It didn’t start with leadership. Karen Tasker’s journey at Sienna Senior Living’s Lakeview Lodge Community, in West Kelowna, began in 2013, when she returned to the workforce after 14 years as a stay-at-home mom. Her first role was as a dietary aide, handling meals, laundry, and housekeeping, but it quickly became clear that there was far more to the work than she expected.

When she first imagined long-term care, she thought of her childhood, of quiet afternoons and residents playing cards or singing, just like she remembered from visiting her grandmother.

What she found instead was a vibrant, active community where every moment held meaning—because for most residents, this wasn’t just another place to live, but a place to be truly cared for and feel at home.

“Long-term care is more than just a job; it’s a purpose of making the daily lives of our residents purposeful. Every member of the team, regardless of their role, plays an essential part in creating a place that truly feels like home,” Karen explains.

That perspective shaped the way she approached every role she held, from dietary and housekeeping work to relief office work, office manager, regional team member experience coordinator for the BC interior, and ultimately executive director at Lakeview Lodge. Her experiences on the front line taught her the value of respect, collaboration, and showing up for the people around her.

Karen’s leadership style was shaped through hands-on experience in the day-to-day work. She believes that a title is not just a designation and that true leadership is demonstrated through presence, accountability, and leading by example. As a team, they work together, supporting one another to achieve shared goals.

“I don’t like to sit in an office issuing orders. Instead, I’ll walk the floors, celebrate wins, and recognize the effort of my team.”

She does this daily with different types of recognition, from spot awards and staff appreciation events to reserved parking spots. Every week, someone who has demonstrated one of Sienna’s core values, acting positively, being accountable, creating community, or demonstrating caring, is acknowledged with a reserved parking spot. This reinforces the idea of a culture where everyone’s work matters.

When Karen first stepped into her leadership role, she faced challenges common to many new leaders: difficult conversations, burnout, and the pressure of wanting to prove herself. She recalls the endless hours spent answering emails late at night, trying to do it all and be everything for everyone.

Joining the Leading from the Inside Out program changed the way she approached her work and her life. It helped her understand the importance of boundaries, self-awareness, and personal well-being. She learned that being a better leader started with taking care of herself.

One exercise called the healthy mind platter helped Karen see her life in segments: sleep time, physical time, focus time, playtime, downtime, and connecting time. It gave her a framework to make small but meaningful changes.

She made a conscious effort to prioritize sleep, stay active, and set aside meaningful time with her family. These changes didn’t just enhance her personal well-being—they helped her become more present, and a more thoughtful, effective leader for both her team and the residents she supports.

For her, Leading from Inside Out “was also learning a lot about ourselves, how we show up, how we expect our managers to show up. The self-awareness is what is creating the change within [her] to become a better leader.” That insight, rooted in self-reflection, helped her shift from doing more to leading more thoughtfully.

Karen’s journey shows that leadership is not about the title or the office you sit in. It is about showing up for the people around you, learning from every experience, and creating an environment where everyone feels valued, heard and recognized.

From dietary aide to executive director, her story is a reminder that leadership grows from the inside out and that the best leaders are those who lift the people around them while staying true to themselves.