Lucia Guillory
Chief People Officer
Virta Health
Episode 167
HR's Growth Paradox: Why Releasing Control Fuels Success in Dynamic Orgs
Current chapter: Built by People podcast features insights from world's top HR leaders
Built By PeopleMay 30, 2025 · 11:05
Thesis
“In dynamic, rapidly growing organizations, HR leaders must prioritize operational excellence and foster authentic connections through transparency, gratitude, and ritualized experiences, while embracing adaptability and releasing the illusion of control to achieve sustained success.”
Show notes
In the span of a few months, Virta Health went fully remote and went through a significant reduction in force. Most organizations struggle to survive one of those events with their culture intact. Lucia Guillory navigated both simultaneously — and came out with an engagement framework she’s been refining ever since.
As Chief People Officer at Virta Health, Lucia’s approach to that period of upheaval was built on a principle she calls extreme transparency: quantitative explanations for the RIF, honest conversations about the remote transition, even data collection on how employees actually felt about the new normal. It was the kind of communication most organizations avoid when things are hard — and it’s precisely what kept the Virta team from fracturing. From that foundation, she built a three-part connection framework — purpose, gratitude, ritual — that now runs through every program her team designs, including Hub Week, a quarterly initiative where remote employees across the U.S. gather in their local communities to create something together, typically centered on food and health, the ethos of Virta’s mission.
The other thread in this conversation is quieter but just as important: Lucia’s honesty about the internal work of leadership. She reframes self-doubt not as a flaw but as a signal — part of self-awareness, worth calibrating rather than suppressing. And her parting advice cuts to something most leaders resist: releasing the illusion of control isn’t weakness, it’s the precondition for becoming genuinely adaptable.
- Radical transparency during crisis — how Virta communicated a RIF and a remote transition simultaneously, and why honesty was the only strategy that worked
- The three-part connection framework — purpose, gratitude, and ritual as the design principles behind every remote engagement program
- Hub Week in practice — how a quarterly community-based initiative creates belonging across a fully distributed workforce
- Operational excellence as the highest-leverage HR move — why getting the basics right builds more trust and influence than sophisticated strategic projects
- Self-doubt as self-awareness — how to manage it in a productive range rather than trying to eliminate it
- Releasing the illusion of control — the leadership mindset shift that makes you more adaptable to inevitable organizational waves
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What you'll take away
- 1Implement extreme transparency during major organizational shifts (like RIFs or remote transitions) to maintain trust and cohesion, gathering employee data to inform decisions.
- 2Develop a remote connection framework centered on purpose-driven IRL events, gratitude-based experiences, and recurring rituals to foster belonging and combat isolation.
- 3Prioritize operational excellence in HR during hyper-growth phases, as it builds influence and trust, and has a greater impact on engagement than purely bespoke strategic projects.
- 4View self-doubt as a component of self-awareness, aiming to manage it within a reasonable range to motivate reflection or action, rather than attempting to eliminate it entirely.
- 5Leaders should release the illusion of control to become more adaptable and effective in navigating inevitable organizational challenges with empathy.
What most organizations get wrong
- •She challenges the conventional view that strategic HR work is always bespoke and that the business always knows what it needs, advocating for operational excellence as a more impactful starting point.
- •Suggests that operational excellence can drive employee engagement more effectively than traditional, 'long-form, more strategic seeming projects'.
- •Presents self-doubt as a potentially beneficial aspect of self-awareness, rather than a weakness to be eradicated, advising leaders to manage it constructively.
In Lucia's words
“Well, so like many companies, Virta transitioned to being fully remote in the context of the pandemic. So we had both this change to the way that we worked, and then we also had a reduction in force around the same time. So a lot of big shocks to the system all happening at once.”
Highlights the complex, multi-faceted challenges faced by organizations during rapid and simultaneous transformations.
“So Talking about the riff, exactly why it happened from a quantitative perspective, from how that was gonna influence our business moving forward. And then also talking about the decision to become fully remote for the long term and taking into account how the business and the various teams felt about that. So we had a number of live conversations, we even gathered data, and then we said, you know, this is what people actually want.”
Emphasizes the critical role of extreme transparency and data-driven communication during sensitive organizational changes to maintain trust.
“And then third, we found that that shift to operational excellence has had a bigger impact on engagement than these more long-form, more strategic seeming projects have over their their lifetime.”
Provides a counter-intuitive insight that fundamental operational improvements can significantly boost employee engagement more than grander, 'strategic' initiatives.
“Well, I would say self-doubt is part of self-awareness, so I recognize the benefit of it and I have been most focused on trying to dial it down within myself to being in a reasonable range... as opposed to necessarily trying to get rid of it altogether?”
Offers a nuanced perspective on managing self-doubt, reframing it as a valuable aspect of self-awareness rather than a flaw to be eliminated.
“One that I really love is called Hub Week, and it is one week a quarter where Vertons all over the US can decide to come together in their local communities and create something for that community. And typically a lot of these experiences are around food and health because that is the ethos of our organization.”
Illustrates a creative and effective program for fostering community and purpose-driven connection in a distributed, remote workforce.
“And so, you know, my thought would be if you can, if you can release that presumption of control, you can become more adaptable and more effective at dealing with the inevitable waves that you're going to be experiencing.”
Encourages leaders to embrace adaptability and resilience by letting go of the need for absolute control in dynamic environments.
The problems this episode addresses
- •Maintaining team cohesion and culture during simultaneous, significant organizational shocks like transitions to remote work and reductions in force.
- •The challenge of making HR's work impactful and 'strategic' in hyper-growth environments where business needs are fluid and not always clearly defined.
- •Leaders struggling with self-doubt and the tendency to catastrophize, needing strategies to manage these feelings constructively rather than suppress them.
- •Fostering connections and collaboration within highly distributed teams, especially when the organization comprises diverse professional entities (e.g., medical providers and technical staff).
- •Leaders who feel compelled to maintain an illusion of control, which can hinder their adaptability and effectiveness in navigating complex, unpredictable business environments.
In this episode
Built by People podcast features insights from world's top HR leaders
Built by People
Virta transitioned to being fully remote in the context of the pandemic
Virta Health's transition to fully Remote Work
We want to drive connection, not only amongst individuals, but also connection to purpose
What is the Connectivity Framework at Work?
Lucia says personal growth can lead to improved leadership skills
Three Step Processes for Personal Growth
Usha, how do you address self-doubt or unlearned habits
How to Deal With Self-Doubt
Virta helps create connections and collaboration within a distributed team
Creating Connections and Collaboration within a Remote Team
Dave: Lucia, what parting advice would you share with our community
Lucia On Leaping the Illusion of Control
Topics covered
Organizations and entities mentioned
Full transcript
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