40 Trillion Cells: Leadership Driving the Head and the Heart

Welcome to the beginning of a new blog series focusing on leadership, written by our Co-Founder and Co-CEO Brad Stroh!

How many cells are in the human body? I’ll be honest, I didn’t know this one off the top of my head and when I searched, the number was even greater than I expected: 30-40 trillion cells. A human organism is a large and complex system. And while each individual has thoughts, goals, desires, challenges and feelings, it all comes back to these tiny trillions of cells working together to move the human organism forward.

When I think of Achieve, in many ways it's like the human body. A complex system of people, processes, data, experiences and technology that work together in service of a common goal. But unlike the human body, Achieve doesn’t have a brain or a heartbeat. It takes great leaders to create that pulse and drive their teams forward while inspiring our teammates through two distinct and important areas of focus: intentional management principles and inspired leadership.

Remove the Ambiguity: When we talk about ambiguity we think about lack of clarity, questions about priorities, or even organizational support for the project we’re working on. Through intentional management principles focused on clarity and simplicity, we remove the questions and enable the individual to clear their head. This means a simple and straightforward definition of roles, responsibilities, outcomes and success metrics. We also need to provide an unambiguous definition of what compensation, incentives, tools, training and support we are offering them to help them reach those goals. By providing and emphasizing this clarity, each team member understands their expectations, how they are expected to reach those goals and then how they will be rewarded when they do. This clarity removes questions and fears but also provides the empowerment to believe in one's ability to succeed. Great leaders continuously reinforce the definition. 

Inspiration at the Heart: Some of the greatest leaders I know focus more on inspiring from the heart. Are you listening to your team? Are you motivating your team? Do you understand what drives them each day?

At Achieve, our mission is simple – to help everyday people get on the path to a better financial future. It’s about understanding the specific situation each member faces, the challenges or hardships they are experiencing and the goals and objectives they are working toward. Then, using our two decades’ worth of experience, our empathetic support and our amazing treasure trove of data, we help them change their future for the better. We want our teammates to feel pride and joy in the work that they do and in the outcomes they support.

That same personalization we offer our members also extends to our teammates by prioritizing a culture of CARE. Weekly check-ins, career goal discussions, even a casual conversation about what’s going on with their kids or family – it’s about connecting at a human level. A huge part of what makes Achieve successful is that we’ve fostered a workplace where everyone belongs. They can bring their authentic selves to work each day and know that respect, safety, support and kindness are at the root of every interaction. That trust and understanding builds and retains award-winning teams.

When we have clarity at the head and inspiration at the heart, our complex organism functions perfectly, grows and succeeds.

How are you leading and inspiring your teams?