Lighting the Way w/Lorraine Heywood

Lorraine Heywood, CEO and founder of Augustine Talent Group, explores how faith, leadership, and community come together to create lasting impact. Lorraine shares her journey from growing up in a dynamic, achievement-driven family to launching a successful career in recruiting-and how her love for people and her faith have shaped every step. Discover how Lorraine’s involvement with The Rooted Sisters and her bold move to launch the Houston chapter are empowering women to bring light into their workplaces and communities. With heartfelt stories and practical wisdom, this episode is a celebration of sisterhood, service, and the “something extra” that makes leaders truly shine.

Guest Links:

• Lorraine’s LinkedIn
• Augustine Talent Group

Credits: 
Host: Lisa Nichols
Executive Producer: Jenny Heal
Marketing Support: Landon Burke and Joe Szynkowski
Podcast Engineer: Portside Media

Transcript

Lisa Nichols  00:02
Chromosomes, little strands of nucleic acids and proteins are the fundamental genetic instructions that tell us who we are. At birth, most people are born with 46 chromosomes, but each year in the United States, about 6000 people are born with an extra chromosome, making them a person with Down syndrome. If you've ever encountered someone with Down syndrome, you know that they are some of the kindest, most joyful people you will ever meet. They truly have something extra. 

My name is Lisa Nichols, and for 30 years, I have been both the CEO of Technology Partners and the mother to Ally. Ally has something extra in every sense of the word. I have been blessed to be by her side as she impacts everyone she meets. Through these two important roles as CEO and mother to Ally, I have witnessed countless life lessons that have fundamentally changed the way I look at the world. While you may not have an extra chromosome, every leader has something extra that defines who you are. 

Join me as I explore the something extra in leaders from all walks of life and discover how that difference in each of them has made a difference in their companies, their families, their communities and in themselves. If you like this episode today, please go to Apple Podcast or wherever you listen and leave us a five-star rating. 

I'm excited to have Lorraine Heywood on the show today. Lorraine is the CEO and founder of Augustine Talent Group. Lorraine, hi. Oh my gosh, I'm so excited. Welcome to the Something Extra Podcast.

Lorraine Heywood  01:34
Oh my gosh. Thank you for inviting me. It's such an honor and a privilege to be here today.

Lisa Nichols  01:39
We're gonna have fun. And I promise listeners, we did not coordinate our outfits today. It's just, you know, I'm just saying great minds think alike, right? We both have our red and black on today. But, you know, Lorraine, I was thinking about it, and you and I have, we've spent quite a bit of time together over this last year like every Friday. 

Lorraine Heywood  02:01
Yes. Every Friday, 7:30. 

Lisa Nichols  02:05
At 7:30 every Friday and we're going to talk a little bit about that. But I'm just really grateful for your friendship, your sisterhood, your collaboration, both in business as well as ministry. And I have to give a shout out. We have to give a shout out to our mutual rock star friend, Liz O'Keefe.

Lorraine Heywood  02:25
Yes, absolutely. Without the connection there, we would not be having this conversation or be meeting every Friday morning. Absolutely, she is a rock star. 

Lisa Nichols  02:35
She is. She is so dear. And, I mean, that's a whole another story, how you two met. We won't get into that, but basically, Liz invited you to join The Rooted Sisters, which is an organization that I co-founded in 2015 a lot of the women in St. Louis obviously know about that, about The Rooted Sisters. But then last April, you came to our mastermind retreat at Big Cedar Lodge, and I got to know you there. And then every Friday, we're spending time praying at 7:30 and then you came to our breakfast, the Christian Business Women's breakfast this year. 

Lorraine Heywood  03:15
Oh my gosh. Phenomenal. 

Lisa Nichols  03:17
And I wanted to ask you, because there may be women, Lorraine, that don't even know about the Christian Business Women's breakfast. This will be our eighth year of doing this. What was your experience like when you came into that room in October? 

Lorraine Heywood  03:31
So, Lisa, I had the privilege of it actually started the night before, because Liz O'Keefe's company did all the production. So, I flew in for the event. Her husband picked me up at the airport and took me to the hotel where Liz was putting it all together. And when I walked in, the worship team was actually practicing. And it's like, you know when you walk through like a barrier, it was like walking through a barrier, all of a sudden, I just felt the presence of the Lord. It was really amazing. So, I was already excited. And then the next morning, as I think my favorite part, one of my favorite parts, is we're in this long line of traffic, Lisa, we're like, what is going on? And we're zooming around people, and I'm looking over the right, you know, Liz was driving. I'm like, every car had a single woman. And I'm like, Oh my gosh, Liz, this mile long line are all the women going to the breakfast. 

Lorraine Heywood  04:20
So, we were already excited. But Lisa, when I walked into that room, I was just hit with the presence of the Lord, with love, with something I've never felt. And it was just phenomenal. And of course, the speaker and everybody who was presenting and the worship was just amazing. Just to look around. I mean, I get teary eyed thinking about it, looking around, seeing all the women there, just giving praise. It was something I've never experienced, and I really hope to bring as many women as possible to it. And the thing is that we were all there to go back to the workforce, to take that with us, to be the light in our careers and our jobs and the light to the other people there who maybe don't know or don't have it, or think they can't experience it when they're working, because you can, you can. And that was just and so I brought it back to Houston. 

Lisa Nichols  05:13
You did, which was so, so beautiful. We had 800 women there this year. We sold out two weeks before the event, even, or two months, rather, before the event even happened. So, listeners, if this pricks your heart and it's something you know, be on the lookout for it. We'll be advertising soon. It's October the 22nd this year, it's gonna be the Ritz-Carlton in Clayton. But I was just so excited, Lorraine, because the next day you texted me, it's only someone talk to you. 

