HTM On The Line with BRYANT HAWKINS SR.
This Podcast is the place where we celebrate the hardworking professionals in the field of Healthcare Technology Management. It's going to be for HTM by HTM, and more importantly this podcast is going to be fun. This is where you will hear HTM professionals getting the exposure and credit they ALL deserve.
I also have a youtube channel, where you can see weekly motivational videos. Click the link and please subscribe to my channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNQFL03ijsHjsLAKOX0uGOA
HTM On The Line with BRYANT HAWKINS SR.
Fixing More Than Equipment: Andrea Bordenca on Coaching, Culture and Change
In this powerful episode of HTM On The Line, host Bryant Hawkins Sr. sits down with Andrea Bordenca, CEO of Desco Medical Services, for an honest and enlightening conversation that goes far beyond equipment.
Andrea shares her journey from growing up in a family-run HTM business to becoming a bold, emotionally intelligent leader committed to inclusion, growth, and collaboration. She opens up about hard lessons learned, the power of feedback, and why emotional intelligence and communication are essential tools for every HTM professional.
From training the next generation of sterilizer technicians to building a culture that values every voice, Andrea drops gems that will resonate with leaders, technicians, and anyone passionate about creating real change in healthcare technology.
Topics We Cover:
- Desco’s 55-year legacy and evolution
- Leading diverse teams across the East Coast
- Inclusivity and culture-building in HTM
- Why emotional intelligence matters more than ever
- The connection between leadership and public speaking
- Tips for becoming a more impactful communicator
- Training the next generation of HTM professionals
Whether you’re a biomed, a manager, or someone looking to grow in your role, this episode will leave you motivated and equipped with actionable insight.
We are immensely grateful to our partners: College of Biomedical Equipment Technology, A.M. BICKFORD, INC., UptimeServices, PM BIOMEDICAL and Talent Exclusive—for their support in making this podcast possible. Their dedication to advancing the Healthcare Technology Management industry is truly commendable. For more information about their contributions and services, please visit their websites.
For more podcast episodes, motivational videos, blogs, and newsletters, make sure to visit our website at elevatehtm.com. We look forward to connecting with you.
Welcome back to another impactful episode of HTM on the Line. I'm your host, bryant Hawkins Sr, and today we're going to have a truly enriching conversation with a remarkable leader in the healthcare technology management industry. My guest is none other than Andrea Berdinka, ceo of Desco, medical leadership coach, public speaking advocate and someone who's deeply passionate about inclusive workplaces and emotional intelligence. Not only has she helped expand Desco's footprint across the East Coast, but she's also inspiring leaders to lead with presence, compassion and courage. We cover everything from how Desco serves over 200 surgery centers to how Andrea navigated hard lessons in leadership, to why emotional intelligence and public speaking are game changers for HTM professionals. Trust me, you will walk away with more than just insight. You'll walk away with inspiration. Let's get to it. We'll be right back. Welcome to another episode of HTM on the Line. Today I have a very special guest, ms Andrea Burdenka. How are you doing today, andrea?
Speaker 2:I'm doing really well. How are you?
Speaker 1:I'm doing just fine. Thank you for coming on, I'm excited.
Speaker 2:Glad to have you, are you?
Speaker 1:you, I'm doing just fine. Thank you for coming on. I'm glad to have you, you excited. Yeah, now, before we get started, I know it's a little generic question, but tell us a little bit about yourself for those who may not know, andrea Burdenka.
Speaker 2:Well, I'm a mother of three boys. The oldest is 23, the youngest is 15. And my middle son is 22. I reside in Western Massachusetts, near the Connecticut line in Ludlow, and I am. Something to know about me is that on one of the leadership you know there's so many leadership assessments out there. So on the Myers-Briggs, I'm an ENFP, if that means anything to anybody. And one of another assessment I took that I can't remember the name of, I got 100% collaborator, so I rate high on collaborative. So I'm a very collaborative, that my leadership style is very collaborative. So I do love to bring people in and include my boys and men, I should really say, in all of my endeavors, and my husband as well. So, yeah, I like to integrate all the different parts of my worlds and so they sort of overlap and synthesize into each other.
Speaker 1:Okay, great. Now. The main reason why I have you on here is, of course, your relationship to the healthcare technology technology management industry. Yeah and Desco. Now what is your position with Desco?
Speaker 2:I am the CEO and second generation owner. My father founded Desco in 1970. So April 1st is our 55th 2025, our 55th anniversary and you know the HTM industry has always been. I always refer to it as my older brother. I grew up with Desco. My mom was one of, you know, my dad's first employees when he started out and then she was a nurse practitioner, so she just helped him a little bit in the beginning and then I brought her actually back on some years ago and she retired. Now it's been five or six years, but Desco's been a family, very much a family business. We had family members working there. We have employees who have family members that work there.
