Chief Sales Officer: Natalie Daney

PUBLISHED JANUARY 2025

Growing up in Raytown, Natalie Daney saw the insurance industry from an outsider’s perspective. The view wasn’t entirely pleasant. “My dad was a barber and my mom did not work outside of the home,” she says. “I saw first-hand how difficult it can be to access essential services like health care and how intimidating insurance and health care can be for those who are not familiar.” 

Yet, here she is, chief sales officer for Delta Dental of Kansas, where her ability to connect outsiders with the industry that impacts the lives of thousands. “Working in the insurance industry,” she says, “has allowed me to focus on increasing access to health care and improving health outcomes by simplifying the user experience for people like my dad and mom.”

Signing on with Delta Dental aligned her personal goals with those of an organization focused on improving health “by delivering affordable benefits, exceptional service and a seamless user experience to businesses, providers and employees in Kansas and throughout the United States,” she says. “Our focus ensures increased access to care and better health outcomes by innovating in technology, user experience, benefits, consultative analytics, and outreach and community programs.”

Those goals are shared by all manner of Delta Dental employees, from the C-suite to the back office to the receptionist’s desk. So why sales, the modern-day business version of gladiators competing on the Coliseum floor?

“Every day, you have to lead with a positive attitude and a focus on collaborative innovation and teamwork, have a clear vision and goals that are consistently communicated to your team so everyone is moving in the same direction and empower your team to achieve results,” Daney says. “In addition, we regularly meet with and listen to our employers, consumers, providers, and brokers, and their needs drive the innovative solutions and products we offer in the market.”

Before Delta Dental, she honed her industry expertise working for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City, then Bukaty Companies. As a third-generation Kansas Citian, she says, “I never considered going anywhere else. I have been lucky in my career to travel to various places across the U.S., but you can’t beat KC’s small-town feel with big-city amenities. No city has the unique combination of amazing people, world-class sports teams, a vibrant dining scene and incredible activities for families.”

She now oversees a team providing insurance products and services in more than 34 states, but there was a learning curve attached. “When I was promoted to a manager, my new supervisor tasked me with negotiating a new sales partnership, reconfiguring our small-business product suite and assisting with the development of a new insurance product,” Daney says. “One small issue with these requests—I wasn’t sure how to accomplish them, and success required leading a team which I had not done before.”

That experience created her personal template for success. “First, be comfortable with ambiguity and recognize that hard work, data, benchmarking and gathering broad input will eventually lead to a great solution,” Daney says. “Second, I would not have accomplished these tasks without the great work of my new team—people are everything and with a great team, the potential is limitless. Finally, accomplishing the tasks took a lot of hard work and extra hours, so a great culture is critical to maintain high morale and productivity.”

Much of the credit, she says, goes to finding the right venue for her skills.

“I have been very fortunate to work for a company that has an incredible culture focused on dreaming big, collaborative innovation and where the best ideas win regardless of title,” Daney says. 

She finds that organizational success and personal success have been intertwined. Of her own leadership style, Daney says: “First, we all work a lot at our company and spend a significant portion of the day there. I believe it is important to have a sense of humor, encourage all ideas to get the best result, learn from mistakes, fail fast and create an environment where people enjoy their jobs.”

“Second, I think a leader should be honest, even in tough situations where conflict is unavoidable. I think honesty lays the groundwork for a trusting and open work environment. In my department, I want everyone to know what is going on and feel comfortable coming to me with anything that comes up. Having that trust is crucial in any department’s success.”

She also believes that success happens through the team: “Hire the best people, give them the tools and autonomy to do their jobs, set expectations and be their biggest advocate available to help them succeed,” she says. “We have created a culture that emphasizes winning, celebrating, rewarding success and having fun.”