Kelsey Ares explains how she balances kindness with authority by treating her team the way she wants to be treated. She frames kindness as service, building genuine loyalty and respect rather than forced compliance. Her team willingly goes extra miles because they feel supported, not controlled.
So you're watching Under the Covers, and that means behind the books. There's more detail, but it's not just about me, it's about my colleague too, Kelsey Ares.
Hello, friend.
Kelsey's running the operation here, and so I have a question for you today.
Okay.
From doing it under the covers first, or out of the covers? Out of the covers. So here we go, out of the covers. We're like brothers. It's so weird. So I have a question just about this concept of kindness. Like, you are a very kind soul, and yet you run this business with authority. How can you be kind to people but also dictate respect and control?
Well, I think of it as serving, if that makes sense. So I want to support people the way they could support me or the way I'd like to be supported. So I feel like I foster a feeling of reciprocity. And so I think it just comes down to respect, listening and hearing, and making sure I'm serving the best that I can. And I feel like that comes back. It's a, it's a you know, maybe a sense of loyalty, but hopefully not like a manipulated loyalty, just a genuine want to serve each other.
That's true. You know, it's funny, so, you know, I talk with our colleagues here. We're a small organization, but I talk with Amy. I'm like, what do you love most about your job? She's like, my boss, Kelsey. And seriously, and that's what—
singular boss, Kelsey.
Well, but you are her boss. And same thing with Jenna. There's this They have such an appreciation and adoration for you, they go, they go the distance for you. So now you know how to do it yourself. Alright, back under the covers.
