Dee Ann Turner on Betting on Talent

Dee Ann Turner is a 33-year veteran of Chick-fil-A, Inc. Prior to retirement in 2018, she was Vice President, Talent and Vice President, Sustainability for Chick-fil-A, Inc. Selected as the company’s first female officer in 2001, she was instrumental in building and growing Chick-fil-A’s well-known culture and talent systems. During her long career, she worked closely with Chick-fil-A’s founder, S. Truett Cathy, and other key leaders as an architect of their organizational culture. Turner was responsible for thousands of selections of Chick-fil-A Franchisees and corporate staff members. Additionally, she led Talent Management, Staff Learning and Development, Diversity and Inclusion, Culture and Engagement. Most recently, Dee Ann launched and led the Sustainability function focusing on Chick-fil-A’s strategy to implement sustainable practices at the then $10.5 billion company.

Today, she leads her own organization, Dee Ann Turner & Associates, LLC, writing books, speaking to over 50 audiences per year and consulting and coaching leaders globally. She is the author of Bet on Talent: How to Create a Remarkable Culture and Win the Hearts of Customers was released in September 2019 and her new book, Crush Your Career: Ace the Interview, Land the Job and Launch Your Career will release in March 2021.

In this episode, we discuss her book (6:42), why saying “It’s my pleasure” landed at Chick-fil-A (12:50), the innovation of S. Truett Cathy and what Dee Ann learned from him (19:08), how he figured out who to give opportunities to and what qualities he would look for in those entrepreneurs (21:38), Dee Ann’s leadership journey (26:52), her role in human resources at the start of her Chick-fil-A career (33:28), the alignment of faith with Chick-fil-A (37:29), how she thinks about people selection and betting on talent (42:15), how she evaluates talent (43:57), what can get in the way of someone working well at Chick-fil-A (46:05), what percentage of corporate had come up through the restaurant industry (49:47), the importance (or lack thereof) of a resume and a good education when looking for talent at Chick-fil-A (51:08), her perspective on the Chick-fil-A retreats and how they play a role in culture (53:39), what is underneath great customer service (1:00:59), what it means to her to have been the first female VP at Chick-fil-A (1:04:17), what men can do to make sure they are allies in helping women thrive in business (1:06:16), her advice for raising kids while still crushing your career (1:08:48), what it’s been like for her as an entrepreneur after being a part of a big corporate organization (1:11:37), and her next book “Crush Your Career: Ace the Interview, Land the Job and Launch Your Career” (1:14:11).

Make sure to follow her on Facebook here, on Instagram @deeannturner, on Twitter @DeeAnnTurner, and on LinkedIn.

Additionally, check out her book “Bet on Talent: How to Create a Remarkable Culture that Wins the Hearts of Customers,” and also make sure to visit her website here. Additionally, get ready for her new book “Crush Your Career: Ace the Interview, Land the Job and Launch Your Future,” coming out in March 2021!

Thank you so much to Dee Ann for coming on the podcast!

I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers.

Thanks for listening.

-Brian