April 18, 2025 • 25 mins
Welcome to Culture Rebooted. A podcast from HR Rebooted. As a fractional Chief People Officer, Michelle Strasburger helps CEOs of fast-growing companies realign leadership actions with the culture you want to build. She enables your teams to re-engage, your leaders to unite, and your company to scale without losing its identity. On this podcast, Michelle and her guests share their insights on how to establish a winning organizational culture.
Today we met with Dominique St. Fleur from Intramark. Dominique shares his insights on culture, growth and scaling while keeping culture strong. He also shares some nuggets for Startup CEOs.
Learn more about Intramark at www.intramark.io or on their LinkedIn profile at https://www.linkedin.com/company/intramark
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
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SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
Welcome to Culture Rebooted, a podcast from HR
Rebooted.
As a fractional chief peopleofficer, Michelle Strasberger
helps CEOs of fast-growingcompanies realign leadership
actions with the culture youwant to build.
She enables your teams tore-engage, your leaders to
unite, and your company to scalewithout losing its identity.
(00:22):
On this podcast, Michelle andher guests share their insights
on how to establish a winningorganizational culture.
Enjoy the show.
SPEAKER_04 (00:29):
Thank you for joining us today on Culture
Rebooted.
I'm Michelle Strasberger, andtoday we are joined by a good
friend of mine and startup CEO,Dominique St.
Floor.
Dominique is the CEO ofIntramark.
(00:51):
Welcome, Dominique.
SPEAKER_03 (00:52):
Michelle, thank you so much for having me.
I really do appreciate it.
Looking forward to this.
SPEAKER_04 (00:57):
I'm excited too.
This is going to be the firstsession.
So we're kicking it off on ahigh note.
We're going to talk today a lotabout culture.
It's in the name of the podcast,Culture Rebooted, but that'll be
our main focus.
But let's kick things off.
Can you share a bit about yourcompany's growth journey so far?
What has been the most excitingpart of scaling your team and
operations?
SPEAKER_03 (01:16):
Absolutely.
And so just a quick bit aboutIntramark.
Our purpose is to create a datalayer on culture.
And what that helps us do isidentify hidden risks and
opportunities withinorganizations, whether it be
unwanted turnover over orproductivity gaps.
And so Intramark is a relativelynew organization.
We take a unique approach todoing this.
We call it a hybrid approach.
So part software, partconsulting.
(01:38):
But a very key part of ourgrowth journey has been
founder-led growth, founder-ledrelationships, founder-led
sales.
And so given my background, Icome from a pretty technical
background.
And so in starting a neworganization, You wear many,
many hats.
And I'm fortunate to really leanon a great team.
(01:59):
But in that journey, we're stillwearing a lot of hats.
And one of the hats that I'mwearing is going out there in
the market, explaining what wedo, and building relationships
to add value.
In that process, it's a skillset from a founder-led sales
perspective, which is a littlebit newer for me than anything
(02:20):
else.
it's both exciting and scary.
And so part of the growthjourney has been learning this
new skill of communicating valueproposition very succinctly,
really taking someone Fromreally not understanding or
knowing you or your product oryour company to really having a
(02:40):
crisp understanding of what itis and how you add value in a
very short amount of time.
Because attention spans, we'reall busy, all of those factors
come into play.
And so that's been aninteresting skill that's been a
very exciting part of our growthjourney.
And so I'd say that that's onebucket.
Another great, interestingbucket is really, you know,
being fortunate to have a great,great team around me.
(03:03):
building those relationships,understanding everyone on the
team is motivated and whatthey're interested in, all just
very different aspects andpersonalities to cater to.
And me as a founder and CEO, Ireally look at my team as my
primary customer.
(03:24):
And so my job is to, as best asI can, create a product that's
attractive for the team, so thatwe can continue to execute on a
product that's attractive forthe customer.
So that's kind of my philosophythere.
So it's been exciting.
And so those two buckets, thosetwo aspects, one, going to
market, forming relationships,founder-led sales, and two,
really serving my team as bestas possible so that we can go to
(03:47):
market as best as possible.
So it's been exciting and it'sbeen quite motivating amongst
many other things I could sayabout that.
SPEAKER_04 (03:56):
I'm sure you just made a bunch of HR people that
are listening to this podcastvery happy when you said that
your customers or your employeesare your first customers.
I like that perspective, and Ithink that helps ground what
you're doing.
As you said, your team wearsmany hats, and in many startups,
that's not uncommon where youhave to wear many hats.
(04:16):
I've worked in startups whereI'm an HR person, but I'm also
helping build sales strategy andthings like that.
So That just happens.
So how do you, in that, ensurethat you've aligned your
leadership team's priorities oryour team's priorities with the
cultural values of yourorganization?
So
SPEAKER_03 (04:36):
our number one value for Intramark is deliver trust.
A lot of other organizations mayhave a longer list of values.
But for us, I think if we focuson that central value, for us,
everything else is going to flowthrough that, from that.
And so delivering trust for usis delivering on our brand
promise as far as what we claimwe can do, we deliver on that.
(04:59):
And we deliver on that whilemaintaining the trust and
integrity of our brand and thetrust of our customers and the
wider base of stakeholders thatwe serve.
And so it's really just doingwhat we say we're going to do in
a way that is, again, somethingthat we could proudly speak
about on the front page of anewspaper.
