November 30, 2022 Greg Juedes

People-First Leadership Enriches Culture

“People are an organizations’ only truly appreciating asset.” If you believe this statement as I do, it makes perfect sense that we focus on developing and investing in our people first at Excellerate and throughout all of FTI. By providing this investment in our people, they can be the best versions of themselves while serving our business and customers.

One way to do this is by leaders focusing on providing inspiration and listening deeply while helping people get the resources, knowledge, feedback and growth opportunities they desire. Building truly meaningful relationships and being engaged with people on all levels within a business is vital to the success and health of an organization.

I’ve had the fortunate opportunity to work for a few inspirational leaders on my career journey, and I will always remember the way they made me feel truly heard and appreciated. I strive to provide inspirational leadership to my teams by following principles of servant and collaborative leadership styles.

Here is a list of 13 inspiring traits of exceptional leaders, developed by Glenn Liebowitz and published by Leadership First via LinkedIn.

1. They trust you to do the job you’ve been hired to do.
2. They seek your advice and input.
3. They find opportunities to let you shine.
4. They recognize your contributions.
5. They have your back during tough times.
6. They are master storytellers.
7. They challenge you to do bigger and better things.
8. They express appreciation.
9. They are responsive.
10. They know when to apologize.
11. They give credit where credit is due.
12. They treat others with dignity and respect
13. They care.

At FTI and Excellerate, we’ve developed a Culture of Care program that focuses on three key areas. FTI’s Culture of Care helps support the well-being of our team members and encourages everyone to bring their whole selves to work – mind, body and soul. We strive to create a supportive, inclusive and healthy environment through the following objectives:

• Support the development of respectful and empathetic employees.
• Foster a supportive, caring and safe environment without fear of being bullied or harassed.
• Enable a positive and stigma-free culture of care where mental health conversations are normalized.

We desire to maintain an environment that is safe, welcoming for all team members and creates a sense of belonging. Organizational culture directly ties with team members’ feelings of belonging. When team members feel they belong at work, they perform better and are more committed to the organization.

We also have Culture of Care Champions who are team members who believe in, help develop and cultivate excitement in our workplace culture. They champion the cause of our organization and are at the forefront of how that culture emerges across it. As Culture of Care Champions, we each have the ability to help people in the following ways:

• Promote positive mental health.
• Engage in additional mental health training.
• Communicate effectively and build rapport with other team members.
• Deliver positive change.
• Lead difficult conversations around sensitive issues with compassion and empathy​.
• Accept, listen, respect and show compassion to others.

Our Culture of Care Champions help our people get the resources they want or need, and in doing so, hold certain responsibilities, striving to:

• Devote full attention to team members in need of support. (Note: Culture of Care Champions are a listening ear only and will refer team members to the appropriate EAP resource. It is not the intention for the Champion to provide counseling or medical advice/assistance.)
• Communicate typical hours of availability and ensure they are accessible during those times.
• Encourage conversations surrounding mental health and diversity/inclusion to support a stigma-free culture.
• Keep informed of the Culture of Care benefits, along with additional resources available, and communicate them to FTI team members with the best intentions.
• Be a beacon for change, acceptance and kindness.
• Serve as a role model and positive influence on our workplace culture.
• Remind team members of behaviors that are not tolerated in the workplace.
• Prioritize whole person health and wellbeing – mind, body and soul.

What leadership principles or techniques have you found to be successful for inspiring and developing people to be their best version of themselves? We love to hear feedback and look forward to building the teams of the future at Excellerate!