Speaker 1:So Desco, give us a little bit more of what Desco has to offer to the HTM industry.
Speaker 2:Yeah, oh, I love that question. So when I came on board Desco I've been working on and off Desco since I was in middle school and when I came on in an executive role back in 2000. So I was named the CEO in 2005. So it's my 20th year and I've been in an executive role since 2000.
Speaker 2:One of the things I really loved about it what my dad brought to Desco was we started in laboratory and then over the years evolved into different markets that had like specialty markets. So in the 90s he started servicing sterilizers in ORs and then when I came on board in 2000, we started to expand our imaging. We started to expand our imaging and and gosh, 2000, 2008, we really started specializing or adding to, I should say, surgery centers to our repertoire. So we service, um, a whole bunch over, I would say I think it's up to 200 surgery centers from Florida up to Maine. And so we take the in-house biomed clinical engineering or HTM, rather Gosh, that's so old school. We take the model of in-house HTM and we do a hybrid for the surgery centers. So we have, although we're not in-house at surgery centers because we have so many different modalities that we serve, we have multiple field service techs and engineers that go to the different surgery centers.
Speaker 2:So we really offer a holistic approach and with that ability to diversify we've gone into we service ice machines, which started off as an ask from a surgery center and so now we do them at our hospitals. But we also do movie theaters, we do restaurants, so we service ice machines in different market segments. And we also started a relationship with a manufacturer called Acuity Brands. Acuity Brands manufacture lighting like beautiful, like stadium lighting, lighting they do lighting in you know the street lighting, highway lighting. They do lights in you know department stores. So we are their service arm across the country. So we've diversified in other modalities as well. So we do HDM primarily and we've taken that staffing model into other sectors, which to me that's super collaborative because we're always in conversations with our customers and prospects to say what do you need? How do we take our skills and transfer them to what it is that you need? And we've been very it's been a really fun, collaborative, strategic process that's involved so many people within Desco and also our customer partners.
Speaker 1:Oh man, that's. That's amazing, the way you took your brand and expanded it Now with this large amount of people. You say you work from Florida to Maine, so you probably have employees of all ages, races and genders.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:How do you, I guess, incorporate inclusivity into your leadership and coaching of that many people?
Speaker 2:And it's really interesting to me because this has been something that has been a huge source of learning the inclusivity part and also having people of different races, especially when, years ago, our office in Miami is led by Ignacio Ortega, who's our director of operations there, so he and I actually used to work side by side. So he was a field service engineer and I was doing quality assurance years ago. So I just mean like we were side by side as far as our parallel in our roles and authority and over the years I really enjoyed working with him. I really loved like as I was becoming more of an executive in an executive role. He was someone who was not afraid to give me feedback, to voice his dissatisfaction, so I really learned to trust him and he is one of my key. He's on the leadership team, he's one of the key people that I really rely on on Desco and years ago it happened in, I'd say, 2010, we had a customer who is in the Northern Florida area, north of Miami, who didn't want people who spoke with an accent, so she wanted English, fluent English technicians to service her site and Ignacio had called me and said hey, you know, it was one of these things where it was like this is normal for him.
Speaker 2:He saw it as you know, this is something that you know, people can be ignorant and wanted to be of service and so called me down to meet with the customer. And at that time and I'm really I'm not proud of this at all At that time I went down there, had a conversation with her and you know, a part of the conversation was that she was treating some of our employees. She would make some of them wait in the parking lot, but those who spoke fluent English, those who were white, were allowed in, and so I voiced my concern and my dismay with that, but I didn't fire her as a customer. Today, I would absolutely fire her as a customer Today, I would absolutely fire her as a customer. And in the conversations we had within Desco it was like okay, this is normal, we need to work around this. And so, over the years, when you ask, how do you include the inclusivity across all the genders and all the regions and all the races?
Speaker 2:I didn't always do that well, and so a part of the learning over time has been understanding, like me, as a white woman so I'm a white woman not recognizing that I had privilege. I grew up in Medfield, massachusetts, which is primarily a white affluent town outside of Boston and was very sheltered, was very ignorant until I went to college in Baltimore, where there was more diversity and it really opened my eyes to learn and hear different people's experience. I didn't realize I lived in a bubble until I went to a city where I was exposed to different races, ethnicities, genders as well, and so that informed a part of my consciousness. There, when I went down and we worked around this customer, we kept her on board as a customer and saying like that was wrong of me. And Ignacio will share his story too, and he's been open about me.
