate Davis): Yeah.
0:27:38 - (Melissa Hurley): What we laugh at is what makes us different. So learn that about people. Right. It's. It's a. It's a common trait. But what kind of causes you to laugh could be a little bit different. So it's a great personality.
0:27:51 - (Kate Davis): And it's fun getting to know people on that level because it really does show a different side than if someone's just doing analysis or data entry and stuff like that. Really getting to know them when they're in such a dry work environment is actually a lot of fun.
0:28:10 - (Melissa Hurley): Obviously, we had to spend a lot of time together in three days, a short period of time. We had to.
0:28:14 - (Kate Davis): And I'm a snorer. She had to sleep. Sleep in the same. And I tried. Like, I bought a nose thing for my snoring.
0:28:21 - (Melissa Hurley): It didn't work, guys.
0:28:22 - (Kate Davis): It did not work.
0:28:24 - (Melissa Hurley): It did not work. No. Well. Or I was saying. I. I learned to. The way you think through your facial expressions.
0:28:34 - (Kate Davis): Oh, me? Yeah. I can't even hide them.
0:28:36 - (Melissa Hurley): No, you can't. And it was so amazing.
0:28:40 - (Kate Davis): Okay, we got it. I gotta give this some content context, I guess.
0:28:44 - (Melissa Hurley): Context.
0:28:45 - (Kate Davis): Because we're getting ready to go in the field. Like, it's like super hyped. It's two in the morning, three in the morning. We've been up doing our covert operations in our situation room. And then we got it. We're like, okay, this is your five minute warning. Get ready. So we're like eight layers loaded up. Like, it's cold out. We're going the field. We're in combat. And I didn't even bring proper shoes. Just.
0:29:10 - (Kate Davis): Just the worst. Anyway, so I. So I go. I have all my stuff there. And then it's just all gone. Like my coat. My God.
0:29:24 - (Melissa Hurley): A lot of it is.
0:29:25 - (Kate Davis): Yeah, a lot of it. My. We had like, little, like, they call them pennies. We. So we were the green team. We were wearing our green team. You Know stuff, but I couldn't find anything. And this huge, like, 6 foot 5 ex cop who's lovely. Nate is his name. He's just bagging all my shit. And I'm like, dude, I was so mad because now I'm running around trying to look, and we're like, we're leaving. Like his military.
0:29:53 - (Kate Davis): We gotta go. I'm like, I can't leave without my stuff.
0:29:59 - (Melissa Hurley): So for the audience who's listening, she's very serious about this. And I respectfully could not take her seriously.
0:30:06 - (Kate Davis): No, no one could take her seriously.
0:30:08 - (Melissa Hurley): I was. She was not happy for sure. But you handled yourself well. You did find your pin. And you were right about it, by the way. It wasn't gaslit.
0:30:20 - (Kate Davis): This guy just bagged on myself by accident. We were all tired. I get it. But anyway, yeah. No, my life is on my face. I can't hide anything. I can't. I'm the worst poker player. I don't have a poker face.
0:30:37 - (Melissa Hurley): So you probably don't know this. I was standing in the back with Nate.
0:30:41 - (Kate Davis): Yes.
0:30:42 - (Melissa Hurley): And you were close up to the front, to the map, and you were just intently listening. And it was. You are now leading us. Right. Because I'm not listening anymore. I'm laughing at watching you. I had to walk away at one point because I was being disruptive, like, disruptive to the group because you just the look like, it was just so serious. And you are not. I can tell. I've learned about you. Like I said to earlier, we got to learn very quickly when there's a serious topic we're talking about, I can feel the genuine shift, Right?
0:31:17 - (Melissa Hurley): Yeah. And there's genuine empathy. And I think that that's really important to highlight because as somebody who I was nervous coming in and being like, oh, man, like, I'm gonna be with a comedian. I. I'm not funny at all. Like, what's gonna be managed? How am I gonna do? But, you know, we connected, right. From day one. And I will say, like, just you intently looking at that. I couldn't take you. It's an experience, Right. That whole outside the wire, like, what they put together is outstanding. What I mentioned earlier was one of the bigger takeaways for me is they're truly life or death decisions that you're making out there.
