Beyond the Numbers | Leading with Love as a KPI with Utibe Bassey

Beyond the numbers on your dashboard lies a metric you can’t easily graph but can’t afford to ignore: love. In this episode of the Engineer Your Success Podcast, Dr. James Bryant continues the RVA Leaders Impact mini-series with Utibe “T-bay” Bassey, Vice President of Customer Experience at Dominion Energy and author of Love as a KPI. Together, they explore why the way people see and treat themselves—and others—may be the most important driver of long-term business results. Utibe shares the story behind coining “Love as a KPI,” what she really means by love in a business context, and how leaders can identify the tangible indicators that love is present in their culture, products, and customer experiences. She and Dr. Bryant discuss the fears that often keep leaders from naming love out loud, the surprising welcome this message has received in corporate environments, and how carrying this message has transformed her personally. If you’re a leader who’s tired of chasing metrics that miss the human reality behind your organization’s performance, this conversation will help you reframe how you think about success. You’ll walk away with a new lens for your KPIs, a deeper appreciation for the people behind the numbers, and practical insight on what it means to truly “lead with love as a KPI.” Weekly Newsletter If you want ongoing tools to design your leadership and life on purpose, subscribe to James’s weekly newsletter, Win by DESIGN, at winbydesign.co. Key Takeaways Love, as a leadership principle, means pursuing the highest good of a person — even when it costs you something. It’s not a feeling; it’s a standard. Every business outcome leaders want — retention, referrals, loyalty, discretionary effort — lives in the hands of people. You can’t separate human well-being from business performance long-term. The thing you’ve been putting off because of fear — the message, the idea, the step — is nudging you for a reason. At some point the burden to do what you’re supposed to do outgrows your concern about what people think. How your employees see and treat themselves directly shapes how they show up for customers. Employee self-perception is an organizational performance variable. Businesses interact with people daily and can either affirm or erode their sense of worth — that’s a leadership responsibility, not just an HR function. The message you put out into the world will try you first. If you’re going to carry it, you have to be it. Your inherent worth isn’t earned, assigned by titles, or confirmed by likes. It was assigned before you showed up — and building from that foundation changes everything. Connecting the dots across your career — what excites you, what drains you, what gives you energy — tells a story about who you’re supposed to be. Most people never take the time to read it. Timestamps 00:00 — Introduction: The KPI most leaders are afraid to name 01:49 — Who is Utibe? Beyond the title 05:20 — The origin of “Love as a KPI” — how the phrase found her 07:28 — Defining love as a leadership standard (not a feeling) 10:28 — Three to four years of carrying the message: what changed 17:41 — Utibe’s role at Dominion Energy and the RVA connection 23:45 — What Utibe wants every person to know about their worth 26:56 — Coach in Your Corner: Dr. James Bryant on Applying “love as a KPI” to yourself  About the Guest Utibe Bassey is Vice President of Customer Experience at Dominion Energy and the author of Love as a KPI. Her work sits at the intersection of organizational performance and human dignity — making the case that how leaders treat people is not a soft add-on to strategy, it is strategy. You can connect with Utibe on LinkedIn by searching “Utibe Richmond” or “Love as a KPI,” follow her at @LoveasaKPI on Instagram, or visit loveasakpi.com. About the Host Dr. James Bryant is an executive coach, leadership strategist, and host of the Engineer Your Success podcast. His mission is to help professionals win at work and at home by developing the leadership skills and presence that technical training alone does not provide. To keep designing your leadership and life on purpose, subscribe to James’s weekly newsletter, Win by DESIGN, at winbydesign.co