(05:20):
And so that's kind of our litmustest.
And so as long as we delivertrust in the market, we feel
like everything else is going toflow through that.
And so our central focus isthat.
And Michelle, remind me thesecond portion of what you
wanted me to address.
SPEAKER_04 (05:36):
Were there any gaps?
Have you found any gaps ormisalignments in the process of
ensuring the team is alignedwith that value?
SPEAKER_03 (05:44):
Yeah.
And so it's more aboutcommunicating what that value
is.
And me as a leader, I could do alot better job of making sure
that we're communicating thatmuch more frequently.
And so I think that's somethingthat is quite common is that
we're so focused on the work anddelivering the work that we want
(06:09):
to make sure that we also havetime to, again, communicate The
values of the organizationreally take time to reflect and
also measure whether or notwe're delivering on values.
And so whatever your values maybe as an organization, there
should be some pretty strong andclear metrics that help you
understand whether or not theorganization's sticking to those
(06:30):
values.
So there should be KPIs next toeach of the values that an
organization really thinksabout.
And for us, it's, you know, aswe're going into the market, you
know, we're understanding whatcustomer needs are and we're
developing metrics and KPS andOKRs around delivering trust.
And so our list is currentlyevolving.
But as far as, you know, keepingthe team aligned on that, the
(06:52):
goal for one of our goals for2025 is to start incorporating
metrics around delivering trustthat the team could really start
to rally around and we can havesome objective measures.
on whether or not we'reachieving that outcome.
And so it's just not aboutsaying that we deliver trust.
It's also measuring that overtime and having conversations
(07:13):
and realignment exercises aroundthose values.
SPEAKER_04 (07:17):
I like that.
I think that's a key piece ishaving KPI.
So it's not just values on thewall.
You're actually ensuring thatthe organization is practicing
it because we do what we aremeasured on.
In organizations, right, asemployees, we're going to focus
on what we're measured on.
So if we're not measured on thevalues, then we can forget them.
It can kind of go by thewayside.
So I like that.
(07:38):
That's really key.
Are there examples you couldshare about how you would
measure a KPI for trust?
SPEAKER_03 (07:44):
Absolutely.
Our best measure for that is toask the customer.
And so a part of our process,and our organization, we're
focused on really helpingfacilitate feedback.
And we'd be remiss if we didn'tdo that for ourselves.
And so really having frankconversations with customers and
giving customers the space.
(08:05):
So, you know, with our team,right, we may have certain team
members that deliver on thework.
Then we could have other teammembers that really ask the
frank questions on how therelationship, the health of the
relationship and whether or nottrust was maintained or built on
or, you know, is that headingthe right direction.
So I think feedback fromcustomers is a great, really
giving the customer room to givehonest feedback apart from the
(08:29):
direct service provider that'son the team is part of the
strategy to collect that honestfeedback.
And then really from there, it'sabout, and one of our goals for
2025 is have a more completelist of ways or metrics that we
can measure this.
But I think that's where we'reat as a starting point Where we
(08:51):
think we can get to as well isstart to quantitatively start to
digest different touch pointsthat we're being taught, you
know, that Intramark as a brandis coming up and start scoring
those discussions or talkingpoints to have an objective
measure of, as best as we can,of how the market may view
Intramark as well.
(09:11):
That's going to be a longer termplay, but short term, what's
always accessible to us is askfor direct feedback from the
customer and giving the customerroom.
to provide that honest feedbackin a safe space and then start
measuring ourselves there andthen having discussions and
realignments internally aroundthose feedback points.
SPEAKER_04 (09:36):
As a leader, what lessons have you learned about
balancing the pressures of rapidgrowth with the needs to
maintain a cohesive culture andaligned leadership?
SPEAKER_03 (09:44):
Great question.
When it comes to growth, whattypically happens is the smaller
the organization, the moredefined the culture.
But over time, what tends tohappen is a bit of culture
drift.
So as more and more people startjoining the organization, what
tends to happen is if you wereto take someone from the outside
(10:07):
looking at the organization andstart to take a look at what
leadership wants the culture tobe versus what the culture
actually is, there's usually agap.
And so for our stage as anorganization, smaller
organization that's growing, howdo we prevent, how do we think
about preventing that ormitigating that or getting
(10:27):
realignment?
For larger organizations andcustomers that we serve, how do
we help them get thatrealignment back?
And so I think that's super,super, super necessary.
And it's a very interestingspace because it's a lot
happens, life happens, businesshappens.
And culture starts to shift andit becomes tougher to measure
(10:48):
over time.
And so for us, when it comes topressures, right, and pressures
may come from external pressuresand, you know, demands in the
market or internal pressures aswell, right?
And so, you know, making surethat teams align, employees are
satisfied enough being atIntramark to deliver great work.
So there are a lot of competingpressures, if you will, that may
(11:11):
influence culture over time.
For me, the way I think aboutit, referencing something I said
earlier, is treating ouremployees like our customer, my
primary customer.
And so our leadership team islooking at how, as we grow, how
do we take a customer servicemindset to our employees?
(11:32):
And I think that's the rightframework because once you start
thinking in that manner, whattends to happen is you start to
ask yourself questions of howcan I serve the customer best?
And what is this product thatI'm offering to the customer?