0:31:57 - (Melissa Hurley): And they're. It's. Communication is key. Teamwork and trust is so incredibly important in those environments. Not just for us, but what I observed with the blue and orange teams, the way that. Even the way I met them on Monday, early In the morning. And I know you guys started a little bit earlier when I wasn't there, but the way that I met them on Monday morning and the way that they were together on Tuesday was totally different.
0:32:25 - (Melissa Hurley): It was totally different. And there's something that has to be said about living a true life simulation for three days. Like, we didn't break character in the evenings.
0:32:35 - (Kate Davis): No.
0:32:36 - (Melissa Hurley): When it was done. Sure. Like, you know, we played dice and of course we had a comedy show.
0:32:39 - (Kate Davis): I mean, a lot of the time I was like, why did I say yes to this? Because I'm just like, I want to go see a comedy show. No, but it was, it was really interesting and it really gave you thought for people like in Ukraine and like people who are actually fighting wars and not because, you know, or in Gaza or, you know, or in Sudan or anywhere. Like all those people who are just forced into combat because someone has, you know, decided to be jerks and not share, you know, I mean, I know it's more complicated than that. All my listeners are like, stop it. Coming from like a comedy perspective and a humor perspective.
0:33:24 - (Kate Davis): I always try and know that there's a time and a place for everything, you know, and life and death situations. A lot of time the humor is dark. A lot of the time it does come through. But even in those chill times, you can, you know, just put a funny thing in your email, you know, have a funny signature to say, not that I'm going to tell you the next best book, but I do have a sense of humor and you can come to me and be yourself and you know, and I think there are ways to show that, that you can actually, you know, bring humor into our lives in those like crazy situations.
0:34:01 - (Kate Davis): But yeah, no, I cannot hide anything, guys. It's, it's right here. I never could so, you know, as a kid, but I was always that kid, if I was in trouble, I'd laugh. Like, cry laugh. And that drove grown ups and adults insane. Like they would literally lose their minds at me because I just couldn't help it.
0:34:24 - (Melissa Hurley): I laugh when I'm in pain. Do you?
0:34:27 - (Kate Davis): Yes, I do.
0:34:29 - (Melissa Hurley): So it's almost like, well, maybe you know, more. Right. You live and breathe in this space, but it almost feels as though laughing releases this type of endorphins chemical. And yeah, when I was in labor with my, with my first, my dad and my husband had to go to the get to car. I was confirmed like in labor. I'm like, I'm gonna walk this. It's fine. It's early Right. So I'm, I'm at the hospital in, in downtown Toronto.
0:34:55 - (Melissa Hurley): And you know, that's, that's a. Sometimes a questionable space down, down there. Right? Well, not questionable, but like, you know, it's just a lot of different audiences and, yeah. People and those type of things. So I'm in the lobby of the revolving door, the entrance of the hospital, not the emergency section, but just like a generalized entrance, and they're gone. It's 11 o'clock at night and I'm getting contractions. And you know, those handles in a hospital, they're for a reason.
0:35:22 - (Melissa Hurley): They're to hold on to if you're having contractions, that's for sure. So I'm holding on to this and I'm laughing through it. And the security guard is like, are you okay? Like, do I need to call anybody? I'm like, I'm gonna be fine. This is hilarious. It's like, he's like, this doesn't seem funny. Like, it makes me feel better. Right. But it does. It releases that, like, if I stub my toe, I laugh. And, you know, it's interesting because I see that in my kids now.
0:35:51 - (Kate Davis): Oh, I love that.
0:35:52 - (Melissa Hurley): Right. If it's not too painful. If it's not.
0:35:55 - (Kate Davis): Yeah.
0:35:55 - (Melissa Hurley): You know, thank goodness. Knock on wood. Nothing serious has happened to, to any of us. But it's the, you know, they stub their toe or they jam their finger and it hurts for a second, but you're going to be okay. So they laugh through it. And, and that's something I'm proud to instill. Not just, you know, I love that in my kids, but, you know. Yeah.
0:36:17 - (Kate Davis): Teaching them. Yeah, Things pass. Yeah, I love that. So what's. Okay, so we always end the podcast with, what's the funniest thing that's ever happened to you?
