Building a Remote Culture of Innovation

Your organization is going to have culture no matter what. You get to decide what kind of culture. I learned this the hard way leading my first mental health team. Made every mistake in the book. Lost great people. Watched morale tank. That's when I realized something crucial: The second there's any vacuum in communication, it gets filled with things that aren't productive. Fast forward to co-founding Frontier Psychiatry - a 100% telehealth practice serving rural Montana, Idaho, and Alaska. 30 providers. 60 employees scattered across three states. Zero physical proximity. I spoke about my journey with Dan King on Your Group Practice Podcast. The latest episode dropped today. Here's how we built culture when everyone's remote: 1/ Weekly transparency videos (2-3 minutes, fully honest about finances, wins, challenges) 2/ Stock options for everyone (if you're trusted with patients' lives, you can handle company numbers) 3/ Purpose alignment conversations (individual purpose must align with company mission) 4/ Celebrate the impact ("We reduced the risk for hospitalization among our patients by nearly 40%!") 5/ Share high-value mental health content on LinkedIn every day (I love writing about this stuff anyway) The result? My LinkedIn posts now attract top-tier candidates who already know what we stand for. The quality of applicants has gone from night to day. Pre-LinkedIn vs Post-LinkedIn hiring = completely different game. But here's what I really learned: Culture isn't something you create once and forget. It's something you nurture every single day. Your team needs to come first. Only then can your patients get great care. The most dangerous thing in healthcare? Accepting the low bar for customer service. Don't fall into that trap. Your team is watching. Your patients are counting on it. What are you doing daily to nurture culture in your organization?

Remote work challenge: How do you build a connected culture when teams are miles apart? At Bunny Studio we’ve discovered that intentional connection is the foundation of our remote culture. This means consistently reinforcing our values while creating spaces where every team member feels seen and valued. Four initiatives that have transformed our remote culture: 🔸 Weekly Town Halls where teams showcase their impact, creating visibility across departments. 🔸 Digital Recognition through our dedicated Slack “kudos” channel, celebrating wins both big and small. 🔸 Random Coffee Connections via Donut, pairing colleagues for 15-minute conversations that break down silos. 🔸 Strategic Bonding Events that pull us away from routines to build genuine connections. Beyond these programs, we’ve learned two critical lessons: 1. Hiring people who thrive in collaborative environments is non-negotiable. 2. Avoiding rigid specialization prevents isolation and encourages cross-functional thinking. The strongest organizational cultures aren’t imposed from above—they’re co-created by everyone. In a remote environment, this co-creation requires deliberate, consistent effort. 🤝 What’s working in your remote culture? I’d love to hear your strategies.

High-pressure, fast-paced work environments are like hot sauce on the brain—they keep everything on fire. While leaders might thrive on this continual state of excitement and ambition, expecting all employees to sustain this intensity is unrealistic. Such an environment can lead to: → Burnout → Disillusionment → High turnover But what if you’re on a mission to change the world or accomplish big things? How can you cultivate a culture of innovation that also supports a sustainable workforce? ⦿ Flexible Schedules: Foster innovation with flexible hours and remote work options, as demonstrated by Google. ⦿ Clear Boundaries: Limit after-hours work and communication to avoid burnout, a strategy championed by 37signals. ⦿ Promote Well-being: Invest in wellness programs and mental health resources, like those offered by Asana. ⦿ Create Innovation Labs: Set up dedicated spaces or times for experimentation and creativity, like 3M's famous 15% rule. ⦿ Encourage Regular Breaks: Implement mandatory downtime, similar to Slack's "no meetings" Fridays, to boost creativity and reduce fatigue. ⦿ Mentorship Programs: Pair employees with mentors to nurture growth and support, following the model used by Pixar Animation Studios to encourage creative collaboration. wearemotto.com