And so if we look at it as aproduct and we look at ourselves
as a product manager of theemployee's time and the space
(11:54):
that we're offering our team towork in, that helps us have the
right framework to starttackling the pressures that may
be coming from external orinternal.
So for me, there's no Oneanswer, I think it's a fluid
dynamic approach that isstructured around the framework
(12:16):
of this is my customer and Ineed to give them a great
product.
And so I'm going to really alignmy actions and start measuring
as we grow whether or not I'mgiving this great product.
And so I think with that, withall the pressures that may be,
if I keep that mindset, if Ikeep that framework, I think
(12:37):
we're going to have a very goodshot at As we're growing
rapidly, making sure thatculture stays aligned with
delivering trust for us, whichis going to be very, very
important in our ability tocontinue to serve customers.
And so culture is going to beabsolutely very important for us
to continue to measure.
And I think the best way todoing that is the mindset that
(12:58):
comes with it.
And I think the best mindset isto view our team as my customer,
basically.
SPEAKER_04 (13:07):
It sounds like your values are very tied to not only
your internal customers, whichis kind of your North Star.
And as you grow, you'll keepthat as your guiding light,
making sure that you're stayingtrue to that.
But then it also helps drive thecustomers, right?
And drive the revenue.
So it's a really interestingconnection between talent and
(13:28):
revenue.
SPEAKER_03 (13:28):
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
And, you know, if I do a goodjob serving our internal
customers, then our internalcustomers are going to have
everything that they need toserve our end customers, our
external customers.
And so really it's doing a goodjob with my team, making sure
(13:49):
that they have a great productthat they show up for.
That's just going to propel usto give the best service and
quality to our end customers.
And that cycle is just going torepeat.
SPEAKER_04 (14:02):
If you could offer one piece of advice to other
leaders navigating similarchallenges, what would it be?
SPEAKER_03 (14:07):
I'd say the one piece of advice it's it's simple
it a lot of the things that aresimple are usually hard or just
kind of are less not executed aswell as they could be and that's
to listen we're in the businessof listening and so you know
feedback you know employees andyour teams really have all the
(14:31):
answers you need um they havethey have all the answers um Are
you asking the right questions?
Are you creating the rightenvironment for that information
to surface?
Is that being followed through?
Is that information making it toright people who are making
(14:51):
decisions?
And also, do your teams feelcomfortable providing that
information?
Do they feel like there's goingto be some action taken in a
meaningful way so that theydon't feel like they're wasting
their time giving information orgiving feedback in a way that's
just kind of screaming into avoid.
But with those conditions, withbeing able to listen and having
(15:15):
tools and systems in place andprocesses in place to allow you
to listen well and cut throughthe noise and get to the root,
with that, I think that'sprobably my best advice is as
leaders, you have to listenwell, you have to listen at
scale, and your employeestypically have pretty much a lot
(15:38):
of the answers that you'relooking for.
Again, think about anorganization or large teams.
There are a lot of smart peoplewith a lot of different
perspectives.
And so that's really a valuablebase to leverage for pushing the
organization forward.
If it's treated as hierarchical,only these people are allowed to
give this type of input versusthese people given their role
(16:00):
are only allowed to give thistype of input, you'd be
surprised.
A lot of the the greatinnovative out the box or the
answers that are right underyour nose could be, it's
anywhere in the organization.
And so if you're not listeningwell, you'll miss a lot of
opportunities to push theorganization forward.
And so that's my number oneadvice or recommendation is to
(16:22):
listen well and put processes inplace to do that.
It
SPEAKER_04 (16:27):
sounds easy, but it's hard.
It's hard to listen.
It's hard to put it out therebecause it's scary to get
feedback sometimes when youthink it's not going to be But
sometimes that's the best kindof feedback because you can take
action on it.
SPEAKER_03 (16:42):
And I totally agree with that.
It's getting over that fear ofwhat information is out there
that I probably don't want toknow about.
It's probably safer for me tonot know about it and just kind
of continue.
I think that's a good short-termstrategy, but long-term,
actually, I don't think that's agood strategy at all, but
long-term is where it bites themost.
(17:03):
And so not having a mechanismwhere you listen and have an
opportunity to course correctwith as much or as good
information as possible, that'scoming from everywhere, but
synthesized very, very, youknow, in a productive way.
There's a lot of value thatcould be sitting on the table
that could be surfaced thatcould save a lot of pain for the
organization long-term.
SPEAKER_04 (17:25):
We're going to take a quick break, and when we come
back, we'll learn more aboutDominique and Intramark.
So stay tuned.
SPEAKER_00 (17:32):
Today's episode is sponsored by Intramark.
Employee surveys offer genericinfo, thus generic solutions
that do not drive economicvalue.
Intramark's simple vibe softwareand unique survey process create
a data layer on culture.
Intramark designs custom surveycampaigns that deliver
real-time, predictive insightsand recommendations tailored to
(17:53):
specific teams and talent.
This enables leaders to makebetter decisions faster by
focusing their limited time andresources for the greatest
impact on goals.
Intramark also offers partnersupport to implement solutions
without adding extra work forteams and leaders.
Get actionable insights withinone day of process start, full
(18:14):
report in 20, with minimaleffort from your team.
Learn more at intramark.io.
SPEAKER_01 (18:27):
Welcome back.
