Back to Human: How to Lead a People-Centric Organization
As a people-centric organization, evolvedMD is proud of the culture we’ve built on the notion that our people are the lifeblood of our organization. From nurturing and evangelizing our values to helping our partners achieve success to providing meaningful interventions for lifelong change in our patients, we are nothing without our people.
This is true for every company, for every brand.
But there is a clear disconnect, especially now, in the value employees provide organizations and how employees feel organizations perceive that value. At a time when many employees are overworked, burned out, and grasping for help to navigate everyday life, a 2022 study by Gallup found that only 24% of U.S. employees feel strongly that their organization cares about their well-being. This is a sharp drop from 49% just two years ago during the early days of the pandemic. What gives?
As a Human Resources professional with over 30 years’ experience, I’ve dedicated my entire career to ensuring people feel heard, happy, and healthy. At evolvedMD, where I serve as Director of People, we’ve intentionally and thoughtfully cultivated a people-centric culture that’s revered by employees and recognized by the Phoenix Business Journal. If you’re a leader wondering how to build a thriving, people-centric culture at your organization, here are four ideas we’ve implemented at evolvedMD that are scalable for success:
See the Human Behind the Title
Bringing your whole self to work goes beyond sharing your personality, interests, and hobbies. It also means bringing your flaws, vulnerabilities, and other factors that round out your uniqueness. At evolvedMD we encourage what other companies shy away from: allowing individuals to show up as their authentic selves. Personal and professional lives have always and will continue to collide so it’s more important than ever to allow for employees to be human.
We put this in practice with our teams by asking questions, often weekly, designed to nurture psychological safety including:
· On a scale of 1–10 how are you doing personally? Professionally? What would get you to a 10?
· As your manager, what’s one thing you see me doing that’s helping me best contribute to the team/distracting from our success?
· What’s one thing I need to know about you that will improve our relationship?
· What’s one gift, skill, or talent you have that I’ve overlooked, undervalued, or underutilized?
These questions give our employees a platform to not only reveal roadblocks in their success but also help managers proactively address any concerns. Creating psychological safety is rooted in our belief that we can’t fix what we don’t know and having these conversations can help us optimize the employee experience. My favorite part about evolvedMD’s culture is that we’re truly free to allow ourselves to have our moments and that we feel comfortable leaning on each other for support. Heart-to-hearts happen regularly here because we acknowledge that we’re all human at the end of the day. I can’t say I’ve ever witnessed anything like it at my previous organizations.
Key takeaway: You can’t fix what you don’t know. Create psychological safety with your employees so they feel comfortable bringing their authentic selves to work. Through honest dialogue, you can help proactively address any concerns.
Encourage Mentorship Opportunities
Most of evolvedMD’s leadership team, including myself, have had a mentor at some point in our careers. I had one who owned the Chinese restaurant I worked at in my late teens. Our relationship greatly influenced my decision to pursue a career in Human Resources working closely with people. I want our employees to enjoy similar experiences so they can thrive in both their personal and professional lives.
Even if an organization doesn’t offer a formal mentorship program, leadership teams can leverage their networks and other resources to help match their employees with someone they trust. Whether it’s 1:1 matching from individuals in your circle or connecting younger teammates to professional mentorship programs in your city, companies can be a great conduit for professional pairings. Our Director of Sales, Kim Ho, sits on the board of the Asian Corporate & Entrepreneur Leaders organization and regularly promotes its mentorship program to our employees where a handful have joined with hopes of elevating themselves both personally and professionally.
Key takeaway: Prioritize personal and professional development by offering mentorship opportunities — whether internal or external.
Champion DEI Initiatives
I firmly believe that Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives create more impactful cultures. However, if leadership teams don’t recognize the value of DEI, then employees won’t feel heard, collaboration falters, and people-centricity becomes meaningless.
So, then, what does DEI look like at evolvedMD? For starters, over 80% of our staff is female, and six out of nine members on the leadership team are female, half of which are of Asian descent. About 17% of our staff are Hispanic and 18% are multiracial. These numbers, while inspiring and remarkable, don’t mean anything unless we intentionally create an inclusive environment. So, in 2022, we launched a quarterly Lunch and Learn series to closely align staff on company initiatives.
Our first Lunch and Learn, led by Dr. Christina Abby, evolvedMD’s Clinical Programs Manager, set out to:
· Define diversity and inclusion as it relates to the workplace
· Discuss cultural competence and cultural humility
· Identify ways to promote DEI at evolvedMD
This shared experience gave everyone a voice and the opportunity to “own” our culture, in a sense. While still educational, we turned this Lunch and Learn into something more interactive and actionable so that everyone felt they had a part in pushing new initiatives. Given DEI is always a work in progress, quarterly Lunch and Learns and other initiatives keep employees engaged and provide ample opportunity for them to play a role in defining and refining DEI in the workplace.
Key takeaway: Diversity and inclusion are different. Ensure people feel welcome by giving them a voice and the opportunity to own part of your company’s culture.
Setting Work Boundaries
As the lines between personal and professional lives blur, respecting work boundaries will foster stronger relationships, help teams collaborate more effectively, and allow employees to prioritize their personal lives without penalty. Intruding on those boundaries, even just calling 10 minutes after work for a quick catch-up on a project, will blur the lines even further.
Erik Osland, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, and Dr. Ruth Nutting, Director of Clinical Programs, speak often about the benefits of employees enjoying a work-life balance to prevent burnout. We’re also big proponents of leadership teams setting the tone. For example, if our employees see us regularly working past 5pm, they will feel guilty about leaving the office before their managers do. So, we make it a habit to turn off our laptops at 5pm and leave them at the office.
We also allow employees to take time during the workday to practice self-care — no questions asked. If they want to go on a 30-minute walk after lunch or take a yoga class in the morning, we won’t intrude. For clinicians, we limit their caseloads and will never call them after work hours or on weekends. Allowing our employees to keep their personal and work lives separate help them connect with our organization even more.
Key takeaway: Work-life balance is a must. Give your employees space and time to practice self-care, prioritize family, and enjoy their lives outside of work.
Products and services aside, think of your people as the real differentiator that will make your company stand out from the rest. If you lean into that philosophy and put your people first, they will propel your business forward and be more likely to stick around to grow with you.
Want to feel supported and thrive in a people-centric culture? Apply to work for evolvedMD via our Careers page today.