Lorraine Heywood  05:48
I did.

Lisa Nichols  05:51
Go ahead and tell the story.

Lorraine Heywood  05:54
So, after the conference, Liz O'Keefe hosted, I think there were 30 women there, and kind of like a breakout session, right? And it was just phenomenal. And I had just recently stepped down from a board of a nonprofit that had actually started 10 years prior. We just weren't aligned at the same, anymore, excuse me. And I just heard God loud and clear, open Houston. I'm like, Excuse me, sir, what you know? And he tapped me, and he's like, I want you to open Houston. And I was like, That's it. That's exactly what it is. Because, as you know, the name of my company is Augustine Talent Group, ATG, which actually stands for always trust God. And we get to spend our day talking to candidates and clients, and we talk about God first at all time. And so, it just feels right to bring the two together. And so, with your help, we came back, and in February we launched the Houston chapter, the first chapter, actually, of The Rooted Sisters.

Lisa Nichols  06:52
I know could we could not be more excited? So, Sarah Guldalian, who's our ED, our executive director for The Rooted Sisters, and I, we're in Houston. It's been about three weeks ago now, and Lorraine, you hosted a just a wonderful, beautiful gathering of about 27 marketplace leaders. And can I just say something you Houston women, you are on fire.

Lorraine Heywood  07:19
Yes, we are. 

Lisa Nichols  07:21
You are on fire. Oh, my goodness. I just can't even wait to see what God is going to do in and through all of you in Houston. And we're just excited to be a part of it, but we have a lot in common when you start peeling back the layers of the onion. And we'll talk about ATG, but and I've got lots to talk about. But first of all, take me back to growing up, because I know that you grew up with a dad who is an executive, and I was just thinking about you and thinking you probably got like an on the go MBA every single day of your life growing up, right?

Lorraine Heywood  07:57
Absolutely. So, growing up, there were four children. I have an older sister and two younger brothers, so I was the true middle child, right? My sister was the oldest, the brother below me was the firstborn son, and then my youngest brother was the youngest so I was always fighting for that spot and fighting for my dad's attention. But yes, he was in the oil and gas industry, and he grew his career, and as he grew his career, that meant we moved where the pipeline went. So, we went from Houston to Baton Rouge, Houston to New Orleans, Houston. And then finally, in 1973 my mom built her dream house, and we didn't travel anymore. My dad had apartments in like Bakersfield and in Tulsa, but he was the president of Baker Oil Tools. 

Lorraine Heywood  08:39
So, yes, we ran an efficient household. He was more on the electronic side. So, we were the first people to get in a computer way back in the day and with the C prompt. And we were the first ones to have like the old cell phone, the bag, the phone in the bag, and things like that. So, we always had this cutting technology. My mom was a phenomenal woman. She had a degree in English, so we also were corrected quite often on how we speak. And even as I'm talking, I'm like, am I saying it correct? But it was a lot of fun growing up. We were all athletes, very much over achievers. It was a fun household to grow up in. It's just, you know, it was great.

Lisa Nichols  09:22
I know your dad was a huge, huge influence in your life. I'm gonna talk about that in a minute. But you went to Texas, A&M, Go Aggies.

Lorraine Heywood  09:31
Yes. 

Lisa Nichols  09:35
Did I dream this? I may have dreamed this, Lorraine, but did your dad go there? 

Lorraine Heywood  09:40
He did. 

Lisa Nichols  09:41
Were you a legacy?

Lorraine Heywood  09:43
Yes, I am. Former student and my sister went there as well.

Lisa Nichols  09:48
Okay, good. Sometimes I'm like, did I just make that up, or is that really real? I remember that correctly, that you're you were legacy. So, you did major in business. And then when you started your career, you started in tech at RCM Technologies. But then you, you know, you did, how did you land there? And you did kind of pivot into recruiting. So, how did you land there? Because I think this is where your dad comes in a little bit. 

Lorraine Heywood  10:17
So, a little bit. So, there it's twofold. So, when I graduated from A&M, I wasn't ready to go into the office. So, I throughout my college career, I was either a bartender or a waitress, and I really loved the hospitality industry. So, I stayed in that for a while, Lisa, and I was a general manager for Morrisons. In particular, their Tia's chain, which is a Mexican chain, and so I would travel around to the problem stores, as we called them, and no one ever wanted to see me coming, because I was the fixer. So, when I came in, I took the keys of the managers and found the problem and moved on. 

Lorraine Heywood  10:49
But what I learned there was recruiting, and because I was always looking for new managers, and so I called my dad one day and I said, I'm really tired of the restaurant business. It's just, it's a lot of work, and I want to pivot, but I don't know how to use my marketing degree. I go, do you know anything about this recruiting? I've kind of stumbled onto. It's a lot of fun. I enjoy going to restaurants and picking off their best managers and hiring them. And he said, Absolutely! He said that he received his first job out of A&M from a recruiter at M. David Lowe, but this was way back in the beginning, when the candidate paid the fees, I can't even imagine. And he said, I think you'd be perfect at it, because your special skill is people. So, I, back then, I opened up the Chronicle, which was a newspaper, and I started looking for jobs and recruiting. And that's how I landed at Technical Alliance Recruiters.