Speaker 2:Sharing the story as well is that he will no longer allow or tolerate that as well, because he's realizing that's dehumanizing not only him but his team and he wants to be an ally and amplify the voices and create equity. The old narrative that he had was you know, I'm from Cuba, he's from Cuba and that this is the price I need to pay to be an American citizen. And he's recognizing, you know, he's recognized over the last few years now that that's not okay. That's not a story that he's willing to live, that's not a narrative and that's not a narrative that I'm willing to allow within Desco. So if we have anyone who is not okay with any of our employees employees because of their ethnicity or their race then that to me is a deal breaker. We are not going to share a future in that relationship.
Speaker 1:You mentioned that effective leadership involves navigating challenges, like you had to deal with down there in Florida, and making tough decisions. Now, a lot of that requires self-awareness. Now, as a leader, what are some key questions leaders should ask themselves to better understand their impact on their staff in the H-10 ministry? In your opinion, what are some key questions you think they should ask themselves?
Speaker 2:Yeah. So I actually think it's more key questions to ask other people. So, you know, there's a certain way that I would say most leaders want to show up and we can have great intentions but, as we know, good intentions pave the road to tell whatever the saying is. And so, getting the input from those I mentioned Ignacio in the early days, he was someone that I knew would voice honestly what he felt and thought, and he has told me some hard truths, some patterns that I've known existed in myself, that I didn't realize that other people were picking up on, and so I think it's really important that, in order for us to stay in our integrity, that getting the feedback about hey, these are the questions I tend to ask is what can you trust me for? And these actually came from a friend, a friend of mine named Samir Dua. He would ask and I ask these questions what do you trust me for? What can't you trust me for? What can't you trust me for?
Speaker 2:And then it's like the difficult part of that is then listening, and I had this question with my kids, my oldest son now about 10 years ago and he told me Some of the things that he couldn't trust me for was that I wasn't fully present with him when he would come home from school and I would get on his case for doing the chores or doing his homework, and he had a really bad day, which was make sure her kids do well in school and are responsible adults that take care of their chores. When he was a teenager a young teenager and what was of concern to him were not those things. He was trying to navigate peer pressure. He felt shame from a teacher that publicly scolded him. He had issues with some friend groups, but I wasn't taking the time to meet him where he was at. So the best way, I would say, for leaders to be able to meet others where they're at because otherwise why are we leaders is to ask them like what do you see? How can I support you better? What do you trust me for? What can't you trust me for?
Speaker 2:And then the part of the self-awareness is then listening. And the way that I will coach people through this is feel your butt in your seat, make sure you're sitting down and, if you are standing up, feel the floor or the ground beneath you and just keep breathing down, because oftentimes, when people tell us what they really think of us. We want to defend ourselves if we don't like what we hear, which does not provide psychological safety. So people will not feel safe being honest if we're not able to contain that and really hear them.
Speaker 2:And the thing that I often remind people as their mantra is this is their experience, so you can tell them they're wrong, or you can say what your intention is, but your behavior and how you're showing up, based on their perception of you, is real and true for them. So it's like oh, this is your experience of me. Okay, thank you for letting me know. This is the experience I'd like you to have of me, so you can ask them. So when I am reactive or when I come to you angry or whatever, can you just signal to me, just say hey, or just give me some kind of a sign to bring it to my attention? And I might not notice it at first because it's a habit, but I am committed to picking up on your signals and to entering into this relationship in a way where I'm building the experience that's aligned with what I'm trying to produce. So that's a really long answer for the self-awareness piece.
Speaker 1:Absolutely, hey, I mean, that's just some of the things. You just showed that you really care about your people. Now I did a little homework on you and I read somewhere where you compare leadership development to sports coaching. Oh yeah, Examine habits before developing new ones. Now, what are some common leadership habits that you think need to be unlearned?
Speaker 2:I would say reactivity. So oftentimes with what I see with leaders is the enormous amount of pressure that people have and that in the same thing actually, I mean I'll say when I say leaders, I'm meaning like everyone has the capacity to be a leader and influence culture, their organization, their life and other people's life. So what I see with so if someone is, you know, an employee reporting up to somebody, they have the stress. They have field service engineer on site, the OR director is coming at them. They need, you know, they need certain information. They call the office you know at work and their office doesn't have the information. So what could happen is the field service engineer who's under this pressure could yell, you know, at the service coordinator and just say I need this and just feeling the pressure.