We are talking to
SPEAKER_04 (18:29):
Dominique St.
Fleur, CEO of Intramark.
So Dominique, let's find alittle bit more about you.
What inspired you to pursue yourcurrent career path?
And was there a defining momentthat shaped the leader you are
today?
SPEAKER_03 (18:40):
Very good question.
So I started my career in moreof a technical consulting role
for a big four firm and had thepleasure of doing that both
stateside, overseas, then Forme, business school, then worked
(19:04):
for a few large tech firms afterthat.
But throughout my journey, Ijust saw this reoccurring
challenge that largerorganizations especially have is
complexity in their workforce,in their organizational
structure.
There's just a lot of hiddenrisks and challenges and
opportunities and justinformation flow and blockages,
(19:25):
right?
And so having gone through mycareer and having seen that, I
saw an opportunity to startIntramark to help address that.
And so a big part of where I amtoday has been the phenomenal
training that I've receivedthroughout these organizations,
but also observing what they dowell, but also the challenges
(19:46):
that they have.
And I think a very persistentchallenge that I saw from one
organization to the other wasthis information flow, blockage,
hidden risks, and challengesthat just were not surfaced.
And so I just saw that as a hugeopportunity to add value.
And that's kind of where that'skind of landed me today.
(20:07):
Taking a click further below onthat, my philosophy, as far as
leadership goes, just kind ofreferencing what we discussed
earlier, is to look at my teamas my customer.
And I think that framework isextremely valuable in helping me
think about creating anenvironment that people want to
(20:29):
be in.
That's not just a holisticenvironment.
There's no one size fits all.
But understanding as well thatwithin that environment, there
are specific needs of differentpeople.
How do you, at scale, cater to abroader environment, but also
address and cater to specificneeds that also align with the
(20:49):
organization's goals?
And so it's a tricky balance.
But throughout my career, Ithink leaders that I've
observed, I've worked veryclosely with, people I've worked
with, that's been a greatapproach.
And it really puts things intoperspective in how to approach,
you know, your teammates andpeople that are part of your
(21:10):
team.
And so those are two things,just my journey through The
various firms that I've had thepleasure of working for and with
have taught me great skills, butalso given me the opportunity of
just kind of observing what aresome of the challenges that they
have and what are the rightmindsets and frameworks to help
navigate through some of thosechallenges.
(21:31):
And that's influenced quite abit of who I am today as far as
a professional goes and myphilosophy to leadership as
well.
SPEAKER_04 (21:40):
So looking back through that journey, what was
the most valuable lesson youlearned early on and that still
influences your decisions today?
SPEAKER_03 (21:47):
Yeah, it's relationships.
And so throughout all theseexperiences, you're going to
collect relationships thateither lean on you or you lean
on those relationships.
But being available to cater tothose relationships and also
being willing to reach out andask for help, your relationships
are just key.
(22:08):
And that's come up very clearlythroughout my career and having
the right relationships isparamount.
SPEAKER_04 (22:16):
So we're going to get a little more personal here
and ask you a fun questionbecause there always has to be
fun questions.
What is one thing about you,personal or professional, that
would surprise most people, eventhose who know you well?
SPEAKER_03 (22:29):
Absolutely.
Most that I have done, you know,if You look at my background.
Some people will say it'simpressive, but done a lot of
that while terrified.
And so I think that's anotherlesson I've learned in life as
well, is being able to look atan opportunity or a challenge,
(22:56):
because I think you could beterrified of both.
The responsibility that comeswith opportunities and just the
fear of risk that comes withchallenges.
Sometimes they may look thesame, challenges and
opportunities, but being able topush through and push forward
while terrified, grabbing thebull by the horns, being very
(23:16):
unsure and uncertain, but doingyour absolute best to tackle the
challenge or seize theopportunity does not absolve you
of being terrified in theprocess.
But learning how to push forwardwhile being terrified is for me
(23:39):
another, something that wouldbe, you know, in front of the
curtains, it kind of seemssometimes seamless of, okay, you
know, interesting path, butwhat's happening behind the
curtains.
And I think for a lot of leadersor a lot of people in general is
there's a lot of, there's a hugestory behind the curtains that
just makes the show look smooth,but there's a lot of chaos
(24:02):
that's happening behind thecurtains that are just, you
know, It presents well, butthere are a lot of scars back
there.
And so for me, I think somethingthat people may be surprised
about is pushing through whileterrified is probably that.
I
SPEAKER_04 (24:21):
think there's probably a lot of CEOs listening
to this that will relate tothat, especially with startups.
It's unknown territory.
It's scary.
And it takes a lot of guts to doit over and over again.
SPEAKER_03 (24:34):
I agree.
I agree.
But push through whileterrified.
That's the way to do it.
SPEAKER_04 (24:41):
Yep.
So what's the best way for ouraudience to contact you if they
want some more information?
SPEAKER_03 (24:46):
Absolutely.
Feel free to visit our website,intramark.io,
I-N-T-R-A-M-A-R-K.io.
Feel free to also visit ourLinkedIn page, information there
as well.
And you'll be able to find methrough that And feel free to
just send me a message and morethan glad to respond to
SPEAKER_04 (25:06):
that.
Dominique, I want to thank youfor being part of our Culture
Rebooted podcast.