Lisa Nichols  11:43
I love that story. Well, I love the fact that your dad called that out in you, that you you're so good with people, right? And Lorraine, I'm also glad that you raise your hand and ask for help. Hey, Dad, something you know, I'm just kind of feeling like I'm wanting to do something different, these recruiting things kind of fun, you know, don't be afraid to ask for help, right? People are so willing to help you. But I'm glad that you didn't feel like, Oh, I don't want to ask, because, you know, you're supposed to know all the answers or whatnot, you know. So, I'm really glad that you, that you raise your hand, because that that really kind of set the trajectory for the rest of your career.

Lorraine Heywood  12:27
So, let me take it one step further and share with you, not only did I raise my hand and what I was going to do, so as we started, my dad said, pick an engineering firm. So, Technical Alliance Recruiting specialized in engineering, and my dad would come in and hold classes for all the recruiters and teach them the difference between upstream, midstream, downstream, the difference between chemical engineering, mechanical engineering, petroleum engineering. So, I rose to the top very quickly because I had inside knowledge and a Rolodex that most people didn't have.

Lisa Nichols  12:59
Right. Oh gosh, what a great story. Well, I counted up, Lorraine, and I mean, you've had six or seven different roles in recruiting and talent. I mean, you've been Chief People Officer. You've done Chief Talent Acquisition person. You've done a lot of things. Here's some of the things that people have said about you. Okay, here's where I embarrass you, okay. By far, Lorraine was the best recruiting professional in my entire 11 years. Quick Study, top producer, superior work ethic, fair, honest skills in locating others greatness, which I think is really special, and showing their work to any company in an astonishing way. Ability to read people with a remarkable accuracy, exceptional interpersonal skills, keen intuition. And really Lorraine when I, when I look at those, those are not those are emotionally intelligent traits. So, I have to ask you, this ability to read people with remarkable accuracy, where and how did you develop that skill? 

Lorraine Heywood  14:16
It comes from a true love of people. People fascinate me. Lisa, oh my gosh, they're so complex. God gave us the power of choice, right? And people use it in so many different ways. And I know their psychologists and psychiatrists have spent millions, billions of dollars and hours studying the human mind, but at that last minute, we're so unpredictable because we have that power of choice. And we could make one choice today because of something that happened as we were getting ready for breakfast, like the kids spilled the milk, or we burned our toast, we ran our pantyhose. Oh, we don't wear pantyhose anymore, but you know what I mean. Or something happened and we make a choice, whereas the next day we're presented with the same exact. Think and everything is smooth, and we make a slightly different choice. And that's always fascinated me. And I love helping people. And so, I realized that I my brain is wired such that when I'm talking to someone, I'm thinking, how can I help them? Who can I connect them to? What can I do? How can I be of service? And I really want to see people succeed. 

Lorraine Heywood  15:21
My mom taught me a great story one time about, there's a book called "The Balcony People". And she asked me one day she goes, Are you gonna be a crab or are you gonna be a balcony person? I'm like, what's the difference, mom? And she said, well, a crab, do you know how they catch crabs? I'm like, no, ma'am. She said, they you know, when they cage, they catch them in a cage. You put a cage down in the water, and the crabs actually drown each other. So, what they do is the crab at the bottom reaches to the crab above it and pulls it down and steps on its head to get above it. And so, that's how, because I'm like, how do crabs drown in water? And that's how they drown. Where people do that, you see it, they reach up and they pull someone down. Whereas a balcony person says, Hey, I'm up here. I'm gonna reach down and pull you up. And so, that always stuck with me is, I want to be a balcony person. I want to reach down and pull you up, and then I want to push you up even further than I am. So, when I hire people, I always say, come get my job. Come on. I'm not afraid of that. Let's, let's do this together. Let's elevate each other.

Lisa Nichols  16:27
What a beautiful story. I hope I'm like an old lady and not forgetting that story, that is a beautiful story. Do you want to be a crab or a balcony person? 
Lorraine Heywood  16:37
Exactly. 

Lisa Nichols  16:38
I bet you have taught that to a few other people along the way. I bet you have, I bet you have. Well, let me ask you this, like right now, I mean, and we're gonna really dive into ATG. ATG is an executive placement firm. Let's just say that, you know. But what do you look for, Lorraine, when you're placing candidates, what do you look for in those candidates? What are some of those traits that you look for when people come in to meet with you? 

Lorraine Heywood  17:10
Oh, I love that, Lisa, thank you for asking that question. First and foremost, it's a moral compass. It's an integrity level. We do, do a deep dive into their tenure. Now I know in this day and age, tenure is not as prevalent as it used to be. However, the reasons why people left are very important. What is their integrity? So, that's the first thing we're looking for, and then we're looking for the EQ that you spoke of, right? You can test for most skill sets, but we deal with a lot of professionals in the financial industry, so integrity is very important. But it's what is their moral compass? What is their integrity, what is their EQ? We put people through behavioral analysis. We do written analysis. We videotape our interviews so we can see people's behavior, because we want to get to know who you are first before we worry about, can you do the job? And because to us, it's very important, because when you hire someone as you know in your role, you hire people you like, and you hire people you want to be around. So, are you able to handle the stress? Are you so in that we can put in the right seat on the bus and perform well? So, those are some of the things that we're always looking for.

Lisa Nichols  18:14
That's good, that's good. And I completely concur with everything that you said. Let me ask you this, because sometimes it's not just you've got to have the competencies. That's table stakes, right? You've got to have the competencies. But what we see is every organization, Lorraine, has a different culture. Has a different culture. So, and then sometimes why people do not work out is because it just was not a good cultural fit, and it could be from either side, right? So, what are some of the ways that you assess that piece good alignment there with culture?