Speaker 2:And so the part around like how do we have these conversations and how do we ask like, how do we check our mood? And how do we ask like, how do we check our mood? So our mood influences everything that we do. And when you ask a like a performance, an Olympic athlete, like what they focused on before they won the gold medal, many of them will say I was just trying to stay relaxed. So the more relaxed we are, the less energy we're exerting and the more present we can be, and it doesn't close people off. So being aware of, okay, what is really going on with me, we have choice about the emotions that we're in and every minute, and people don't realize that. So this reactivity part is something that's very common because life can be stressful. So if we're reacting all the time, we're actually disconnecting from others versus being a little bit mindful of like, okay, I can be under pressure and I can also say, hey, I really need your help, versus why aren't you giving me the information? So I would say that that part about self-awareness and mood checking before entering into a conversation, I would say like emotional intelligence, is so important that this this I believe he's a psychologist, his name is Daniel Goleman and he did some research in the 90s and he found that people who were emotionally intelligent, so emotionally aware, would check their mood before having certain conversations, were 20% more productive at work than those who were reactive and didn't have high emotional intelligence. Those who had low emotional intelligence underperformed by 20%. So that's a 40% delta. So people say you know it used to be. Now it's like more evolved, but 10 years ago even emotional intelligence was seen as a soft skill and really it's not. There's like hard data that translates into productivity, performance and just like sports, when we're in these conversations about our emotions, about what we're at like, how we're connecting to others or not, it's a habit.
Speaker 2:So for me, I used to be very reactive. I would go to anger, didn't really go to sadness a lot. Now I'm okay, more comfortable being in my sadness when sadness appears. I just grew up like sadness didn't really have a space. When I was growing up we were told to be tough and I really appreciate that because there's a lot of resilience I had, but it also built walls so I didn't really have close intimate relationships until I really appreciate that because there's a lot of resilience I had, but it also built walls so I didn't really have close intimate relationships until I really found my husband and I'm so grateful that I did because he put up with a lot of stuff with me early on. We've been together for 25 years now. We were.
Speaker 2:When I learning, just being in a relationship with my husband over the years and me as a leader in my early days, I would get so upset and reactive and I would yell at people, and I had some employees that actually said to me you know, we're human beings, andrea, and I was like what? I'm like, I know you're human beings, and this employee, who actually is still an employee with me, so he said this to me about 20 years ago now he's like you know, andrea, I see that you're looking at the schedule and you're trying to maximize our time and, you know, we have families, we have lives outside of Desco, and so that was like very eye-opening to me, because here I am only thinking about we need to satisfy the customer and we have to make sure that we're, you know, efficient and all of the things that drive me to be efficient with my high standards and also a lack of flexibility I was imposing on other people. So then I started to go down this track of learning about emotional intelligence, learning about our nervous system and how that impacts us in all of our relationships, and what I learned is that the more that we can tune in and be in the discomfort of the different sensations, of the emotions and the language that accompanies those emotions, the more we can shift how we're being with others. So, just like someone who's learning a professional sport. They learn with a coach. They learn to hone like, say, you know they're playing tennis. They learn how to, you know, hold a racket or get the spin optimized, whatever the heck they do.
Speaker 2:And tennis I don't really know, I don't know why I picked that one, um but they're learning certain skills and they're getting the feedback from their coaches. Whatever the heck they do in tennis, I don't really know, I don't know why I picked that one, but they're learning certain skills and they're getting the feedback from their coaches. The same is true for leaders. It's a habit. So we all have certain tendencies and we all have things that we're not aware of. So having a coach and having that reflection back by asking the people closest to us that we really care about and we value their opinions and also I always say to people I always recommend hiring a coach to get that feedback to help, because there's always a new edge. We learn something and then it gets us to a new edge where there's something else to be learned, and so it's very much like professional sports we're always honing our skill.
Speaker 1:Yeah, now you touched on emotional intelligence. I can agree with you a thousand percent that it's definitely needed in the HTM industry, because I tell people all the time that EI, emotional intelligence it helps HTM professionals Number one. We become better problem solvers, leaders and team players. Ultimately, it also elevates the HTM industry as a whole and then that in turn brings a great impact on healthcare. Now, htm professionals, you know we may not always be in the spotlight, but our work is in the spotlight every day because the equipment that we service. Now, beyond repairing and maintaining equipment, as HTM professionals, we know the potential to drive innovation and shape the future of healthcare. It's very important to us. In your opinion, how can HTM professionals who, like we said, works behind the curtain, how do we become change makers in health care?