It was great to have you as ourfirst guest to kick it off.
Be sure to subscribe to both ourpodcast on all the major
platforms and your YouTubechannel for our videos.
As I tell all my clients,culture is the sum of all that
you do, all that you reward andall that you punish and very
(25:26):
little of what you say.
Culture is the foundation ofgreatness.
So create a great culture.
Until next time.
Welcome to Culture Rebooted, a podcast from HR
Rebooted.
As a fractional chief peopleofficer, Michelle Strasberger
helps CEOs of fast-growingcompanies realign leadership
actions with the culture youwant to build.
She enables your teams tore-engage, your leaders to
unite, and your company to scalewithout losing its identity.
(00:22):
On this podcast, Michelle andher guests share their insights
on how to establish a winningorganizational culture.
Enjoy the show.
SPEAKER_04 (00:29):
Thank you for joining us today on Culture
Rebooted.
I'm Michelle Strasberger, andtoday we are joined by a good
friend of mine and startup CEO,Dominique St.
Floor.
Dominique is the CEO ofIntramark.
(00:51):
Welcome, Dominique.
SPEAKER_03 (00:52):
Michelle, thank you so much for having me.
I really do appreciate it.
Looking forward to this.
SPEAKER_04 (00:57):
I'm excited too.
This is going to be the firstsession.
So we're kicking it off on ahigh note.
We're going to talk today a lotabout culture.
It's in the name of the podcast,Culture Rebooted, but that'll be
our main focus.
But let's kick things off.
Can you share a bit about yourcompany's growth journey so far?
What has been the most excitingpart of scaling your team and
operations?
SPEAKER_03 (01:16):
Absolutely.
And so just a quick bit aboutIntramark.
Our purpose is to create a datalayer on culture.
And what that helps us do isidentify hidden risks and
opportunities withinorganizations, whether it be
unwanted turnover over orproductivity gaps.
And so Intramark is a relativelynew organization.
We take a unique approach todoing this.
We call it a hybrid approach.
So part software, partconsulting.
(01:38):
But a very key part of ourgrowth journey has been
founder-led growth, founder-ledrelationships, founder-led
sales.
And so given my background, Icome from a pretty technical
background.
And so in starting a neworganization, You wear many,
many hats.
And I'm fortunate to really leanon a great team.
(01:59):
But in that journey, we're stillwearing a lot of hats.
And one of the hats that I'mwearing is going out there in
the market, explaining what wedo, and building relationships
to add value.
In that process, it's a skillset from a founder-led sales
perspective, which is a littlebit newer for me than anything
(02:20):
else.
it's both exciting and scary.
And so part of the growthjourney has been learning this
new skill of communicating valueproposition very succinctly,
really taking someone Fromreally not understanding or
knowing you or your product oryour company to really having a
(02:40):
crisp understanding of what itis and how you add value in a
very short amount of time.
Because attention spans, we'reall busy, all of those factors
come into play.
And so that's been aninteresting skill that's been a
very exciting part of our growthjourney.
And so I'd say that that's onebucket.
Another great, interestingbucket is really, you know,
being fortunate to have a great,great team around me.
(03:03):
building those relationships,understanding everyone on the
team is motivated and whatthey're interested in, all just
very different aspects andpersonalities to cater to.
And me as a founder and CEO, Ireally look at my team as my
primary customer.
(03:24):
And so my job is to, as best asI can, create a product that's
attractive for the team, so thatwe can continue to execute on a
product that's attractive forthe customer.
So that's kind of my philosophythere.
So it's been exciting.
And so those two buckets, thosetwo aspects, one, going to
market, forming relationships,founder-led sales, and two,
really serving my team as bestas possible so that we can go to
(03:47):
market as best as possible.
So it's been exciting and it'sbeen quite motivating amongst
many other things I could sayabout that.
SPEAKER_04 (03:56):
I'm sure you just made a bunch of HR people that
are listening to this podcastvery happy when you said that
your customers or your employeesare your first customers.
I like that perspective, and Ithink that helps ground what
you're doing.
As you said, your team wearsmany hats, and in many startups,
that's not uncommon where youhave to wear many hats.
(04:16):
I've worked in startups whereI'm an HR person, but I'm also
helping build sales strategy andthings like that.
So That just happens.
So how do you, in that, ensurethat you've aligned your
leadership team's priorities oryour team's priorities with the
cultural values of yourorganization?
So
SPEAKER_03 (04:36):
our number one value for Intramark is deliver trust.
A lot of other organizations mayhave a longer list of values.
But for us, I think if we focuson that central value, for us,
everything else is going to flowthrough that, from that.
And so delivering trust for usis delivering on our brand
promise as far as what we claimwe can do, we deliver on that.
(04:59):
And we deliver on that whilemaintaining the trust and
integrity of our brand and thetrust of our customers and the
wider base of stakeholders thatwe serve.
And so it's really just doingwhat we say we're going to do in
a way that is, again, somethingthat we could proudly speak
about on the front page of anewspaper.
(05:20):
And so that's kind of our litmustest.
And so as long as we delivertrust in the market, we feel
like everything else is going toflow through that.
And so our central focus isthat.
And Michelle, remind me thesecond portion of what you
wanted me to address.
SPEAKER_04 (05:36):
Were there any gaps?
