In this episode of Candid Conversations, Chris and Candice sit down with Joy Brownridge, assistant director of organizational effectiveness for the University of Illinois System and the operational lead for the Professional Staff Leadership Academy. Joy brings a fascinating leadership journey to the conversation, beginning with 15 years as an industrial engineer in the automotive industry before making a major career pivot into higher education and human resources. Her experience across very different workplace environments shaped her approach to leadership, communication, continuous improvement, and employee engagement.

Joy shares how she discovered that leadership is often about influence rather than authority, especially when working across roles with very different priorities and perspectives. She discusses the importance of adapting communication to meet people where they are, seeking out mentors, and taking advantage of accessible learning opportunities for newly promoted leaders. The conversation also explores workplace culture and Joy's work on the article about the ways leaders can unintentionally undermine their office culture, including one of the biggest pitfalls: holding yourself to a different standard than the people you lead.

A major theme throughout the episode is that healthy workplace culture is built through consistent actions, not slogans. Joy encourages leaders to overcommunicate, follow their words with action, demonstrate vulnerability, and remain transparent during periods of uncertainty and organizational change. She also discusses empathy, recognition, and the value of understanding how individual team members prefer to receive appreciation. From handwritten notes to asking people directly what motivates them, Joy offers practical ideas for making recognition more personal while maintaining fairness across a team.

The conversation closes with Joy's approach to difficult conversations and her top habit for becoming a more effective leader: solicit more feedback. She explains how leaders can create psychological safety by consistently asking for input, experimenting with different feedback methods, and demonstrating that they are genuinely willing to listen and act. Joy also reflects on the leadership accomplishment she is most proud of—building a career and a team culture she loves—and reveals a delightfully unexpected personal talent: turning pop songs into operatic performances. It's a candid, practical, and often funny conversation about what it really takes to lead people well.

Candice and Chris are IT leaders at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and collectively have more than 50 years of experience working in higher education. Candice is currently the Senior Director of IT Partners at the College of Applied Health Sciences and Chris is the Chief Information Officer and Senior Director of IT Partners at the Gies College of Business.