Speaker 2:I think it comes down to really understanding what our customers need. Understanding what our customers need. So, if you're working in an academic institution versus working in a surgery center, or even working in a hospital setting versus a surgery center, where the hospital, their OR, is running 24 hours a day, whereas a surgery center, perhaps, is running a little bit less, there's not only does the equipment have different usage and different wear and tear, the demands are different. So people are going to have their own needs and they know, like our customers know, what they need, what their center or hospital requires. So, just being in tune with that, so oftentimes I have heard people in the HTM industry and even within Desco, you know, in the past people said, well, we know that, like this one unit's down, but they have three other units and it's like, okay, we know that and we really need to get the sense of urgency and understand like, is there something else going on there with them, that they're under pressure?
Speaker 2:Let's have the conversation and maybe it's fine, maybe someone's saying I need this done now. And then the conversation is hey, we'll get there as soon as we can, and you have these three other units, are those in use? And they might say you know what? Oh, thank you for that reminder, yes, it's fine. Might say you know what? Oh, thank you for that reminder, yes, it's fine. Or they might say you know what those are in use. We have a high patient load today, so we never want to make assumptions about what our customers need or want. There's that conversation around how can I be of service to you, customer, because I know that your needs and your preferences might be different from someone else's and I just want to make sure that I'm aware of what they are so I can be your partner in, you know, being of service for you. So I would say, for me, that would be key.
Speaker 1:Yes, that's. I mean you hit it on the head. We have to figure out a way to bridge that gap. I mean because a lot of the bio meds, of all their introverts, they don't really like talking to people.
Speaker 2:Yeah, totally.
Speaker 1:So we have to communicate and we have to talk, because the equipment today is so much more driven by communication it's not just fixing, put it back, we have to explain it. A lot, a lot of networking, a lot of computers. Now, that being said, you have other things that you do outside of being the CEO of Desco.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Venture Way Collaborative. I heard you one morning. I've been listening to you because you put some good stuff out there and you were saying you were trying to encourage or be a coach with public speaking. How do you think public speaking can be of benefit in the HTM industry?
Speaker 2:Oh yeah. So this actually goes back to your last question, being able to speak confidently. Where there's this, no matter what the other person says, right? So if we something like you had mentioned, if there are people who are introverts and perhaps still want to have a conversation with a customer, the ability to practice doing that builds so much trust.
Speaker 2:So one of the, when I came on board as an executive at Desco, I had asked our customers and, like some we lost, some customers we lost and some that we had for a long time. Like hey, I'm new in this position, I've been a part of Desco for many years now and I really want to understand you a little bit more. So can you tell me what worked well, what didn't work well, and why did you choose Desco or why did you leave Desco? For those that left, and what I heard loud and clear that has become like a huge part of who Desco is, is that we want to hear the bad news. So if there's a part that's delayed, if someone is running late, if someone can't get there today, oftentimes they would say that we don't hear from our staff or our service technician or in-house person or our outside person. So we want to hear the bad news. So I started working with the team at Desco because it was a theme that many of our customers said and I said, ok, we're not going to be like that. What we're going to do is we're going to proactively tell people, not only the by when we're going to get to a site. If we hit traffic, if we're a little bit late, we're going to call, we're going to let them know and if, like, let's get clear on our parameters of what an emergency is. So fire, flood, a patient's in danger, a staff is in danger and we will say to our customer if we had a scheduled call and had to be diverted, we will say to our customer that we couldn't go to because there was an emergency down the road. Hey, I am so sorry I can't get there. Today. There is this happening down the road and we would treat you with that same urgency if this happened to you.
Speaker 2:So for me, this skill about public speaking and being able to speak with confidence is all about connecting to the audience. So I love to coach people on their public speaking skills, not only for the sake of that one event that they might be doing to publicly speak. It actually has a lot of other effects as well, which are the practice around speaking more confidently, getting because I give people coaching practices, so one of the coaching practices I give to people. So please people, whoever's listening to this, take this or leave it.
Speaker 2:But if you're someone who gets a little bit nervous or shy around connecting with people you don't know or a smaller large group, is whenever you go to the grocery store or to buy new clothes. You go to the grocery store or to buy new clothes. Have a conversation with the cashier. Have a conversation like say hi and make eye contact to somebody in the store, whether they work there or not. Make eye contact when you're walking down the street, wave to somebody and you're going to see a variety of responses. You're going to see that there are some people that roll their eyes at you. You're going to see that there are some people that roll their eyes at you. You're going to see some people that are skeptical of you. You're going to see some people that are willing to talk and connect and you're going to like make their day.