Lorraine Heywood  18:51
Thank you for asking that. So, that's where I'm going to go back to what we call a talent selfie, which is our behavioral analysis, which is how people are wired. So, not only do our candidates take it, but we but our clients take it as well. So, our clients take it, and we have them take it by departments, and we build what's called a quilt so it shows how they measure, and then we compare the candidates to the quilt. So, we're first starting with, do they behave alike? Do they think alike? Are they wired like? And what we found a lot of times, which is interesting when we've gone into some of our clients, and had them all take the test and build these quilts. But they maybe had someone in sales who wasn't wired to be in sales, and they were failing, but then we would so like, I'm gonna use one client as an example. They weren't good in business development, but they fit the quilt of an IR, and then they moved over and they started succeeding and flourishing because that was the seat that was better aligned. 

Lorraine Heywood  19:41
So, that's one of the ways we try to do with the culture, right? Is, first of all, are you aligned, or do you behave and are you wired in a way that fits the team? And then we believe in multiple interviews. We believe in a zoom first to kind of get to know you. And as I mentioned, part of our package, we send to our clients as we record our interviews, we have a list of questions so you can see the behaviors. And my favorite question is, what questions do you have for us? Because you learn a lot about the questions they ask you. And then we encourage our clients, let's do a zoom first, then an in person. And we also encourage a social which could be a lunch, a happy hour or dinner, but get the whole team out and let them interview, not the candidate as well. Do we all align, or do we have things in common? Do I want to spend 40-50, hours a week with this person? Instead of just like we don't just send a resume, we send all of this data that says, hey, we believe this person not only has the competencies as you were speaking to, they have the EQ and they match your culture. Now, do people surprise us? Sometimes, but with all that data, we get it right more often than wrong.

Lisa Nichols  20:50
More often than not. That is so good. That is so good. Let me ask you this. You know, what are some of the most common hiring mistakes that you see from, from the organization standpoint? You know, not hiring you? 

Lorraine Heywood  21:10
Not hiring me. That's the first one, absolutely, or hiring you on the technology side, yes. But other than that, they hire too fast. I do believe in a gut feeling. Lisa and I think people should go with their guts. But sometimes, especially when you're looking at people in business development at all levels, they're known salespeople, so they can ace an interview. I also believe sometimes, and this is not a knock by any means, on education anybody, but sometimes people to put too much emphasis on the school they went to, or their GPA. I know in certain fields, it's very important, but there are a lot of people who just couldn't afford it. 

Lorraine Heywood  21:48
I actually prefer someone who worked all through college, because that shows tenacity. It shows their ability to multitask and things like that. So, I think it's one too fast, not doing enough research on the back end and not asking the tough questions. I've said in some of my client’s interviews, who just dance around, of course, everything correctly within the law, but dance around tough questions because they don't want to offend someone, or maybe they'll want the answer to be no. So, you have to ask the questions that really dig into who they are, what they're looking for, but where they've been, and why they make the why they made the decisions they made. 

Lisa Nichols  22:28
That is so good. That is really good hiring too fast, not asking the right questions. Well, let me ask you this like, because a lot of times, it's not just the attraction of the talent, it's the retention of the talent. And so, Lorraine, what kinds of things do you believe are really important for an organization? They may be able to attract the talent, but if you can't keep the talent, if you cannot retain them and help them grow, I mean, that's, that's not a good thing for anyone, right? That's very costly. So, what have you seen as some of those things that clients or organizations can do to really retain the people once they have them?

Lorraine Heywood  23:14
That is a fantastic question, Lisa. And I think it's something that a lot of HR professionals spend a lot of time doing. So, for me, I think one of the most important aspects is when the person first starts, is the training or the onboarding they receive. That first day is paramount, how they're received, the reception that they receive, and then the onboarding training taking some time to truly train somebody, not only in the role that they're going to be doing, but in the culture of the company, who the company is. So that they are truly set up for success. I also think it's very important that as leaders, you take time to spend with them. You set up one on ones early on, you check their pulse, you find out how they're doing, so that you can course correct early on, if need be, so that they feel welcomed, they feel valuable, they feel like they have the tools necessary to be successful. 

Lorraine Heywood  24:08
And they also to your point way back in the beginning of our conversation, they're not afraid to ask for help. They understand that you are there to help them be successful and that they can access you. I think that is so important for retention. And then just checking in, making sure things are going well. I also believe in quarterly reviews, I think the more we give feedback, the better they are. A lot of companies wait a whole year before they give any feedback, and you forgot what happened in Q. And then it's too late, like now you've gone nine whole month's probably making the same mistake if nothing has been corrected. So, it's touch points, its training, and it's on the go training, right? And I also believe that a company that affords their employees the opportunity to further their education, whether it be certifications or going back to school, they'll also stay. Because one, the knowledge that they gained is going to come back and make them even more successful in their careers, which we all know, it's about the bottom line. So, it's going to make the companies more profitable ultimately.

Lisa Nichols  25:09
That's so good. We have Lorraine, we have one of our service lines is leadership development for technology people. And one of the things that we say is, you know, there's nothing that makes a person feel more valued than to know that their organizations investing in them. 

Lorraine Heywood  25:28
Absolutely, I love that. 

Lisa Nichols  25:30
And investing in their growth. But it's going to come back to you. It's going to come back to the organization, because hopefully they're going to be able to bring that back and help the organization be better. That is so good. Well, I'm going to ask you two more questions, and we do need to take a quick break. What are you seeing right now? I mean, you've been in this world for a long time, but you're still 29. What are some of the biggest shifts that you are seeing in the recruiting industry today? And I would love for you to tell, tell us about AI and how you think that's going to impact the recruiting and that of talent going forward.

