We recently connected with Kim Droege and have shared our conversation below.

Kim, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Have you ever had an amazing boss, mentor or leader leading you? Can you us a story or anecdote that helps illustrate why this person was such a great leader and the impact they had on you or their team?

During my career at IBM, I worked for an incredible man who I probably would have crawled through fire for, if he had asked. When I first went to work for him, we had a meeting in which he informed me he had fully reviewed my personnel file and was immediately giving me a raise since I was being underpaid relative to my performance and accomplishments compared to the men I was working beside. Obviously, we were off to a good start. He then proceeded to tell me the only time he wanted to see me in his office was when I really needed help or bad news had to be delivered to my customer since it was important they liked me and not him. He had full confidence in my ability to manage my multi million dollar account with my team and he didn’t need to interfere or micromanage.

He was definitely a mentor as I admired just about everything about him as an individual and a manager. He taught me so many things just by observing him in the office and with my customer. In a performance review, he shared he never worried about me because no matter what obstacle was presented, he knew I would either go over it, around it, under it or would eliminate it all together. He gave me so much confidence and freedom to succeed because I knew he admired my strengths and helped me to polish my imperfections. Under his guidance and leadership, my team and I achieved the highest honors and recognition one could receive in IBM at the time.

When he was promoted to a position he totally deserved, I felt happy and bereaved all at the same time. HIs kind doesn’t come along often and I was so grateful and blessed for the opportunity to work for and with him.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

One day in November of 2018, I was listening to our local LPN radio station and they were broadcasting an interview with the President of a local club. I was a Board member of another local club and wondered why we hadn’t been interviewed. I contacted my friend who conducted the interviews and she said we’d be happy to interview your club President. Well, none of the other Board officers wanted to do it, so it fell to me.

After the interview was finished, the recording engineer, who also happened to be the station Program Director, asked if me if I ever thought about being on the radio. Funny you should ask. I said. It’s been my experience lIfe is usually a function of timing and opportunity and this was one fell in my lap that day.

I started in February 2019 as a partner in a new live drive time radio show on Wednesdays from 4 – 6 PM. Later that same year, they offered me an opportunity for my own interview show which I named it Connecting with Kim. The mission of my show was to connect with people, places, entities and organizations which made living in our corner of paradise a little bit better. I also focused on the local county elected officials since we have so many new folks moving to our area yearly. My show broadcasted 3 days a week in the afternoon.

The show took off and for the next 2.5 years, I was bringing new information 3 times per week to our listening audience and on stream. I was having a blast and meeting lots of new folks. And then in late 2021, another door opened and I decided to step through. A local cable TV network, Tampa Bay Arts & Education network approached me about bringing my show to their network. We started filming in April 2022 and debuted the show in first week of June.

That first season, we filmed nonstop from April through November so we could get the show up and gain traction and audience. It was hard work for all of us, but it was worth it because I earned a silver Telly Award, national industry recognition, for my first year of filming which is unusual. My network had consistently been Telly Award winners for their quality programming.

I think what has always set my show apart is it’s not scripted in any way. It’s a friendly conversation between 2 folks, sometimes 3, about their passion, their organization, their NPO or their elected office. It’s a safe space for them to shine. As I always say, I’m in the business of making friends so I’m not going to back you in a corner, ask an embarrassing question or put you on the spot. I listen closely, watch them and think about what those folks watching and listening would like to know from this guest and episode. I do a good deal of research about my guests, but it really doesn’t matter how much I know, it only matters what the audience will remember. I always say to my guests, whet their appetite and leave them wanting more.

I think another benefit of my show is its incredible availability during the week. The show is broadcast 3 times per day 2 days per week, twice on Sundays and the audio is still available 3 times per week on radio and stream. In addition, its available on demand on our award winning TBAE steaming app and on my Connecting with Kim YouTube channel. We offer a lot of coverage for each of my guests which you’re not going to find everywhere. I’m proud and blessed to say I have a waiting list of folks who want to be on my show and its continuous.

Lastly, I work with a great group of dedicated professionals who are well known and respected for their award-winning programming. They make every guest who comes in the studio welcome and comfortable. We are all definitely social media devotees, so my show guests get a lot of promotion on the social media platforms of Facebook, Instagram and X.

So, if someone had told this former businesswoman and marketing professional I would be a cable TV show host at this time of my life, I would have laughed. But I have been blessed with the opportunity to reinvent myself, explore new aspects of my personality, skills, learn new skills which expand my mind all the while meeting and interacting with some really talented and terrific folks. Together, we are making a positive impact on our Tampa Bay community.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

Every season of filming 28 new episodes provides me an opportunity to engage personally with a diverse group of folks and organizations while bringing their story to a Tampa Bay audience who may not know anything about them. It’s a blessing to build these relationships and it also presents an opportunity for these folks and my network to engage; sometimes new opportunities grow out of these first encounters in our studio. And it may provide an opportunity for my watching and listening audience to volunteer, engage and grow so it’s really a win win all the way around.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

My husband and I moved fairly regularly around the US and internationally during our marriage while both working for international companies in demanding careers. On 2 occasions, we returned to living in the same area we had previously lived. My wise Mother always told me “You can go back to a place, but you can’t go back to a time”. I learned the painful truth of this when we returned to Massachusetts from our first assignment living abroad. I had forgotten while our life was moving forward living overseas, all of our friends and acquaintances lives were also moving forward and changing. And while you can’t go back to a time no matter how much you loved and enjoyed it, you have an opportunity to build on those foundations with new memories, experiences and joy. Change is inevitable and you must embrace it fully.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: connectingwithkim
• Facebook: Connecting with Kim
• Twitter: @ConnectingKim
• Youtube: CONNECTING WITH KIM @connetingwithkim

Image Credits

Images were all taken on my mobile by friends or my crew at TBAE and have already been published on numerous social media platforms.