Have you found any gaps ormisalignments in the process of
ensuring the team is alignedwith that value?
SPEAKER_03 (05:44):
Yeah.
And so it's more aboutcommunicating what that value
is.
And me as a leader, I could do alot better job of making sure
that we're communicating thatmuch more frequently.
And so I think that's somethingthat is quite common is that
we're so focused on the work anddelivering the work that we want
(06:09):
to make sure that we also havetime to, again, communicate The
values of the organizationreally take time to reflect and
also measure whether or notwe're delivering on values.
And so whatever your values maybe as an organization, there
should be some pretty strong andclear metrics that help you
understand whether or not theorganization's sticking to those
(06:30):
values.
So there should be KPIs next toeach of the values that an
organization really thinksabout.
And for us, it's, you know, aswe're going into the market, you
know, we're understanding whatcustomer needs are and we're
developing metrics and KPS andOKRs around delivering trust.
And so our list is currentlyevolving.
But as far as, you know, keepingthe team aligned on that, the
(06:52):
goal for one of our goals for2025 is to start incorporating
metrics around delivering trustthat the team could really start
to rally around and we can havesome objective measures.
on whether or not we'reachieving that outcome.
And so it's just not aboutsaying that we deliver trust.
It's also measuring that overtime and having conversations
(07:13):
and realignment exercises aroundthose values.
SPEAKER_04 (07:17):
I like that.
I think that's a key piece ishaving KPI.
So it's not just values on thewall.
You're actually ensuring thatthe organization is practicing
it because we do what we aremeasured on.
In organizations, right, asemployees, we're going to focus
on what we're measured on.
So if we're not measured on thevalues, then we can forget them.
It can kind of go by thewayside.
So I like that.
(07:38):
That's really key.
Are there examples you couldshare about how you would
measure a KPI for trust?
SPEAKER_03 (07:44):
Absolutely.
Our best measure for that is toask the customer.
And so a part of our process,and our organization, we're
focused on really helpingfacilitate feedback.
And we'd be remiss if we didn'tdo that for ourselves.
And so really having frankconversations with customers and
giving customers the space.
(08:05):
So, you know, with our team,right, we may have certain team
members that deliver on thework.
Then we could have other teammembers that really ask the
frank questions on how therelationship, the health of the
relationship and whether or nottrust was maintained or built on
or, you know, is that headingthe right direction.
So I think feedback fromcustomers is a great, really
giving the customer room to givehonest feedback apart from the
(08:29):
direct service provider that'son the team is part of the
strategy to collect that honestfeedback.
And then really from there, it'sabout, and one of our goals for
2025 is have a more completelist of ways or metrics that we
can measure this.
But I think that's where we'reat as a starting point Where we
(08:51):
think we can get to as well isstart to quantitatively start to
digest different touch pointsthat we're being taught, you
know, that Intramark as a brandis coming up and start scoring
those discussions or talkingpoints to have an objective
measure of, as best as we can,of how the market may view
Intramark as well.
(09:11):
That's going to be a longer termplay, but short term, what's
always accessible to us is askfor direct feedback from the
customer and giving the customerroom.
to provide that honest feedbackin a safe space and then start
measuring ourselves there andthen having discussions and
realignments internally aroundthose feedback points.
SPEAKER_04 (09:36):
As a leader, what lessons have you learned about
balancing the pressures of rapidgrowth with the needs to
maintain a cohesive culture andaligned leadership?
SPEAKER_03 (09:44):
Great question.
When it comes to growth, whattypically happens is the smaller
the organization, the moredefined the culture.
But over time, what tends tohappen is a bit of culture
drift.
So as more and more people startjoining the organization, what
tends to happen is if you wereto take someone from the outside
(10:07):
looking at the organization andstart to take a look at what
leadership wants the culture tobe versus what the culture
actually is, there's usually agap.
And so for our stage as anorganization, smaller
organization that's growing, howdo we prevent, how do we think
about preventing that ormitigating that or getting
(10:27):
realignment?
For larger organizations andcustomers that we serve, how do
we help them get thatrealignment back?
And so I think that's super,super, super necessary.
And it's a very interestingspace because it's a lot
happens, life happens, businesshappens.
And culture starts to shift andit becomes tougher to measure
(10:48):
over time.
And so for us, when it comes topressures, right, and pressures
may come from external pressuresand, you know, demands in the
market or internal pressures aswell, right?
And so, you know, making surethat teams align, employees are
satisfied enough being atIntramark to deliver great work.
So there are a lot of competingpressures, if you will, that may
(11:11):
influence culture over time.
For me, the way I think aboutit, referencing something I said
earlier, is treating ouremployees like our customer, my
primary customer.
And so our leadership team islooking at how, as we grow, how
do we take a customer servicemindset to our employees?
(11:32):
And I think that's the rightframework because once you start
thinking in that manner, whattends to happen is you start to
ask yourself questions of howcan I serve the customer best?
And what is this product thatI'm offering to the customer?
And so if we look at it as aproduct and we look at ourselves
as a product manager of theemployee's time and the space
(11:54):
that we're offering our team towork in, that helps us have the
right framework to starttackling the pressures that may
be coming from external orinternal.
So for me, there's no Oneanswer, I think it's a fluid
dynamic approach that isstructured around the framework
(12:16):
of this is my customer and Ineed to give them a great
product.