Lorraine Heywood  26:14
Absolutely. So, the biggest shift I've seen, I think we will we can all point to it was during the pandemic, and everybody was sent home. The shift to remote working, hybrid working, the entitlement that has come from that, that I have a right to work from home, that it, no, I'm sorry you don't. I'm a true believer in an office or a hybrid. I think that's how you grow your culture. It's too hard to grow without it when we're all at home. So, I think that's one of the biggest changes I've seen, and just the true entitlement that's come up. And then a lot of not understanding that you work with excellence, and you work until it's done. It's not five o'clock, it's done. It's you work until the project is finished. If that takes you till 10:00 one night, it takes you till 10:00. If you pull an overnighter, you pull an overnighter, but you're not, you don't finish when the clock says a time. You finish when it's done, and you do it with excellence. There just doesn't seem to be as much pride in people's work as there used to be. And then for me, it's just kind of the dress code has changed a lot.

Lisa Nichols  27:22
Yes, it used to be totally, you know, very business suits. And I mean, I remember going to, when I was young, going to Joseph Banks for women and getting my business suits.

Lorraine Heywood  27:37
I'm glad it's relaxed some, but I think some people take it too far. But then AI and recruiting, it's funny when my clients sent me an article on AI, and it was funny that it would I don't remember which, which platform it was. But it said just imagine it's a weekend, and you're sitting there with your wife, and instead of watching TV, you're scrolling through resumes that AI has sent you, and boom, you have a hire. And I start laughing. I go, do you really think that's going to work? He said, Yes. I said, there's no human touch. You have to have human touch in recruiting, absolutely. Now, where I think it is a positive is if you can have a formula that goes out and scours the internet and finds people and brings it back to you. Also, we use it for when we're looking for a certain candidate, we ask AI, okay, what other companies hire people like this? What other cities have people like this? So, I think there is some benefit to it, but you cannot replace the human touch, because the human has to talk to a human. It's not it doesn't work. But I do think that there are some progresses as far as AI and searching for the candidate and then turning them over the recruiter? I think that's about where AI is for us, and we do use it as well.

Lisa Nichols  28:48
Right. I have said that so many times. Of course, we're a technology company, Lorraine, but I've said AI is not going to replace the human. The way that I look at it. AI, if you can find those use cases, like going out and scouring the internet, maybe doing some of the research for you, where you would have done that manually before, what AI is going to do is give the human time back. 

Lorraine Heywood  29:14
Yes, exactly. 

Lisa Nichols  29:16
Where you can find those things. In fact, I was at a summit, it's been a couple months ago now, but there was a gentleman from MIT that was speaking, and he said, you know, AI is not going to replace a human, but a human that knows AI might replace you. 

Lorraine Heywood  29:37
Oh, I like that.

Lisa Nichols  29:39
Isn't that good? And I was thinking, you know what? I think you're probably right. I mean, if you are, if you are pushing against it right, and saying, you know, I'm not going to go there, I'm not going to learn anything. It's probably going to be hard for you to keep up with that human that really has embraced it for that low hanging fruit in those areas that helps them be more efficient. You're just not going to be able to keep up. So, but I completely agree with you. It's not going to replace the human being, so don't be worried. But I would say, figure out how you can use it, right, to make your job more efficient. So, well, we do need to take a quick break, and we'll be right back on the Something Extra Podcast with Lorraine Heywood.

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Lisa Nichols  30:55
Well, welcome back everyone to the Something Extra Podcast with my friend, my sister, Lorraine Heywood. So, Lorraine, we've been talking about all kinds of wonderful things, but now I really want to shift into ATG. And ATG, you founded it in 2022, so tell me this. How is ATG, Augustine Talent Group, or always trusting God. How is it different from other firms out there? 

Lorraine Heywood  31:26
Well Lisa, I'm going to go back to what we were just talking about. It is the product that we develop, we deliver. It is the data points. It's the time we invest so we don't charge extra for the assessments, the writing analysis, the recorded videos. We put together a nice package. We have a client portal where they can come in and see all the data. It's live time. It has their pictures. It has all the information. That is part of who we are, because we truly believe that the more data we provide, the better decision that you can make. So, that is a separator for us. And we're true headhunters. We truly believe in going out that the client, that the candidate that people are looking for is happy, employed and not looking. They're not on LinkedIn with their I'm, I'm available, ready for work, you know, stickers on, badges on they don't even know that we're coming after them, and we go after them and find them. And it's fun, but those are the separators, right? 

Lorraine Heywood  32:20
We have, you know, I've walked into several clients, their clients now, who weren't, and we have replaced those retained agencies. Because even those retained agencies who are very good, they're providing a resume, they're providing something that's just one way. And for me, anytime you do a write up on a candidate, there's recruiter bias in there, right? But when you, when you record an interview, there's no bias, there's no write up. You're recording them answering the questions live. You see their body language. You see how they answer it. So, it's the product that we deliver, and it's the fact that we truly, again, are looking to put fit the right seat. We do those quilts, and we compare a candidate to a team, and we go, ooh, they are so far off. I don't think you know, they're not investigative enough to be in research. They don't have the right you know, they're not artistic enough, or they are not a salesperson. Whereas when you just have a conversation, you don't have all that data. So again, we're trying to get to the best fit possible with as much data, which just most recruiting firms don't they don't offer.