Speaker 2:But what that practice does is it allows us to see that other people's reactions to us is their filter of the world or maybe their filter of that day.
Speaker 2:They're having a bad day, they don't feel connected.
Speaker 2:So it gets us more confident and realizing that oh, not everyone's going to shun me or shut me down, that I can actually make connection with people and how they response is totally up to them and is not necessarily just a reflection of me.
Speaker 2:So that, right there, that helps us to build more confidence in the skin that we're in. So when we're in front of a group or a team, or even like a large stadium of people, that we're recognizing that the people in that room there are going to be some people that are advocating for us to succeed and there are going to be some people that maybe are waiting for us to fumble and that the ability for us to connect with just one person in that room to make impact is enough to ripple out and amplify. So there's a variety of practices that we can do to build up our repertoire for connecting with others when we're on the field at HTM, when we're in our hospital sites, when we're talking to our customers, when we're talking to the CEO of a hospital, whoever it may be, where it doesn't feel so fear inducing anymore.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I guess I must be using those practices, because my wife always teaches me and tells me I've never met a stranger, so I guess I communicate well.
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 1:Now mastering public speaking. How can that help an HTM professional advocate for their work? Or maybe to show how much of an impact we do have on the health care industry? How can public speaking help with that?
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's a great question. So I used to be very socially anxious and it was very difficult for me to speak in front of people. So one of the things that I would do was go to places where it was low stakes, like I might go to a local town. I went to a town hall meeting once. I would ask questions at the gym in front of other members, at the gym in front of other members. And the reason why I would do this is because when I would ask people questions or speak in front of others, my heart would start to pound really fast, my eyes would begin to tear up and oftentimes when I was in that practice I wouldn't hear the answer because my nervous system was so overwhelmed with like wanting to get out of there because I felt unsafe. Not that I was unsafe, but my body was, like you know, flee. It was the whole like flight response showing up.
Speaker 2:And I mentioned this because if we are feeling those nervous system, physiological responses when we're talking to people at the job site that we might get nervous, anticipating whatever, like they might be upset.
Speaker 2:So if they're upset we might want to avoid that. So avoiding a conversation is a habit, is a practice that many people are very skilled at. So being able to enter into those conversations, you know we've got a lot of pressure on us in the HTM industry, so we don't always have good news. We do, we do it's like not even a it's not, it's a non negotiable. We do have to tell people that the, the unit that they were relying on for that day to generate revenue or to, you know, service their patient care, it's not working. So if we're not adept at being able to have those conversations and noticing our physiological response, then that's not going to build trust. So the whole public speaking, being able to speak into what it is that is so that we need to connect with others that, I would say, is a huge benefit of learning how, or just being more skillful at public speaking, because it impacts us every day.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. What type of skills can I master in communication that can maybe elevate my leadership presence? But how can you coach me just to make my skills as a leader be more present?
Speaker 2:Yeah. So one of the questions I would ask is you know for the sake of what, like? What do you care about? So so, brian, why would you want to learn how to do this? Why does this matter to you?
Speaker 1:Okay, you want me to be when you? Okay, I got a plan. Okay, well, cause I just want to be heard.
Speaker 2:Ah, okay and okay. So you want to be heard, and what is it that that's important for you to communicate.
Speaker 1:That I'm capable of Doing more or expecting more from my manager to provide me with more training, that I can work on more equipment.
Speaker 2:Oh, awesome. Ok, and how would this benefit your manager?
Speaker 1:Well, if I get more training, I can probably save him some money on hiring outside vendors to come in and do the repairs.
Speaker 2:Oh, that's a huge value. So basically that's it. So I would walk people through. So people have their own reasons for wanting to either learn how to publicly speak or to get in front of people. You know you do a lot of work with junior achievement and really making HTM visible to middle school and high school students. And if there are people out there that are saying I really want to advocate for our industry because a lot of people don't even know that we exist, they take it for granted. So how can I get in front of people like talk to kids or talk to schools or talk to others to let them know that this industry exists?
Speaker 2:It all comes down to we all have a voice, we all have a story and getting clear. So people like I could never do that. I can never publicly speak, which was my story. I never thought that I could do that and then I was like no, I have a story, I want to share it and I also want to invite other people in. So this is a skill that I want to learn.
Speaker 2:So it comes down to why do I want to learn it? So that would be the question is why is it important to you? What do you see getting in your way? So people that come to me, they're like I know that public speaking is something that is a fear of mine and I don't want it to be anymore Like. I just want to be able to feel a little bit more comfortable and I just want to be able to like, not be afraid and avoid. I want to feel full of vitality and feel like I'm living meaningfully and with purpose, and I'm no longer willing to make excuses for myself that it's just not something I can do, because I always say you can learn anything if you care and if you are committed and you get the right support in place, anybody can learn anything.
