The Book

Building High Performance Cultures through Empathy

UNCOMFORTABLE INCLUSION

When Joe Ferreira took over at Nevada Donor Network, the company was in complete disarray. A regulatory review revealed substandard performance, underreporting, governance and accountability shortfalls, and no substantive plan for the future. What most would view as a lost cause, Joe viewed as an opportunity. Because what he saw wasn’t a fundamentally flawed organization founded on a bad idea. Rather a toxic company culture that reverberated throughout the organization.

Leadership made decisions that didn’t make sense to employees and offered little explanation. Indifference was pervasive, even though some employees believed in the mission of their Organ Procurement Organization (OPO), there was no support system in place for them to affect change. The workforce was completely adrift, with no goals, no understanding of how their roles played into the bigger picture, and what the overall company strategy was. In short, the organization had a transparency crisis.

It was leading this transformation—and a lifetime of overcoming obstacles—that led to Joe Ferreira writing Uncomfortable Inclusion. Always a leader who’s worn his emotions on his sleeve, Joe’s proven principles start with a people-centric perspective on high performance. Ferreira’s system of transparency, employee engagement, accountability, and inclusion announces an end to the siloed days of top-down, need-to-know leadership.

Ferreira’s brand of uncomfortable inclusion relies on deep transparency. Going beyond sharing KPIs and reviewing OKRs, Joe’s challenge to leaders is to make themselves uncomfortable with maximum inclusion of the team and their colleagues at all levels. It won’t be easy, but your employees should know exactly where the business stands, where it’s headed, what strategies will be involved in getting there, and how their role contributes to the company’s overall success. What’s more, they should have a voice in defining those critical objectives.

With an engaged workforce that feels heard, informed, and clear on their contributions, it’s possible to change the future of any organization and build a high performance culture at work and in life.

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Testimonials

“Joe Ferreira transformed Nevada Donor Network from a near crumbling Organ Procurement Organization to an innovative, high performing organization. When Joe came to Nevada Donor Network, he made every effort to listen to what each employee had to say about the organization and the leadership; and implement changes to better the culture. He clearly communicated his vision for Nevada Donor Network with all team members and asked for their support in changing the direction of operations to set meaningful goals, but not to just talk about it, be about it. Leadership was empowered to make real change in our community and implement new ideas and ways of operating, that with his support and guidance has led Nevada Donor Network to be a national leader in Organ Procurement Organizations.”

- Jenna Dumas,­ Community Development Manager,­ Nevada Donor Network, Inc.

” I have had the opportunity to witness Joe Ferreira lead our organ procurement organization’s growth from one of the lowest performers to the top performer in the United States in a few years’ time! Joe’s leadership style of inclusion of voices at every level shows his strength and dedication to “employees first” and “every voice matters”, which brought forth ideas and opportunities that had not been sought out prior to his arrival. His determination and top-notch engagement with staff have been pivotal attributes in our success as an organization, that our marked growth and change would have been impossible without. I’m proud to have the privilege of working under Joe’s leadership, where our embodied culture and strength resonate throughout the organization.”

- Heather Osipowicz, Manager of Hospital Services, Nevada Donor Network, Inc.

” It was evident from day one that Joe came to the Nevada Donor Network with purpose; knowing that we not only needed a strong leader with a plan, but needed someone who would be very intentional about their follow through to make it happen. He took the time to get to know the team individually and created an unexpected, but necessary, shift in the culture at NDN through his honest and transparent style of leading. When you work for someone that you respect and know that their intentions are to support and grow the staff however possible, you inevitably work harder and strive for a higher level of excellence in your daily tasks. Strong leadership is what has made NDN into the highest performing OPO in the world.”

- Joi Surgeon, Donation Services Supervisor, Nevada Donor Network

” Joe Ferreira’s humble and successful leadership restored confidence in the organization through the development and empowerment of NDN’s team members. He carried a super aura that enveloped the entire organization by the development of strong, loyal and modest leaders that were able to drive employee engagement. Allowing his focus to be on the “Bottom Up Theory” he was able to take the organization from the brink of regulatory closure to the best OPO in the Universe.”

- Rebecca Nicholas
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