Lisa Nichols  33:23
They don't go that extra mile. Well, the way that you do it, Lorraine, I'm just thinking to myself as I'm sitting here, it's good for the candidate because it doesn't want to go somewhere that's not a good fit, right? And it certainly is good for the organization as well. So, I just love that. Let me ask you this. Okay, so you've you, you founded ATG in 2022 how have you, what's your philosophy in building your internal team? I could project a few things and presume a few things, but love to hear it from your, your perspective, what is your philosophy when you're building your internal team?

Lorraine Heywood  34:05
So, when I build my internal team, I again, I'm gonna go back to what I said earlier. I'm looking for that moral, moral compass, the integrity and the alignment. To me, it's important where their faith is. That doesn't mean everyone is, you know, the world is aligned. But for me, it's we want to be going in the same direction. And I want an athlete, and that doesn't mean an athlete who may be played basketball, but I want an athlete in life. I want someone who strives to be better, who wants to be better, someone who's out there practicing their skills, someone who's engaging, someone who's constantly wanting to learn and to be better. 

Lorraine Heywood  34:40
And they do that in any part of their life, right? And you can see that, and you can demonstrate that I love and they have to, but they have to be a people person. They have to love people also, none other, not all, extroverts. In fact, one of mine, I call her, she's a forced extrovert. She's truly an introvert, but when you flip the switch on, she is on. And then she flips it off and goes back and does her thing. But it's really that moral that moral alignment, the ability to constantly learning and improving themselves. And they have to have fun. There is nothing more beautiful in this world, Lisa, than a smile on someone's face. And if you're not smiling, if you don't love what you do, go find it, and let me help you find it. But hopefully they're passionate about what they do. They love coming to work and they love helping other people. A servant attitude really is important.

Lisa Nichols  35:32
Oh, those are all wonderful qualities, and I would be looking for the same things. Well, let me ask you this. You're currently working on some proprietary hiring software. So, I don't want you to reveal the secret sauce or anything like that, black box. But what challenges are you hoping to solve, Lorraine, with the software?

Lorraine Heywood  35:57
Thank you for that. And I get it in my hands tomorrow morning, at 10:30am we just have call yesterday. I have some preliminary in my hands. So, one of the things I'm looking to solve for is because of all the different steps we have in automation, instead of all having to go to the different platforms that we use, so it's going to automate it, we just click a button, click a button, click a button, click a button. So, AI to give back time, like you talked about, right? Another component is we have a very large database of people. We don't recruit in our own database. Unfortunately, my staff, too often will go out and re recruit. And I'm like, did you look internally? Like it's kind of cumbersome. So, we're going to use AI to first recruit within our own database, and then there's going to be an AI component, also to help go out. There's going to be a lead generation component as well. But what I'm really excited about is the client portal that will where our clients will want to be in it. It's interactive. It has pictures, it has videos. It's kind of like you're going into a game, and you, you can learn a lot about your candidate. But again, it's really streamlining, efficient and effective. But then, instead of spending more money, what? What have we already spent our money on? What's already in our database that we can find and then also teaching and helping our clients write more effective job descriptions? I think we can all learn how to do that.

Lisa Nichols  37:21
Agreed. It all starts with that JD, oh, my goodness. Because of you, you're not giving us that information, we're probably not going to come up with the right person for you. So, well, I cannot wait. I cannot wait to see that. We've touched on this, Lorraine, but I would love for you to dig in a little bit further on this. So ATG, Augustine Talent Group, always trust God. I'd love for you to tell our listeners, how has your faith influenced every aspect of your life, not just your business but also your personal life. How does it influence your decision making? How does it influence how you show up in the world every day? 

Lorraine Heywood  38:08
Oh wow. Let's see if I get through this without tearing up. So, God, you know, every morning I wake up and I say, Good morning, God. Good morning, Jesus. Good morning, Holy Spirit. Good morning, guardian angel. Because I definitely have one. I am a risk taker when it comes to every aspect of my life. I jumped out of hot air balloons. When I was young, I jumped off the roof of our house with an umbrella because I thought I could fly like Mary Poppins. I've broken almost all my bones, including exploding my back and internal bleeding, hemorrhaging in my brain. But where God comes in, is I all since I was a little girl, I grabbed his hand. I'm like, Okay, God, let's do it. I've always, always known that he is right there beside me and that no matter what, and I've gone through some, some rough, rough circumstances in life, and he's never left me. He's walked me through it. And I've always known that this was temporary, whatever I was going through. He's having me walk through it for a reason, but on the outcome, it's going to be bigger, better. But most importantly, I'm going to learn a valuable lesson. If I didn't learn that lesson, then I'm have to go through it again. And I don't like going through things twice, usually. 

Lorraine Heywood  39:19
So, he has my whole life. Now, I would like to say, I stop and pray before I jump off the roof with an umbrella, but obviously I didn't, because He would have said no, but at least I didn't kill myself. But I do try and stop and pray first and ask for His guidance. And I sit with Him every morning, and I have I read the Bible and different things, but I just sit with them and ask Him to guide me. And I ask Him to, you know, show me who look, who can I be of service today. How can I be of service? And please, show me. How can you service? And then I ask Him to guide my day. I used to be an incredible list maker. My whole life was planned, and I still do live by a calendar, because I run a business and different things. But now I leave more blank space for him, how? Because he interrupted anyway, and I always ask him, What is His plan? Because He knows more than I do, and when I'm trying to guide my steps, everywhere I go, I'm telling Him, Hey, your plan isn't good enough. I got it, and He just sits up there and laughs and laughs at me quite a bit. So, everything I do is by faith and with integrity. I mean, I absolutely know, and when I do make a mistake, it's okay. He loves me anyway, and we just get up and keep going. He says, All right, what did you learn? What are we gonna do next time? And it's just, it's so much comforting, so much comfort. I'm sorry, and I just always feel loved, and I always know that everything is already okay, no matter what's going on.

