#20: How to Create the Right Office Culture Online with Jeff Russell

Jeff Russell started as a journalist — he never could have guessed it would lead him to become the President and CEO of Delta Dental, the largest dental insurance carrier in Iowa with over one million members. The wide array of experiences Jeff encountered on his career journey prepared him to run a company, just not in the way you would think.

How exactly does journalism prepare you to run a company? Jeff breaks down what it’s like to get an assignment and write a story. Developing quick-thinking life skills made him more adaptable at work. Jeff is used to seizing opportunities when they strike, and he had the chance to step into multiple different roles as he worked his way up the corporate ladder.

However, when it comes to hiring his own employees, he doesn’t like to use the term “ladder.” He explains how that vertical-type thinking can narrow your perspective of the workforce. He prefers hiring people who have real-life experiences to rely on because it builds better teams and stronger leaders.

The pandemic really put a damper on those real-life experiences in the office setting, and we discuss how we’re all using technology to stay connected with our teams. Jeff is a tech guy at heart, and he shares what he’s doing to pivot and connect with his team in new ways.

Employee engagement is integral to the success of your business, but what does your company culture look like when you go remote? The best things happen organically when the whole team is together, and the most important questions we need to be asking ourselves as leaders are: How can I stay flexible? How can we reinvent collaboration for the online world?

Jeff is focused on fostering collaboration and inspiring spontaneous connections in the next year. He shares some of the new talent initiatives he’s planning and what it looks like to move his company culture forward in a digital office space. It takes a team to reinvent a company, and Jeff wants to keep planning ahead with his to see what the company can become for the next generation of customers and employees.