Episode #46
#245 - Healthcare Culture Strategy: Start With Compassion
Leadership Is a Verb, Not a Title — and New Hope Treatment Centers Is Proving It Featuring Tabitha Bramblett , Chief People Officer, New Hope Treatment Centers Most organizations promote their best performer into a leadership role and then wonder why everything falls apart. Tabitha decided to build the program that changes that — and she did it at a 500-person behavioral health organization serving kids and teens across four states. Luke and Bo sit down with Tabitha to talk about what leadership development actually looks like when you build it from scratch, why culture isn't a values poster, and what compassion has to do with your bottom line. ️ Building Leaders Before They Have the Title New Hope launched a formal emerging leaders program in partnership with CoEffX — an application and nomination process that gives aspiring leaders a chance to learn what leadership is and isn't before they're ever promoted. Graduates move into structured leadership cohorts with peer surveys built in. The result: people who don't actually want to lead opt out early, before a mismatched promotion creates a broken team and a gilded cage no one asked for. Action: If you have no program at all, Tabitha's first two steps — hire a learning and development coordinator and find a program partner — are the place to start. You don't have to build it from scratch. CoEffX (coeff-ex.com) is worth a look. ❤️ Compassion as an Operational Strategy New Hope built its entire culture framework — EPIC values: Excellence, Professionalism, Integrity, Compassion — around a single question: what if we started every interaction, with residents and teammates alike, with compassion? They operationalized it with loving-kindness meditations at shift start and major meetings. Their CEO modeled it personally during Tabitha's health challenges. Tabitha's direct line: turnover, vacancy rates, and time-to-fill are all downstream of how people feel about each other at work. The Recruiting Insight No One Talks About Tabitha still reads resumes intentionally — not because AI can't filter, but because people are more than buzzwords on a page. The interview isn't a checklist. It's a conversation. And the question isn't whether the candidate can do the job — it's whether they share the vision. Enjoying the show? Subscribe to The ASHHRA Podcast on your favorite podcast platform so you never miss an episode. AP3 Sponsor Read This episode is brought to you by AP3 — the ASHHRA Preferred Partner Program. Healthcare HR leaders are navigating rising costs, workforce shortages, and an overwhelming vendor landscape. AP3 cuts through the noise. Managed in collaboration with Lockton and backed by ASHHRA, AP3 is a governed ecosystem of vetted, healthcare-aligned solution providers across talent acquisition, benefits administration, workforce compliance, financial wellness, and employee engagement. Every partner is rigorously vetted. Every relationship is governed. Every solution is built for healthcare. No directories. No bidding wars. Just trusted partners proven to perform. Visit AP3.info to learn more and get connected with a partner. Take2 Sponsor Read This episode is brought to you by Take2 — a proud AP3 partner and the AI recruiting platform built specifically for healthcare. Hiring in healthcare is harder than ever — high-volume openings, hard-to-fill clinical roles, and recruiting teams stretched thin. Take2 changes that. Take2's AI agents automate the work that slows recruiters down — sourcing candidates, running outreach, screening and vetting applicants, scheduling interviews, and verifying licenses and certifications. It works around the clock, syncs directly into your ATS, and gives your recruiters hours back every week so they can focus on the people, not the process. From CNAs and EVS to RNs, APPs, and physicians, Take2 helps you hire faster across every role. Vetted through AP3. Built for healthcare. Proven to perform. Visit take2.ai/ashhra to learn more and get started. Support the show
