Leadership, Succession, and Coming Home: Kylie Lindsay on Growing People at Energy Vets

Kylie Lindsay began her journey with Energy Vets answering after-hours phones. More than twenty years later, she’s Clinic Services Manager, shareholder, and now a director of the Taranaki practice.

In this second half of Julie South’s conversation with Kylie, the focus shifts to leadership and the kind of veterinarian Energy Vets is looking for as the clinic grows its companion animal team.

Kylie describes the senior vet role as someone who enjoys teaching, builds relationships across the whole practice — including large animal vets who rotate through the companion animal team — and can bring both clinical and business thinking to the role.

The conversation also explores how Energy Vets develops people over time. Kylie shares stories of nurses and vets who have left to work elsewhere — including Australia and overseas — and later returned to the clinic with new experience that benefits the whole team.

Kylie also talks about becoming a shareholder and director in the business — an opportunity the existing directors created by changing the clinic’s constitution so a non-vet could join the ownership group.

She reflects on how ideas from the frontline have shaped the clinic — including the team workshop that led to the name Energy Vets and the creation of a dedicated call-handling hub behind reception to improve client service.

In This Episode

00:04 – Introduction to part two of the conversation with Kylie Lindsay
01:25 – The kind of veterinarian Energy Vets is looking for in the senior role
03:27 – Life outside the clinic: family, horses, and becoming a grandmother
04:25 – Why people often return to Taranaki after time away
06:07 – Staff leaving for opportunities and later returning to the clinic
07:48 – How returning staff bring new experience back into the team
08:24 – Examples of nurses who left, developed their careers, and returned
10:34 – Kylie becoming a shareholder and director in the business
10:59 – What it means to be invited into ownership as a non-vet
12:24 – “Skin in the game” and the open-door culture at Energy Vets
13:33 – Developing a shareholding pathway for future leaders
14:56 – How leadership listens to ideas from the team
15:27 – The team workshop that led to the name Energy Vets
16:39 – Creating the reception call-handling hub
18:45 – How the hub works day to day across both clinics
20:33 – Julie’s closing reflections on Kylie’s journey and leadership

Hiring Link

EnergyVets is currently looking for an experienced small animal veterinarian ready to co-lead the companion animal team and mentor the next generation of vets.

Learn more here:
careers.vetclinicjobs.com/energyvets

Struggling to get results from your job advertisements?
If so, then shining online as a good employer is essential to attracting the types of veterinary professionals who're a perfect cultural fit for your clinic.

The VetClinicJobs job board is the place to post your next job vacancy - to find out more get in touch with Lizzie at VetClinicJobs

Struggling to get results from your job advertisements?
If so, then shining online as a good employer is essential to attracting the types of veterinary professionals who're a perfect cultural fit for your clinic.

The VetClinicJobs job board is the place to post your next job vacancy - to find out more get in touch with Lizzie at VetClinicJobs

From Client to Clinic Leader: Kylie Lindsay on Energy Vets’ Growth and Team Culture

Kylie Lindsay didn’t originally join Energy Vets as a staff member — she joined as a client.

Growing up in rural Inglewood with horses and other animals, the clinic (then Inglewood Veterinary Services) cared for the animals on her family’s lifestyle block. One day, while a vet was visiting one of her horses, Kylie asked whether there might be any work available at the clinic.

Her timing was good. A role had just opened on the after-hours phone team.

More than twenty years later, Kylie is now Clinic Services Manager, overseeing reception, companion animal services, and stock across Energy Vets’ Inglewood and Waitara clinics in Taranaki on New Zealand’s North Island.

In this conversation with Julie South, Kylie reflects on the growth of the clinic over the past two decades, how teams rotate across both clinics so clients receive consistent service, and the professional development opportunities available across the whole team — including reception and support staff.

She also shares one of the clinic’s quieter success stories: the number of kennel hands who have gone on to train in the veterinary industry, with several returning to work at Energy Vets after completing their studies.

When asked to describe the team in three words, Kylie chooses: welcoming, supportive, and professional.

Next week, Kylie talks about the type of veterinarian who fits the EnergyVets team and her own journey from answering after-hours phones to becoming a shareholder and director in the business.

In This Episode

00:04 – Introduction to the REAL+STORY episode with Kylie Lindsay
01:33 – Kylie’s role and how long she has been with the clinic
02:02 – Joining the clinic after originally being a client
03:45 – Growing up in the Hutt Valley, Rotorua, and settling in Taranaki
04:34 – Raising children and schooling in rural Taranaki
08:19 – Sporting opportunities and life in the region
08:49 – Growth of the clinic since 2005
10:41 – Professional development and leadership training
12:34 – Rotating teams across the Inglewood and Waitara clinics
15:27 – How Kylie’s role evolved as the clinic grew
17:10 – Examples of team members stepping into leadership roles
19:16 – Energy Vets’ “best kept secret” — the culture
21:14 – Kennel hands entering the veterinary profession
22:57 – Former kennel hands returning to work at the clinic
23:31 – Three words Kylie uses to describe the team

Hiring Link

Energy Vets is currently looking for an experienced small animal veterinarian ready to co-lead the companion animal team.

Learn more here:
vetclinicjobs.com/energyvets

Struggling to get results from your job advertisements?
If so, then shining online as a good employer is essential to attracting the types of veterinary professionals who're a perfect cultural fit for your clinic.

The VetClinicJobs job board is the place to post your next job vacancy - to find out more get in touch with Lizzie at VetClinicJobs