Lisa Nichols  40:50
Right. Two things. I mean, I'm thinking all kinds of things. But Henry Blackaby wrote "Experiencing God", Lorraine, and his son Richard, is just a very dear, dear friend. And I remember one time Henry saying, Henry passed away last year, but I remember one time he said he prays to God. It says, God, if I ever ask you for anything, if I have an agenda and you have something better, please cancel my request. 

Lorraine Heywood  41:23
There you go. Exactly, cancel mine.

Lisa Nichols  41:26
Cancel it, right? I want what you want, right? So, that's, that's one thing that came to mind, and then the second thing, this is something else you and I have in common. I did not jump off the roof of our house, but I jumped off of our front porch with my umbrella because I wanted to be Mary Poppins, and I have a big scar on my chin to prove it. 

Lorraine Heywood  41:52
Oh my gosh, I love it. Yes, we're gonna fly. We always knew we were born to fly, right? Yes.

Lisa Nichols  41:58
Yes, exactly. Oh, my goodness. That, that's just funny because I'm thinking, Oh, my word that was me too. But I haven't broken every bone in my body. I did fall out of a tree and broke my arm, but that is the only bone that I've broken. But anyway, let's, let's kind of pivot a little bit here. So, you have a huge heart for giving back, and you have already talked about that. In fact, you founded Step Up Houston, which is really about helping others in need. And you are an original founder for Direct Hope, which really helps the homeless people of Houston. And now you are the chapter chair for the Houston Rooted Sisters. Lorraine, why is it important to you to give back, you know, and what has been the most rewarding part of that for you? And then I the other, the other question. I mean, this is a lot of questions, but what advice would you give to anyone that has an organization that wants to have a social impact? So, first of all, why is it important? What have you learned? What's been rewarding to you? And then we'll talk about advice. 

Lorraine Heywood  43:13
So, in the Bible, it says we have to take care of the widows and the orphans, right? And you never walked by a homeless person. So, from a very early age, I just had an affinity to want to give back. I grew up middle class, upper middle class. I thought we were poor for some reason, I don't know why, but we also used to donate our toys. We adopted grandparents when we were little from nursing homes, and we just always my parents taught us to give back. My dad truly came from poor no shoes to go on to be the president of Baker Oil Tools. And my parents always taught us that everything we have is a gift from God, and it's not ours anyway. It's His, and so to share it. And so, I've always felt blessed, and so I've just thought that if I could give something to someone else, to see them smile, to make their day, it's just it's such a wonderful thing. It's important to me just because God has never let me down, I'm just so blessed. And I want others to know that he loves them just as much. They need to understand it for themselves, so, but that there are good people in this world and that everyone gives we can give each other a hand up. We can be the balcony people, and we can just lift others up. 

Lorraine Heywood  44:34
And it's very important. My children do it, my group of friends do it. And there's nothing more rewarding in my mind than seeing someone I've seen people literally move off the streets, get jobs and go on to be productive members of society. No one wakes up one day and goes, Hey, you know, when I'm 25 I want to live under the 610 bridge. There are circumstances and choices in life that get them there. Those same choices can be turned around if someone shows they care and someone believes because someone who's living on the street is a person. They're not someone to just drive by and splash with your water. They are a person. Someone who's suffering from alcoholism or drug addiction is a person. They just need someone to believe in them. First, they need the Lord, right? They need a spiritual experience. And then they need angels and skin here that say, Hey, I've been there, I've done that. Let me help you up or here, I can help you with this. I can show you. I can teach you. I can, you know, however. 

Lorraine Heywood  45:33
And then and again, it kind of goes back to hiring the right person. It all comes back, right? The more we help people get off the streets, the more we help people recover, the better society as a whole is. So, it's benefiting everyone to take the time like it's so sad when I see people. There are a lot of people who go out and help the homeless. It's amazing the outreach. But what what's sad to me is when they're passing out food or whatever, they don't look them in the eye, and they don't ask them their name. It's kind of like they're there just whatever. They have a name, they have a story, they have, you know, and so that's, that's very important. And then, think your last question was taking it in the workplace.

Lisa Nichols  46:14
Social impact, social organization.

Lorraine Heywood  46:17
Social organization, absolutely. Whether you're donating time, whether you're donating your money, you're showing that you care about the community around you. You're showing that, hey, we are in this together. This is our city. Let's be together. This is my brother. This is my sister. Together, we can do so much more. Independently we don't do so well. Independently, we're going to fall right? But if we build it together in a community, we can withstand anything, and Houston is extremely resilient through the hurricanes. We come together. We come together when the going gets tough, and I think that's because of so many outreaches and so many people, and it's just, let’s the togetherness really, I think is the key.

