Individuals determine the success of an organization — that’s what Julie Tschida Brown believes, as the Chief People and Culture Officer at Zayo.
The path that led Julie to this position began not with people, but with finance, numbers, and statistics. Her work life, which Julie affectionately refers to as, “the intersection of human and financial capital,” began with a post-undergrad internship at a small investment advisory firm in Chicago. That internship led to full-time employment as a wealth management advisor. At 25 years old, she was trading millions of dollars and was a member of the first cohort of Morningstar advisory board.
In addition to being an advisor, Julie had to be a business operations leader. “My mindset coming in was: if there’s a problem, go solve it,” she says. “I didn’t understand job levels or grades or organizational boundaries… we all just leaned in.” Sometimes she was trading, other times she was answering the phone. After six years, she reached a crossroads where she needed either to buy into the business or move on to something else. While the “something else” wasn’t entirely clear, she moved on.
“My mindset coming in was: if there’s a problem, go solve it.”
A friend connected her with a Human Relations (HR) consulting firm in Chicago, where she focused on the financial services sector as an executive compensation consultant. This was Julie’s first foray into HR proper. While sitting in on countless boardroom meetings, she was able to see first-hand the interplay between senior management and the board of directors. She also learned how important it is to factor people into business decisions, the importance of motivating and connecting their work with the business.
These early glimpses set the stage for the core beliefs she applies and leads with today, at Zayo. As the head of HR, Julie is both empathetic and business-oriented. She is not overly concerned with the hard parameters of titles and job descriptions and places more emphasis on the soft skills that facilitate human connection.
“I went into my early career thinking it’s all about monetizing assets, and it didn’t take me long to learn that it’s all about people,” she says. “The real trick is engaging and motivating a workforce to help drive business goals.”
Julie says there are three key interrelated pieces for motivating and engaging your workforce:
- The most important relationship is the one your employees have with their manager. Managers should listen to their employees and be attuned to what they care about.
- Managers must lead with clarity and always provide context. Employees at every level should understand what they’re doing and how it ties into the greater good of the organization. That allows you to provide a solution, not just complete a task.
- The environment should allow employees to contribute and do their best work. Actions and behaviors must align with stated goals and values.
This advice ties directly into two of Zayo’s values — “Win Together,” as teams collaborate, bring positive energy, invite diverse perspectives, and celebrate success, and “Drive Excellence,” through solutions, service excellence, and elevating our work.
Julie and her People and Culture teams continue to prioritize the people at Zayo — to connect, evolve and empower them, reinforcing the foundation of the company’s success. Because after all, without people, there is no capital.