How culture, care, and curiosity are shaping the future at Optima Living
At Optima Living, leadership doesn’t just happen behind the scenes. It shows up front and centre in our communities and our support offices every day.
It might look like someone jumping in to make pancakes when a shift needs extra support. Or our leaders asking, “What do you think is the right thing to do?” instead of just giving directions.
Underneath it all is the trust that comes with knowing our values guide our decisions and define what leadership means at Optima.
In the latest episode of Optima Living TV, three of our leaders sit down to talk about leadership, culture, and trust.
One thing comes through clearly: leadership here isn’t about hierarchy. It’s about empowering our people to bring our values and North Star to life.
A different way to lead
A lot of organizations still operate top down. Decisions flow one way, and people follow.
At Optima Living, we’re committed to working together.
Community leaders are entrusted to deliver on our North Star – Let us welcome you home. It’s a simple idea that guides everyone from Human Resources to Hospitality, in our communities and among our support teams.
Our North Star and commitment to People, Place and Community shapes our decisions in real time. They aren’t just ideas we think about sometimes; they sit at the core of what we do every day.
Culture is what happens when no one’s watching
When you watch or listen to the episode, you’ll notice a moment in the conversation where Regional Operations Manager Samantha Stewart recalls being a new Optima team member. She brought a problem to her manager, expecting to be told what to do.
Instead, she was asked, What do you think is the right thing to do?
That’s the Optima Way.
You can write down values, and you can build processes, but culture shows up in what people actually do, and how our teams talk about us, not the other way around.
Growth doesn’t follow one path
One of the more interesting parts of the conversation is how leadership develops in unexpected ways at Optima Living.
People don’t always join us planning to lead. In many cases, they grow into it.
“There are so many different ways for people to grow in the organization, and it’s really exciting to see that happen,” explains Samantha. “And we have programs that encourage our teams to continue to grow.”
Our leadership development programs like Rising Star and Illuminate support that growth, but just as often our people become leaders through day-to-day experiences.
“If someone joins Optima with the right attitude and the desire to be a leader, we’re going to help them get there,” emphasizes Chief Operating Officer Angela Grottoli.
We invite you to get to know us better with this episode
This blog captures a few moments from the conversation, but the full episode brings those experiences to life in a deeper way.
We invite you to watch the full episode and discover how Let us welcome you home™ doesn’t just apply to our residents at Optima Living, but our team members, too.