0:36:27 - (Melissa Hurley): Oh, gosh. Oh, good research on this.
0:36:30 - (Kate Davis): Oh, really, do you say?
0:36:32 - (Melissa Hurley): So I messaged my. My good friend Madeline, shout out to Madeleine. She has been through all the good times with me, all the funny times and all the bad times. So she started reaming off quite a few because I was like, what's the funniest thing that you remember that's happened to me? Help me here. Like, what did you laugh at the most? She must have sent me about six yesterday. A couple I can't. A couple I can't talk about on a professional podcast. So we'll. We'll leave those. We'll leave those for a personal phone call later.
0:37:02 - (Melissa Hurley): So I had done this thing where I decided to dye my Hair purple. Oh. And I thought that it was a good idea. And you know what? It looked good. It did. So it was the same day that I had dyed my hair purple, and my hairdresser and his partner were going to Cuba, and I was driving them to Cuba. And at the time, I don't know if you guys remember, I don't know, maybe it still exists. In downtown Toronto, they use AutoShare.
0:37:26 - (Melissa Hurley): So, like, you got a card, a membership, and you just tapped it and you booked the car and you got to use it. So we used auto share, and I drove them to the airport. And on the way back, it started to snow. So I had quite a walk to get to my apartment. So I walk in and the security guard is like, oh, like, you all right? I'm fine. I get in the elevator and all of the purple has dripped all over my face, and I mean full purple.
0:37:56 - (Melissa Hurley): And it was dye that didn't stick to my hair, but sticked well to my face. No. So we could not get that dye off for days. I actually didn't go into work. I worked remotely for two days trying to scrub this purple off. So that was one of Eugeliani did.
0:38:14 - (Kate Davis): It's like a Giuliani moment. Yeah, yeah.
0:38:17 - (Melissa Hurley): And then the other one that I have to share real quick. And you can choose which one you want to edit in or keep it.
0:38:23 - (Kate Davis): Go on.
0:38:26 - (Melissa Hurley): She took us to. She took me for my birthday to Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Scotiabank Arena. Fantastic concert. As I'm leaving, I'm frantically text messaging, you know, somebody. We want to go out afterwards. Okay, I'm going to meet up with you. I'm not paying attention. And we're walking through. You know, in the Scotiabank arena, there's those kind of like, stairwells. They get pretty packed when there's an event going on while I'm looking down at my phone, not paying attention.
0:38:52 - (Melissa Hurley): Hundreds of people behind me, if not thousands. And I walk into a sign, and the sign in and it goes. You know, it makes that boy sound and obviously egghead, but everybody in the whole stairwell can hear it and seen it happen behind me. So that was quite an embarrassing moment.
0:39:13 - (Kate Davis): As well, where people are like, memory.
0:39:16 - (Melissa Hurley): I don't want to call it embarrassing. Yeah, it was the. No, it was full outbreak of laughter. Right. It's like watching somebody walking down the street walking into a telephone pole because you're texting.
0:39:25 - (Kate Davis): Yeah.
0:39:26 - (Melissa Hurley): What did you learn from the lesson, Melissa? Don't. Don't text and walk.
0:39:30 - (Kate Davis): Yeah.
0:39:30 - (Melissa Hurley): Like, not a good idea. Right.
0:39:32 - (Kate Davis): So wow, those are good stories. I like it.
0:39:37 - (Melissa Hurley): Yeah.
0:39:38 - (Kate Davis): I've had so much fun having you.
0:39:39 - (Melissa Hurley): On you're look we could just talk for hours I think.
0:39:43 - (Kate Davis): I think so. No, but so much insight. I love all the shares and I love how you're, you know, bringing that to on a global scale, your leadership style and really incorporating humor into all those moments and letting people be themselves and, and bringing the best part of themselves to, to the work, you know, and to the job and to creating those meaningful relationships through that. So I'm so grateful for your time and that you came on humor in the C suite. Thank you Mel. Where can people find you?
0:40:16 - (Melissa Hurley): LinkedIn. I'm on there. You want to connect. Meeting you has been an additional kind of benefit to me and learning from you and watching you love it. You're so comfortable to be around and it's fantastic. See you guys on LinkedIn then.