Cultivator Profile: Passion as a Catalyst for Growth and Change
Meet Elizabeth
For Elizabeth A. Carter, PhD, VP of Clinical Strategy Execution and Business Operations at Highmark Health, it all comes down to passion. Nearly four years ago, when she was working in Highmark’s Finance department she was given what she calls a “stretch assignment”, to sustain and develop the department’s newly created Evolve program.
The program exists to provide tools and development opportunities for the 400+ people leaders in the Finance department at Highmark, to make them more effective people managers and strategic leaders. Over the next three years, Elizabeth grew and expanded Evolve and its partner program, Unleash, bringing learning and development to the approximately 2,200 employees of the Finance department, creating a foundation that is still thriving to this day. At Highmark, “we want to transform healthcare, and we have to start right here,” she says about this initiative.
With a Ph.D. in Training and Performance Improvement and lived experience and knowledge of the business’ Finance department norms, she was the perfect person to steward the growth and development of the program over three years, through a leadership transition, a global pandemic, and more. I recently spoke to Elizabeth about the importance of passion, leveraging internal talent, and how she created the conditions for long-term organizational evolution.
The Challenge:
When Elizabeth took over Evolve, the program was only a few months old. Her challenge was twofold: she both needed to sustain the existing momentum of the program and grow and develop it to meet department needs amidst organizational and global changes. What is even more incredible, is that she did this alongside her full-time role, a balancing act that many Cultivators face as they strive to make meaningful changes within their organization.
What’s more, she needed to create a development program that fit the unique culture, norms, and needs of the Finance department. She knew that her colleagues needed to see how the program could help them today before they were willing to give their time and energy amidst pressing deadlines. Further, she faced the challenge that I like to call the “buy-in sandwich”, in which you need to get and maintain leadership buy-in, while also sustaining member or peer buy-in in an initiative. It can be incredibly challenging to hold both sets of needs at once as a leader and change agent.
The Idea:
While the Evolve program existed prior to Elizabeth’s leadership, she was charged with expanding it and making it sustainable. She spent her first year as lead observing and continuing with existing programming which included utilizing existing leadership training hosted by Human Resources, a Peer Partner program, and roundtable discussions aimed at building a strong internal network in the department. In year two, Elizabeth sought feedback from leaders on what they needed most. From those conversations, she empowered internal experts to develop additional programming related to Human-Centered Design Thinking, Strategy Work, and Agility. A mentorship program was born and Evolve’s partner program, Unleash, which is open to all employees within Finance, was launched to increase their impact.
Year three brought all of the changes of COVID and remote work, challenging Elizabeth and her team to put Evolve’s focus on being nimble to the test. Peer Partners evolved into Peer Pods of up to 10 folks, continuing to strengthen those internal ties at a time when they were needed most.
The Outcome:
While key metrics were still being developed as she stepped away from the program and into her new role, Elizabeth knows the impacts of the program are vast, particularly when it comes to improved employee engagement and retention. To ensure they are operating at or above industry standards, she points to Gallup Engagement Survey numbers as a good benchmark tool for quantifying your impact.
Elizabeth has since handed the program off to fellow Cultivator, Justin Schell, who has continued to grow and develop Evolve in new ways. She’s grateful that they found such an innovative and dedicated steward for Evolve’s next phase. She still hears from participants who are looking to start their own mentorship program or were promoted due to the connections and development they got through Evolve. Further, she sees the project as having been a growth opportunity for herself, believing that her amazing work on Evolve contributed to her own promotion and professional development.
What worked?
Speak your audience’s language: As a learning expert, Elizabeth points to the importance of speaking directly to your audience. In the case of Evolve, she knew that busy finance professionals operating under strict fiscal deadlines would be wary of giving their time to something outside of their job description if they couldn’t see an immediate benefit. So, she made sure that training modules used Finance-specific language and examples so participants could see how this might impact their work in the short and long term.
Do it yourself (but accept help!): At one point, Elizabeth hit a roadblock in having training facilitated by HR. The reason? They were just too busy to run it. Rather than letting this deter her, she took matters into her own hands and used internal resources and experts to make sure her users had the learnings they needed, without overloading another department.
Be willing to evolve: Evolve is not just the name of the program but an operating model. As Evolve grew, a new CFO came on board, and COVID changed how we work, Elizabeth let the shape of the program evolve with the needs of those it served. Choosing fluidity over strictness led to a sustainable and nimble program.
Seek and elevate internal talent: Rather than seeking external Subject Matter Experts for internal training sessions and events, Elizabeth looked within the department and company first. This created unique opportunities for colleagues to learn from each other and be seen and recognized for their expertise.
Work with your team: While this article is focused on Elizabeth’s work with Evolve, she is adamant that she didn’t do this alone. She credits her team with making it happen, as well as all of her colleagues who raised their hands to volunteer in ways big and small to support the program. She credits Justin as a dedicated and wonderful leader for the program’s next stage.
Elizabeth’s Advice for Fellow Cultivators:
Start at the top: When it comes to getting leadership buy-in, Elizabeth stresses the importance of face-time with stakeholders and leaders. Not only is it important to get their buy-in at the beginning of an initiative, but she also suggests you check in over the long term, reminding them of their investment, and its impact, and reminding them that their encouragement can drive employee adoption in the long-term.
Be conscious of the culture: Elizabeth recognizes that while change is a constant, most people don’t like change. Therefore it’s important to work with your colleagues, listen to their concerns, and learn about their needs before you move forward.
Set personal goals: At first, Evolve existed outside of Elizabeth’s role, meaning that that work didn’t factor into her development goals within the organization. So, she decided to make her own, working to be accountable to herself and the areas she wanted to grow and learn.
Follow your passion: Elizabeth has all of the skills, education, and experience to make a program successful, but what she kept coming back to in our conversation was passion as a catalyst for growth and change. Follow the thread of your own passion to find where you can make the most impact at work.