Amy Stengel
Chief People Officer
Best Egg Personal Loans
Episode 175
Unlock Hybrid Work Success: Foster Inclusive Culture with Empathetic Leaders
Current chapter: Built by People podcast features insights from world's top HR leaders
Built By PeopleMay 26, 2025 · 15:13
Thesis
“Fostering an inclusive culture, driven by empathetic leadership and a 'common language' through shared tools and values, is paramount for business success and employee connection, especially in a hybrid work environment.”
Show notes
Amy Stengel has a counterintuitive take on hybrid work: the biggest mistake organizations make is trying to replicate the in-person experience online. It doesn't work — and the attempt distracts from the real task, which is rethinking how work gets done altogether.
As Chief People Officer at Best Egg, Amy has spent years at the intersection of inclusive culture and hybrid strategy — two topics that sound distinct but, in her experience, are deeply entangled. Her argument is direct: if you don't have a culture where people feel they can show up and succeed, no diversity initiative will work. Inclusion isn't a program you bolt on; it's the foundation everything else runs on. At Best Egg, that foundation was built through an Executive Inclusive Culture Council and four leadership traits — empathy, curiosity, courage, and humility — that Amy is quick to note aren't really DEI traits at all. They're just what good leadership looks like.
The hybrid work half of this conversation is equally concrete. Amy's team redesigned work around outcomes rather than hours, created Slack channels that mirror physical proximity for distributed teams, and deployed DiSC profiles not just as a self-awareness tool but as a shared leadership language — including a manager toolkit for giving feedback based on each employee's DiSC profile. Her parting concept — the "Platinum Rule" — is worth remembering: if the Golden Rule is treat others how you'd want to be treated, the Platinum Rule is treat others how they want to be treated. The difference is everything in a workforce made up of people with genuinely different preferences.
- Inclusive culture as the prerequisite — why diversity efforts consistently underperform without a foundation where people believe they can succeed
- The four traits of inclusive leaders — empathy, curiosity, courage, and humility as both DEI and general leadership competencies
- Redesigning work for hybrid — shifting from hours-based to outcome-based management and why "walking around management" doesn't translate online
- DiSC as an organizational language — using profiles not just for self-awareness but as a practical manager tool for communication and feedback
- Slack for proximity — how digital channels can create the informal connection that in-person hallways once provided
- The Platinum Rule — treating people the way they want to be treated, not the way you would, as the core of adaptive leadership
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What you'll take away
- 1Prioritize inclusive culture as the foundation; diversity initiatives will struggle without it, as people need to feel they can succeed.
- 2Redesign work around desired outcomes rather than traditional hours to effectively manage and measure productivity in hybrid environments.
- 3Develop leaders focusing on empathy, curiosity, courage, and humility – traits crucial for both inclusive practices and overall leadership effectiveness.
- 4Utilize tools like the DiSC profile and team health sessions to build self-awareness, foster understanding of diverse work styles, and improve team dynamics.
- 5Create a 'common language' through core values, shared frameworks, and consistent communication to enhance connection and clarity among employees in distributed settings.
What most organizations get wrong
- •Making hybrid work successful is not about replicating the in-person experience online; it requires a complete rethinking of the approach to work.
- •Managers must move beyond 'old-school management by walking around' and concerns about visible productivity, instead focusing on outcomes and trust in a hybrid setting.
In Amy's words
“The journey for me has always been about trying to get closer and closer to the things that really interest me, ignite my passions, and align with my skill set.”
This quote highlights a personal philosophy of career progression driven by passion and alignment, which is relatable for many professionals.
“If you don't have the culture that allows people to show up and do their best and see opportunity for their own success, anything you're doing on the diversity front is not likely to succeed.”
Emphasizes that a strong, inclusive culture is a prerequisite for successful diversity initiatives, not just an add-on.
“We focused on 4 key traits. And so those are empathy, curiosity, courage, and humility. And when you look at those attributes, they really drive what we think of as inclusive culture, but they're honestly also just good leadership traits.”
Defines core leadership attributes that are universally beneficial, not just specific to inclusion, making them highly actionable.
“Making hybrid work successful is not about replicating the in-person experience online. It just doesn't work.”
This challenges a common misconception about hybrid work, advocating for a fundamental shift in approach rather than simply digitalizing old practices.
“If the Golden Rule is treat others how you'd want to be treated, the Platinum Rule is treat others how they'd like to be treated. And then you could be much more effective because you're adapting your style to what their preferences are.”
Introduces the 'Platinum Rule' as a powerful framework for personalized interaction and building more effective, inclusive relationships.
“Creating a common language for the employees really helps people, especially across hybrid environments, to connect.”
Offers concise, practical advice on fostering connection and understanding in a geographically dispersed workforce through shared frameworks.
The problems this episode addresses
- •Companies struggle to acknowledge and create understanding around DEI challenges, especially connecting them to tangible business results.
- •Securing executive-level alignment and belief in the business reasons for driving inclusive culture remains a significant hurdle.
- •Scaling inclusive culture initiatives beyond a small HR team to impact the entire organization is difficult.
- •Managers accustomed to 'management by walking around' struggle with trust and productivity monitoring in hybrid work environments.
- •Inconsistent application of company policies across different teams or managers leads to employee frustration and perceived unfairness.
- •Ineffective or excessive status update meetings consume valuable time that could be used for collaboration, connection, or team building.
- •Interpersonal tensions and misunderstandings arise within teams due to differing communication styles and work preferences.
- •Embedding core values into daily employee experience, rather than them being static statements, is a challenge, particularly in remote settings.
In this episode
Built by People podcast features insights from world's top HR leaders
Built by People
Dave Vestegg has had a nontraditional path into HR
Catherine Vestegg on Her Career Journey
Best Egg implemented inclusive leadership practices to improve diversity, equity and inclusion
Best Egg Company's Inclusive Culture
Patrick Len: The hybrid work environment is here to stay
Leadership Skills for the Hybrid Work Environment
DiSC is an assessment tool that is really accessible for people within organizations
The Inclusive Leadership Skills Training
Creating a common language for employees helps across hybrid environments, Amy says
Amy Daniels on Built by People
Topics covered
Organizations and entities mentioned
Full transcript
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