And so I'm going to really alignmy actions and start measuring
as we grow whether or not I'mgiving this great product.
And so I think with that, withall the pressures that may be,
if I keep that mindset, if Ikeep that framework, I think
(12:37):
we're going to have a very goodshot at As we're growing
rapidly, making sure thatculture stays aligned with
delivering trust for us, whichis going to be very, very
important in our ability tocontinue to serve customers.
And so culture is going to beabsolutely very important for us
to continue to measure.
And I think the best way todoing that is the mindset that
(12:58):
comes with it.
And I think the best mindset isto view our team as my customer,
basically.
SPEAKER_04 (13:07):
It sounds like your values are very tied to not only
your internal customers, whichis kind of your North Star.
And as you grow, you'll keepthat as your guiding light,
making sure that you're stayingtrue to that.
But then it also helps drive thecustomers, right?
And drive the revenue.
So it's a really interestingconnection between talent and
(13:28):
revenue.
SPEAKER_03 (13:28):
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
And, you know, if I do a goodjob serving our internal
customers, then our internalcustomers are going to have
everything that they need toserve our end customers, our
external customers.
And so really it's doing a goodjob with my team, making sure
(13:49):
that they have a great productthat they show up for.
That's just going to propel usto give the best service and
quality to our end customers.
And that cycle is just going torepeat.
SPEAKER_04 (14:02):
If you could offer one piece of advice to other
leaders navigating similarchallenges, what would it be?
SPEAKER_03 (14:07):
I'd say the one piece of advice it's it's simple
it a lot of the things that aresimple are usually hard or just
kind of are less not executed aswell as they could be and that's
to listen we're in the businessof listening and so you know
feedback you know employees andyour teams really have all the
(14:31):
answers you need um they havethey have all the answers um Are
you asking the right questions?
Are you creating the rightenvironment for that information
to surface?
Is that being followed through?
Is that information making it toright people who are making
(14:51):
decisions?
And also, do your teams feelcomfortable providing that
information?
Do they feel like there's goingto be some action taken in a
meaningful way so that theydon't feel like they're wasting
their time giving information orgiving feedback in a way that's
just kind of screaming into avoid.
But with those conditions, withbeing able to listen and having
(15:15):
tools and systems in place andprocesses in place to allow you
to listen well and cut throughthe noise and get to the root,
with that, I think that'sprobably my best advice is as
leaders, you have to listenwell, you have to listen at
scale, and your employeestypically have pretty much a lot
(15:38):
of the answers that you'relooking for.
Again, think about anorganization or large teams.
There are a lot of smart peoplewith a lot of different
perspectives.
And so that's really a valuablebase to leverage for pushing the
organization forward.
If it's treated as hierarchical,only these people are allowed to
give this type of input versusthese people given their role
(16:00):
are only allowed to give thistype of input, you'd be
surprised.
A lot of the the greatinnovative out the box or the
answers that are right underyour nose could be, it's
anywhere in the organization.
And so if you're not listeningwell, you'll miss a lot of
opportunities to push theorganization forward.
And so that's my number oneadvice or recommendation is to
(16:22):
listen well and put processes inplace to do that.
It
SPEAKER_04 (16:27):
sounds easy, but it's hard.
It's hard to listen.
It's hard to put it out therebecause it's scary to get
feedback sometimes when youthink it's not going to be But
sometimes that's the best kindof feedback because you can take
action on it.
SPEAKER_03 (16:42):
And I totally agree with that.
It's getting over that fear ofwhat information is out there
that I probably don't want toknow about.
It's probably safer for me tonot know about it and just kind
of continue.
I think that's a good short-termstrategy, but long-term,
actually, I don't think that's agood strategy at all, but
long-term is where it bites themost.
(17:03):
And so not having a mechanismwhere you listen and have an
opportunity to course correctwith as much or as good
information as possible, that'scoming from everywhere, but
synthesized very, very, youknow, in a productive way.
There's a lot of value thatcould be sitting on the table
that could be surfaced thatcould save a lot of pain for the
organization long-term.
SPEAKER_04 (17:25):
We're going to take a quick break, and when we come
back, we'll learn more aboutDominique and Intramark.
So stay tuned.
SPEAKER_00 (17:32):
Today's episode is sponsored by Intramark.
Employee surveys offer genericinfo, thus generic solutions
that do not drive economicvalue.
Intramark's simple vibe softwareand unique survey process create
a data layer on culture.
Intramark designs custom surveycampaigns that deliver
real-time, predictive insightsand recommendations tailored to
(17:53):
specific teams and talent.
This enables leaders to makebetter decisions faster by
focusing their limited time andresources for the greatest
impact on goals.
Intramark also offers partnersupport to implement solutions
without adding extra work forteams and leaders.
Get actionable insights withinone day of process start, full
(18:14):
report in 20, with minimaleffort from your team.
Learn more at intramark.io.
SPEAKER_01 (18:27):
Welcome back.
We are talking to
SPEAKER_04 (18:29):
Dominique St.
Fleur, CEO of Intramark.
So Dominique, let's find alittle bit more about you.
What inspired you to pursue yourcurrent career path?
And was there a defining momentthat shaped the leader you are
today?
SPEAKER_03 (18:40):
Very good question.
