Stop Measuring Your Work by Your To-Do List

Most people think they're being evaluated on what they’ve done.

Lindsey would tell you it's actually about what happened because of what you did.

There's a difference between completing a task and owning an outcome. She's spent her career building teams that understand that difference, and in this issue of Landed Not Handed, she breaks down how she hires for it, leads for it, and looks for it in herself.

Tell us about your career journey. How did you get to where you are today?

My career is nonlinear, like many careers, but I didn't go into it with a specific objective. I knew I wanted to be in healthcare, so everything I've done has been in that space. My master's degree is in health policy, and after grad school, I worked on Capitol Hill for a bit. That experience has been so valuable. If you have the opportunity, take it, even if it's unpaid, because it gives you a real appreciation for how things work in this country and how individuals can impact that.

From there, I went into consulting, which gave me access to so many different environments. I was focused on healthcare and government contracts, CMS, and FDA, and it gave me an appreciation for how intricate the healthcare system is and how many moving pieces there are. After consulting, I came back to Chattanooga and worked at Blue Cross of Tennessee, which helped me understand payer operations. Then I moved to Catholic Health Initiatives, now Common Spirit, to get the provider side.

All of those steps were helping me connect the dots. My brain works in big-picture thinking, and when I can connect all the little dots, it helps me see that picture more clearly. My personal mission has always been to make healthcare more accessible, a better experience for all stakeholders: providers, payers, ancillaries, and the patient at the center. That mission has guided every decision, even when the path wasn't straight. I'm now a Director of Market Strategy at a healthcare tech company, looking at the competitive landscape and how we best serve our clients.

What are the key takeaways from your career that you'd want others to learn from?

Collaboration is a game-changer. There are plenty of people who feel like they have to prove themselves by doing things on their own, and while demonstrating capability is great, if you aren't thinking about the big picture and how everyone around you plays a part in the solution, you're missing something. The people who pull others in, cross-departmentally, even across industries, before making decisions or going off on a project alone, are the people who make the biggest impact.

The other key takeaway from my career has been learning how to lead with empathy while still holding people accountable. I know empathy gets a lot of airtime, but I mean it in a specific way. Accountability and empathy are inseparable. Holding people accountable for outcomes and for their responsibilities is empathetic. It makes them a better team member and a better person long-term. That balance is hard, but the leaders I've most respected are the ones who can balance both.

You work remotely but emphasize connection. How do you actually build relationships across an organization from a distance?

A few things that have proven to work in my experience: 

• Use your chat tool (Slack, Teams, etc.).

  • Say hi to people even when you don't need anything. 

  • Take time to actually know who they are. Remember that they have kids, or a dog, or they like coffee. 

• Try to help. 

  • If you know someone's working on a deck and it's not your project, say, "Do you want a second set of eyes on that?" Everyone's busy, and it's easy to stay heads-down on your own work, but by reaching out and helping people, you'll get that same support back when you need it.

How would you describe your ideal team player?

Curious and accountable. They’re curious about the “why.” They want to understand how the dots connect. And they’re accountable not just for the tasks they're given, but for the greater outcome. That ownership of outcome is what connects you to the other people involved. Those are the team members you want with you.

What's a common mistake you see that harms team culture?

It’s a huge mistake when people are too narrowly focused on their own individual tasks. Think about it as outcome versus task. When you're only focused on completing your list and not thinking about whether your work actually served the overall goal, that's where things break down. Especially in cross-functional environments, success really comes from understanding what's important to everyone else and making sure your piece is aligned. 

I try to reinforce this as a leader by making sure everyone understands the context: why are we doing this, how does it connect to the organizational strategy, and ultimately, how does it make healthcare better?

What do you look for when you're hiring?

I look at how people think. Not just "tell me a time when you did X," tell me how you solved the problem. What resources did you use? How did you get there? That tells me far more about how someone will fit into the culture I've built than a list of accomplishments.

I've also found that some of the best hires don't have the traditional background. What they do have is deep domain understanding, strong problem-solving instincts, and a real connection to the customer's problem. If you can walk into an interview and show that you understand who their customer is and what challenge they're trying to solve, that's going to take you so much further than the right degree or the right prior experience.

For job seekers who only check 60% of the job description, any advice on getting in the door?

Get to a human if you can. If you know anyone at the company, even a second-degree connection, even someone totally unrelated to the role, reach out. Tell them your why. Why do you want to be part of this company, and what can you bring? They can often connect you to HR or the hiring manager. It doesn't guarantee anything, but it moves you further along than the screening algorithm will.

What's one piece of advice you'd leave with job seekers?

Understand the problem the company is trying to solve, and understand who their customer is and what their problem is. Not just your role, but how is the overall organization solving the client's problem? That's how you stand out, both as a candidate and once you're in the role. Every decision you make gets better when you truly understand the people you're serving. Get in front of your customer whenever you can and actually listen to what they say, not just what you think their problem is.

What skill or trait do you think is essential moving forward?

Know how to work with AI, and do it ethically. But more than that: the ability to take complex problems and synthesize them into clear, actionable insights. AI can help you do that, but it can't replace it yet. It doesn't have your industry experience, your client relationships, your judgment. That's where people can focus. Take complexity and turn it into insight.

Thank you so much for sharing, Linsdey.

If you'd like to connect with Lindsey or learn more about her work, find her on LinkedIn here.