When most leaders think about improving performance, they jump straight to strategy, systems, and metrics. Jackie Applegate, incoming CEO of PBI Gordon, reminds us that caring for the people leads to true success.
Jackie defines organizational health as the balance between the smart and healthy sides of a company. The smart side includes the traditional business essentials—strategy, finance, technology, and operations. The healthy side is all about the people: trust, communication, clarity and morale.
A truly healthy organization minimizes politics, fosters psychological safety and ensures every person knows how their work contributes to the company’s goals.
1. Build Trust and Clarity from the Top Down
“Driving change is about cascading and information flow. With the leadership team at the very top and the level below… you're creating an environment where people are going to be open, share their perspectives and give opinions. You're going to build out clarity around your vision and purpose.” – Jackie Applegate
Healthy organizations don’t happen by accident. They’re built by leaders who make trust and transparency part of their daily routine. Jackie believes clarity is the antidote to confusion and disengagement. When people understand the why behind the work, they’re more likely to align around shared goals.
Action item: Jackie starts each day with a 15-minute leadership team check-in focused on alignment, not just updates. Revisit the vision, priorities and expectations often because clarity only sticks when it’s repeated and reinforced.
2. Treat Feedback as a Gift
“Feedback is a gift. You can choose to do something with it—or not. But when someone has the courage to give you feedback, you better self-reflect.” – Jackie Applegate
When Jackie stepped into her first business leadership role, she quickly learned that strong feedback—even when it stings—is the fastest route to growth. Instead of getting defensive, she used her team’s feedback to build trust and strengthen relationships.
Try: Create regular feedback loops at every level. Invite your team to share what’s working, what’s not and what support they need. As a team leader model how to receive feedback well.
3. Overcommunicate—Then Communicate Again
“You have to tell people something seven times for them to get it… Today, we’re bombarded with information, so leaders have to overcommunicate and make it clear.” – Jackie Applegate
She emphasizes that leaders should communicate in multiple ways because people process information differently. Some team members need to hear it, others need to see it and some need to write it down to truly absorb it. The goal, Jackie says, is to make sure everyone receives the message in a way that sticks for them.
Check in: Where are messages getting stuck? Add short daily or weekly touch points to reinforce priorities and use multiple channels to reach different types of learners.
The Bottom Line
Organizational health isn’t a “soft skill.” It’s the foundation of every strong, resilient business. As Jackie puts it, “If you get the people part right, the smart part will come.”
When leaders commit to trust, feedback and consistent communication, they cultivate environments where people and performance thrive together.
Learn more
Jackie is a wealth of knowledge around organizational health and leading a team forward. Check out her episode of The Cultivating Leaders Podcast, where Jackie takes a deeper dive into the tools needed to build a healthy organization and a sustainable career spanning many businesses.