Lisa Nichols  46:59
Right. Well, I always say a rising tide lifts all boats, right? So, to your point, you get someone off the street, you help them with their life. I mean, and it's not just, Lorraine, here's the amazing thing, when you think about it, it's not just the here and now. It could be a generational, it's a generational thing, turn one person's life around, right? And it can change the trajectory for generations to come. So, I love that. I'm sure you've seen this movie, Lorraine, but if you haven't, if our listeners have it, wonderful movie that was based on a true story. I think the gentleman's name was Dallas, was the homeless man, but it's called "Same Kind of Different As Me". And I don't know if you've ever seen it, if listeners want to go see or go it's, I am sure it's on Netflix. It used to be on Pureflix. "Same Kind of Different As Me" based on a true story, wonderful, wonderful movie. Let's talk a little bit more personal here. You're a mom of three grown children, your grandma, you're a business owner, your great friend, you're a mentor to many. And I heard this again, over and over and over by these women that I this amazing group of women that you pulled together, they're like, oh, Lorraine is such a mentor to me. I mean, you just, you're all these things, community, leader. Let me ask you, how do you personally keep everything in harmony, Lorraine?

Lorraine Heywood  48:33
That's a great question. Well, I do believe exercise is very important, and I moved from the suburbs of Houston into the inner loop. If you're a Houstonian, you know what I'm talking about. So, I could have walkability. So, one of my favorite things to do is, and you're one of the podcasts, I will walk the three miles at Memorial Park with my AirPods in and a podcast I will walk the bayou. I also one of the ladies you met, Shannon Atkinson, teaches Pilates, so I've joined Pilates. So, one of the greatest ways, seriously, I keep everything together is that I exercise one for my health, for my mental state. I let it go. I put positive in so that, that's one key. 

Lorraine Heywood  49:11
And then I also have gotten to where it's hard to do, but I keep the Sabbath. So, I go to Bible study, and I go to church, and I keep that day free of work, and I will. This Sunday, I went on a segue tour with my other friend, Shannon, and I did brunch, and then I even had a dinner. And it's just a day of rest, but I start my morning in the word, I go to Bible study, I go to church, and so to me that Sunday, I understand why He says it's a day of rest. I have not been able to do that for I'm 29 so for 28 years, I was not able to do that because, you know, you've got to do the Sunday to get ready for the Monday. But actually, I could not. I could do that Saturday night and get ready for the Monday, and I can keep Sunday as a day of rest. And then that helps me keep everything in focus. And, of course, technology helps a lot too, right?

Lisa Nichols  49:54
Right. Exactly. Oh, I'm so glad that you mentioned that. I'm really so glad that you mentioned that, because, you know, and I'm guilty of it too. It's, oh, I gotta get ready for Monday, so you're working, right? But, but I always think, Gosh, I mean, God created the world in six days, and on the seventh day He rested.

Lorraine Heywood  50:29
So, can I share with you a quote that changed everything for me? It's that when we don't rest on Sunday, we're saying that we don't trust God, that everything will be done. It's like, oh, wait, I trust Him. But it was still, I'm like, Oh, wow, that's kind of impactful. So, I tested it a few times. I'm like, Wait, my business hasn't failed. I'm okay. I don't mind stay up till midnight on Saturday, because then I'm free on Sunday and I'm resting. But I was like, I do trust him. And I was like, that's what really made the difference when I read that quote.

Lisa Nichols  51:02
That is so good, that is so good. I remember one of my podcast guests, he's a serial entrepreneur. Founded a very successful company that he sold years ago, and now he's on to another company, but his name's David Karandesh. So, shout out to my friend David. But he honors this Lorraine, and he says like, seven o'clock, eight o'clock at night, on Saturday night, his phone goes off. He's turning his phone off. He's turning his electronics on. You know, Sunday is the day with his family today to go to church today, the day to totally set aside to rest and be with his family and be with friends. And he says the same thing, that it's been just a complete game changer for him, and he's highly successful, highly successful. So, I'm so glad that you mentioned that. One piece of advice that you would give to your younger self, what would it be? And then we're going to talk about something extra.

Lisa Nichols  51:21
Okay, to my younger self, slow down. 

Lisa Nichols  52:11
It's good.

Lorraine Heywood  52:13
Slow down and enjoy life. 

Lisa Nichols  52:14
Enjoy. Take time to smell the roses. Smell the Roses, right? Exactly. Well, something extra this is called something extra, Lorraine, what do you believe is this something extra that every leader needs?

Lorraine Heywood  52:29
I believe it's that you have to care, but you also have to hold people responsible. So, there are two mottos that I live my life by. The first one is people don't care how much you know and so they know how much you care. And the second one is, let my actions speak so loudly that my words you cannot hear. So, I combine those together, and I say, Let my actions show you how much I care. So, it's a combination of, I want to show my team that I care. I want to show the world that I care through my actions, but I'm also going to hold you responsible for yours.

Lisa Nichols  53:04
I love that. I love that. Because sometimes they people think there's a dichotomy there, right?

Lorraine Heywood  53:13
That you can't care and hold people responsible, that you have to enable them. No, it doesn't mean enable at all. You actually show them you care when you hold them accountable and you hold them responsible. 

Lisa Nichols  53:24
That's good. Well, sister, this has been so much fun. Thank you so much. Thank you for making the time to be on the show. I just love it. I can't wait for our listeners to hear your story. I can't wait for them to learn from you. You're just an amazing, amazing person. And I well, I was gonna say, I think I'll see you on Friday. 

Lorraine Heywood  53:47
You'll see me Friday. And then you'll see me in person in April. 

Lisa Nichols  53:50
That's right. That's right. Thanks again, Lorraine.

Lorraine Heywood  53:53
Thank you, Lisa.

Announcer  53:54
Thank you for listening to today's show. Something Extra with Lisa. Nichols as a Technology Partners Production Copyright Technology Partners Inc. 2019. For show notes or to reach Lisa, visit tpi.co/podcast. Don't forget to leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, or wherever you listen.  



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