How Tracy Nolan Led 24,000 People Through the Largest Telecom Merger in US History

What does it take to lead 24,000 people through the largest telecom merger in US history — during COVID — and come out the other side with a stronger team? In this episode of the Strategy & Leadership Podcast, Anthony Taylor sits down with Tracy Nolan, SVP at Humana and board member at Dress for Success. Tracy has driven $31B in revenue through a $6B operating budget across a Fortune 100 career that includes leadership roles through the Sprint/T-Mobile merger, the Verizon/Alltel merger, 9/11, and Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico. Tracy shares the six ingredients she looks for in every team she builds, why "if your name is on the invite, you've earned the right to be in the room," and the story of a goose in a parking lot that reshaped how she thinks about listening as a leader. Whether you're leading a mid-market company through change or building your first executive team, the fundamentals in this conversation apply. **What you'll learn:** • The six success ingredients Tracy uses to evaluate any team (trust, integrity, commitment, execution, teamwork, right people) • How to build two-way trust before you need it • The "open bridge" method Tracy used to lead 12,000 people through a merger during COVID • Why vulnerability at the executive level accelerates transformation • The concept of "full circle leadership" — managing your team, peers, boss, and customers as one system • The most overlooked element of transformation plans (and why decisiveness beats consensus) • How Dress for Success helps women re-enter the workforce **Chapters:** 00:00 – Introducing Tracy Nolan 01:11 – Heart + leadership: how Tracy defines her MO 03:09 – The six success ingredients 05:14 – Building trust during major transformation 06:11 – The Sprint/T-Mobile merger & the goose in the parking lot 10:59 – Being the first woman in the boardroom 14:39 – Driving results and full circle leadership 20:49 – What most leaders miss in transformation 22:46 – Dress for Success and giving back 25:15 – Where to connect with Tracy **Connect with Tracy Nolan:** LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/tracy-nolan **Learn more about Dress for Success:** dressforsuccess.org **About the host:** Anthony Taylor is the founder of SME Strategy Consulting and host of the Strategy & Leadership Podcast. He helps mid-market leadership teams get aligned on one destination and execute on it. Learn more at smestrategy.net. If you got value from this conversation, leave a review and let us know your biggest takeaway. #Leadership #StrategyAndLeadership #Transformation #ChangeManagement #ExecutiveLeadership