So I started my career in moreof a technical consulting role
for a big four firm and had thepleasure of doing that both
stateside, overseas, then Forme, business school, then worked
(19:04):
for a few large tech firms afterthat.
But throughout my journey, Ijust saw this reoccurring
challenge that largerorganizations especially have is
complexity in their workforce,in their organizational
structure.
There's just a lot of hiddenrisks and challenges and
opportunities and justinformation flow and blockages,
(19:25):
right?
And so having gone through mycareer and having seen that, I
saw an opportunity to startIntramark to help address that.
And so a big part of where I amtoday has been the phenomenal
training that I've receivedthroughout these organizations,
but also observing what they dowell, but also the challenges
(19:46):
that they have.
And I think a very persistentchallenge that I saw from one
organization to the other wasthis information flow, blockage,
hidden risks, and challengesthat just were not surfaced.
And so I just saw that as a hugeopportunity to add value.
And that's kind of where that'skind of landed me today.
(20:07):
Taking a click further below onthat, my philosophy, as far as
leadership goes, just kind ofreferencing what we discussed
earlier, is to look at my teamas my customer.
And I think that framework isextremely valuable in helping me
think about creating anenvironment that people want to
(20:29):
be in.
That's not just a holisticenvironment.
There's no one size fits all.
But understanding as well thatwithin that environment, there
are specific needs of differentpeople.
How do you, at scale, cater to abroader environment, but also
address and cater to specificneeds that also align with the
(20:49):
organization's goals?
And so it's a tricky balance.
But throughout my career, Ithink leaders that I've
observed, I've worked veryclosely with, people I've worked
with, that's been a greatapproach.
And it really puts things intoperspective in how to approach,
you know, your teammates andpeople that are part of your
(21:10):
team.
And so those are two things,just my journey through The
various firms that I've had thepleasure of working for and with
have taught me great skills, butalso given me the opportunity of
just kind of observing what aresome of the challenges that they
have and what are the rightmindsets and frameworks to help
navigate through some of thosechallenges.
(21:31):
And that's influenced quite abit of who I am today as far as
a professional goes and myphilosophy to leadership as
well.
SPEAKER_04 (21:40):
So looking back through that journey, what was
the most valuable lesson youlearned early on and that still
influences your decisions today?
SPEAKER_03 (21:47):
Yeah, it's relationships.
And so throughout all theseexperiences, you're going to
collect relationships thateither lean on you or you lean
on those relationships.
But being available to cater tothose relationships and also
being willing to reach out andask for help, your relationships
are just key.
(22:08):
And that's come up very clearlythroughout my career and having
the right relationships isparamount.
SPEAKER_04 (22:16):
So we're going to get a little more personal here
and ask you a fun questionbecause there always has to be
fun questions.
What is one thing about you,personal or professional, that
would surprise most people, eventhose who know you well?
SPEAKER_03 (22:29):
Absolutely.
Most that I have done, you know,if You look at my background.
Some people will say it'simpressive, but done a lot of
that while terrified.
And so I think that's anotherlesson I've learned in life as
well, is being able to look atan opportunity or a challenge,
(22:56):
because I think you could beterrified of both.
The responsibility that comeswith opportunities and just the
fear of risk that comes withchallenges.
Sometimes they may look thesame, challenges and
opportunities, but being able topush through and push forward
while terrified, grabbing thebull by the horns, being very
(23:16):
unsure and uncertain, but doingyour absolute best to tackle the
challenge or seize theopportunity does not absolve you
of being terrified in theprocess.
But learning how to push forwardwhile being terrified is for me
(23:39):
another, something that wouldbe, you know, in front of the
curtains, it kind of seemssometimes seamless of, okay, you
know, interesting path, butwhat's happening behind the
curtains.
And I think for a lot of leadersor a lot of people in general is
there's a lot of, there's a hugestory behind the curtains that
just makes the show look smooth,but there's a lot of chaos
(24:02):
that's happening behind thecurtains that are just, you
know, It presents well, butthere are a lot of scars back
there.
And so for me, I think somethingthat people may be surprised
about is pushing through whileterrified is probably that.
I
SPEAKER_04 (24:21):
think there's probably a lot of CEOs listening
to this that will relate tothat, especially with startups.
It's unknown territory.
It's scary.
And it takes a lot of guts to doit over and over again.
SPEAKER_03 (24:34):
I agree.
I agree.
But push through whileterrified.
That's the way to do it.
SPEAKER_04 (24:41):
Yep.
So what's the best way for ouraudience to contact you if they
want some more information?
SPEAKER_03 (24:46):
Absolutely.
Feel free to visit our website,intramark.io,
I-N-T-R-A-M-A-R-K.io.
Feel free to also visit ourLinkedIn page, information there
as well.
And you'll be able to find methrough that And feel free to
just send me a message and morethan glad to respond to
SPEAKER_04 (25:06):
that.
Dominique, I want to thank youfor being part of our Culture
Rebooted podcast.
It was great to have you as ourfirst guest to kick it off.
Be sure to subscribe to both ourpodcast on all the major
platforms and your YouTubechannel for our videos.
As I tell all my clients,culture is the sum of all that
you do, all that you reward andall that you punish and very
(25:26):
little of what you say.
Culture is the foundation ofgreatness.
So create a great culture.
Until next time.
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