Speaker 2:And so it comes down to what do you care about, what are you committed to? And that's how I accompany people on this public speaking journey of what is it that wants to be heard? And then, who do you need to speak to and what's? You know, if it's like a conversation, like you said, with a boss, is all right. Put yourself in their position. What would be a value to them, so you can speak to it from their position. Like here's my offer to you. So it's not just I need this, I want this it's. I really would love your support for me to do this public speaking, because I know it can help us get on the map. I know it can help us recruit people. I know whatever, you know, whatever it is. So I think there's a number of things that people really care about and are committed to and that each one you know, maybe has a different version of what their story or what their care and commitment and outcomes are.
Speaker 2:I have them name. What are you afraid of? What's getting in your way? Let's not have it be this mysterious anxiety that lives in your body. Let's find where in your body the anxiety lives and what shape, what's the sensation, what's the language that's going with that, so we can demystify it, work with it, name it and then move with it, versus trying to repress it. Did that answer your question, brian? I just get very excited about this.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you did. I mean, I guess it's the first podcast episode I ever did a role play, but I love it.
Speaker 2:I like it. I didn't mean to put you on the spot.
Speaker 1:I'm good with it. Hey, I like it. And it turned into it's literally turned into a public speaking episode, which is awesome, Because I think a lot of HTM professionals need to know how to speak more publicly. And this question popped in my head while you was giving your answer to the last question and you mentioned about public speaking and the benefits of it. And you mentioned about public speaking and the benefits of it. Now, how?
Speaker 2:can improving. I just say me how improving my public speaking skills enhance the ability for me to inspire others.
Speaker 2:Oh, I love that question. You know People will come up to me and I've heard this and others that I have coached in public speaking as well is people going up to them and saying, oh my gosh, you made it accessible. I now see that, because of what you just demonstrated, I can see that I can do that too to. And really what that like. When people give that kind of response, it's because the person who's speaking to them is being genuine. And when we're being genuine, people know it.
Speaker 2:We all have very good BS meters, so our nervous systems are always broadcasting to each other and picking up on each other. So we've got like these little hits of can I, you know, trust this person? Can I not trust this person? So we all have these certain feelings around different people. There are some people that drain us. There are some people that give us energy. There's some people that feel a little bit slippery and maybe we're not sure why.
Speaker 2:So when we're in our full integrity and we are authentic, that's when people respond who are also looking and valuing high on, like their value is authenticity that gives people permission and, uh, the accessibility, to pursue it as well. So for me, that, like when people come up to me after like I want to do what you just did, I'm like that's awesome, because that's basically why I do it, cause I saw some people do it. I'm like I really love what they're saying and I love who they are, and I want to be seen in that way and really what it was was authenticity and accessibility, which are two very for me, those are very, two important values.
Speaker 1:Okay, Andrea, I mean we probably can go on. What's next for you? Are there any new projects or initiatives that you're excited about? Seems like you're excited about waking up every day. So what are some new projects you got going on?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so we are starting to in. We do internal training, uh, for our sterilizers up in the northeast in our hadley office, massachusetts, and then we do in durell, florida. We have sea arms there and scope washers and we are going to start offering external training on those modalities. So I'm really excited about doing, you know, offering external training. So I'd say that's in the Desco HTM world. That's what I'm really excited about capitalizing on people's collective wisdom within Desco.
Speaker 1:Now, when you say external training training you mean you're going to train people outside of desco? Yes, oh wow yeah yeah, because sterilizers repair technicians are a rare item these days, so it's not many yeah, and we can teach people, uh, to do first.
Speaker 2:look, you know, I mean really, um, a lot of people need sometimes just to like there's a lot of, you know, like anything else. There's some repairs that are pretty frequent, some things to assess and check. So I would love for more people to have that opportunity for their own in-house to be of service. And now, you know, with we're seeing some cuts in NIH funding, telehealth reimbursements gone down. So if we're seeing some reimbursement cuts, there could be the potential where our service contracts are also reduced as well. So we want to give people that are in-house, who work directly for healthcare systems, the power to be able to service certain things on their own if they don't have the budget to have maintenance contracts with us outside of it. So we're just kind of anticipating what market changes may be coming up. Maybe not, but otherwise it's like wow, we love to train, so why wouldn't we offer this externally anyway?
Speaker 1:Okay Now I always ask this one question at the end what advice or encouragement, or maybe some inspiring knowledge you can share with the HTM industry?
