Business authors and scholars have been publishing articles recently about the importance of positivity in leaders over the past two years. Simply put: sincere positivity helps with the mood swings and intense introspection caused by recent world affairs.
Natalie Stute, Chief Human Resources Officer for Gainwell Technologies, was the speaker at the Good Leadership Breakfast last Friday, April 29. Both her message to the audience as well as her personal presence radiated the type of positivity we call “goodness.”
Grateful and humble
“I was raised in Burnsville, Minnesota, by parents who were both educators – 80 years of teaching between them,” she explained. “We come from a long line of family members who serve other people for a living, we were expected to be compassionate, involved in the world around us, and to be achievers.”
As she talked about her journey, she named at least a dozen people in the room who helped her along the way. She shared her journey through corporate America, and how she “stayed curious” which led to new opportunities. We also shared laughs and learned that she had earned an athletic scholarship to college for bowling. “I have four boys, and they all refuse to go bowling with me!” she laughed.
Professional excellence
Gainwell Technologies is a fascinating company – both a “technology” play and a “people” play in the healthcare space. Over the past 30 months, they have consolidated dozens of smaller companies into the nation’s largest personal patient care management company. Every day they talk with members in all 50 states, for more than 3 million different providers, managing 1.5 billion immunization records for more than 53 million Medicare members.
“Our entire workforce is working from home,” she emphasized. “At Gainwell, it really is all about the team. We need our thousands of customer service people to feel like they belong, find meaning in the work, and they are making progress toward their own aspirations.”
Personally, I thoroughly enjoyed our conversation. Everything about Natalie exudes a passion for goodness. I found her to be laid back and intensely focused. She was quick to share a joke and exceedingly competent. And most of all happy and driven. “I love being in the middle of rapid growth,” she laughed. “Because that’s just what I do!”
Watch the Good Leadership Breakfast with Natalie Stute.
Get your seat at the table for the next Good Leadership Breakfast with Adrienne Diercks, Founder and Executive Director of Project Success on May 20.