Speaker 2:I would say this is a broad, this is a broad response that is relevant, I would say, for everybody is to find find your peers, find your people, find the people within the HTM industry who share your values and can reflect back to you who you are, versus surrounding yourself with people who you feel like might be cutting you down or might be telling you you're not doing good enough or you're not practicing your skills well enough, whatever it is like. Find the people who are honest with you and also who support and have your back. I think that for us, as human beings, who tend to isolate and we're pretty hard on ourselves, and especially women just speaking as a woman within a male dominated industry, to be able to find those who are willing to sponsor, mentor, amplify, accompany us is so, so important.
Speaker 1:Great answer. Now I got one more bonus. This is more of a personal bonus. You in front of a bunch of 12 year olds. What would you tell them about the HTM industry?
Speaker 2:I would tell them that it is a very challenging and rewarding career industry to be in that. You know, one of my favorite things about it is that it changes every day, so you're with different challenges. You have to troubleshoot differently. So, being creative I was actually talking to my 15-year-old son about this today is that what I love about it is that you have to be creative. You need to be able to not only be aware of how you're showing up in your mood.
Speaker 2:If you're in crisis, or if you're upset or you're frustrated, you're not going to figure anything out because your amygdala is going to be hijacked and your nervous system is going to be overwhelmed. So, being able to look at the problem, to understand, like, what are the steps, and to reach out when you know you need to reach out, versus trying to bang your head against the wall and figure it out, it's the most supportive industry that I have experienced. It is the most collaborative and the most creative and the most challenging and rewarding, and it's accessible. The other thing I would say, too, is that a lot of places are willing to give you on-the-job training, and I know a lot of organizations that also pay for the CBET certification, and so there's a lot of opportunities for growth and competency development.
Speaker 1:What would you say?
Speaker 2:Bryant.
Speaker 1:I know you was talking to 12-year-olds. The people in the industry right now can use that advice.
Speaker 2:It's true. What would you say? I'm curious. I say to 12.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, oh man, I would. First I would tell them that it's an industry that every day, you don't know what you're going to expect when you walk into the hospital.
Speaker 2:You don't know what you're going to expect when you walk into the hospital.
Speaker 1:Yeah, every day is different and it's always. That's the good part, I guess, and the bad part. But every day you go to work. It's not mundane, it's not boring. Every day is going to be an exciting day Totally, and you get to do something that's life-saving. Yes, I used to see people like I work at a children's hospital, so I work at a children's hospital, so I see the benefit of our work when I see these kids walking around with a piece of an IV pump that helps them walk around, or when you go in the ICU and you see these babies advancing. Just to tell you this one quick story with you.
Speaker 1:This past weekend we had our. There's a fundraiser they have every year. It's the 43rd anniversary for the Sugar Plum. It's a fundraising ball they give every year. It's the 43rd anniversary for the sugar plum. It's a fundraising ball to give every year, gala rather, and they had um. I think he was 11 or 12 year old kid and he was singing um eye of the tiger and he came into the hospital as at one pound and I can't remember how many months he was there, but he was there a few months and just to see him at 12 years old on stage singing in front of the people that probably took care of him was amazing.
Speaker 1:So oh my gosh, that is amazing yeah, so baume had a part in that also, because he was in icu, he was on medical equipment, it's like a nurse and doctor. So that's what I tell the kids what you do is just as important as the doctors and nurses, because without the medical equipment you can't take care of the patients, and that usually catches their attention somewhat.
Speaker 2:Oh, that's beautiful. That is so beautiful. I like your story. Your answer is way more compelling. I love it.
Speaker 1:Andrea, I appreciate you coming on. You're welcome to come back anytime.
Speaker 2:Oh, thanks.
Speaker 1:And it was an enjoyable conversation. It was different and I like different, you know, and Any other. Anytime you want to come back, you're always welcome.
Speaker 2:Oh, thank you. I appreciate you so much.
Speaker 1:Thank you, what a powerful episode. A huge thank you to Andrea Berdenka for sharing her journey from growing up in the Desco family business to becoming a thoughtful, intentional leader who's helping transform not only her team but the HTM industry as a whole, but the HTM industry as a whole. Her vulnerability, wisdom and commitment to continuous growth are exactly what this industry needs more of. If you're in the HTM industry and wondering how to lead better, connect more deeply or even step into public speaking to advocate for your impact, this episode should be saved and replayed Until next time. Keep pushing the boundaries, stay passionate and always strive to make an impact. See you on the next episode of HTM Online. Y'all be safe out there.
