April 29, 2024 • 26 mins
Have you ever considered that a burst of laughter or a moment of shared creativity could be the secret ingredient to a thriving workplace culture? In this episode, we dive into a world where joy is not an afterthought but a vital pulse that energizes our staff and uplifts our patients. Alongside Sarah Purdy and Sara Pittman, we reveal the enchanting effects of embracing a playful spirit, from Halloween festivities that transform the hospital into a vibrant hub of imagination to gingerbread house contests that sweeten our daily grind.
What happens when you say "yes" to the extraordinary, to the whimsical moments that bring out the best in people? This episode is a testament to that very philosophy, showcasing how our hospital goes beyond the call of duty. Tune in, and let's celebrate the unstoppable spirit of Craig Hospital, where finding joy in the everyday isn't just an aspiration—it's our way of life.
For more information, transcriptions and behind-the-scene photos, visit https://craighospital.org/unstoppable
Craig Hospital is a world-renowned rehabilitation hospital that exclusively specializes in neurorehabilitation and research for individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) and brain injury (BI). Located in Englewood, Colorado, Craig Hospital is a 350,000-square-foot, 93-bed, private, not-for-profit center of excellence providing a comprehensive system of inpatient and outpatient neurorehabilitation. https://craighospital.org
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Jandel Allen-Davis (00:03):
Welcome to Unstoppable at Craig, where we
pull back the curtain on whatmakes healthy workplace cultures
click and what happens whenpeople are empowered to expand
the boundaries of what ispossible.
We'll explore the perspectivesof employees and leaders who
have carte blanche to speaktheir truths, tell their stories
and unlock uncommon ways ofapproaching challenges.
I'm Dr Jandel Allen- Davis, ceoand president of Craig Hospital
(00:27):
, a world-renownedrehabilitation hospital that
exclusively specializes in theneurorehabilitation and research
of patients with spinal cordand brain injury.
Join me as we learn from peoplewho love what they do and what
happens when fear doesn't stifleinnovation.
Earlier this week I had achance to talk with Joe Fangman
(00:49):
from our team, as well as TomCarr, about the research
benefits of play, as well as howthey bring play into their work
as leaders and into their workas team members.
And today we get to talk to Ilove this phrase two culture
champions at Craig.
Maybe I should call the twoculture champions at Craig.
(01:12):
You know Fred Rogers, who weknow Mr Rogers' Neighborhood,
who has was just chock full ofso much wisdom that you know, we
say is, you know, sort of ownedby children.
But my firm belief is, if weadults listened deeply to Mr
Rogers, we would be a muchbetter place and in a much
better world and much betterpeople.
(01:32):
And what Fred Rogers said isit's the things we play with and
the people who help us playthat make a great difference in
our lives.
And you two are the folks whohelp us play.
I get to be here today withSarah Pittman, who works in our
Craig Foundation as the digitalphilanthropy specialist, and
Sarah Purdy, who, most of thetime anytime I see her there's
(01:54):
something she says that makes melaugh.
I know that who actually workswith our spinal cord injury and
brain injury inpatients as aclinical care manager, but
together they're the mastermindsbehind Halloween, which is only
one of the things we'll exploretoday at Craig in recent years.
I want to just start by havingyou all answer a really big
question around this idea of thevarious ways stepping back from
(02:18):
how you stepped in to do thiswork and just talk a little bit
about how we play at Craig,because Mr Rogers would be very
proud of Craig, I think, interms of how we show up.
I would agree with that.
Sara Pittman (02:29):
I think play is ingrained in us in every single
day, every single task we do,whether it's obvious or not.
To me, play at Craig is.
It means that we care.
It means that we're willing tomake ourselves look silly for
the benefit of someone else,potentially break out of that
shell and really try somethingnew.
(02:50):
Or get back in touch with thechild in us and just let go for
a minute and if we're tooserious, all the time, like
nobody's going to want to behere and you see that in how
long, honestly, how long staffworks here.
I've been here six and a halfyears and I'm still considered
new.
If it was too serious, I don'tthink that would be the case.
Jandel Allen-Davis (03:10):
Yeah, I couldn't agree more.
Thanks for sharing that, and Ilove that, that we bring out the
child in each other.
I love that, which isn't hardfor some of us.
That's what.
Sarah Purdy (03:18):
I'd say and that wasn't an introduction to you,
sarah, that's okay.
I love being known as the onethat brings out the child in
people.
Absolutely, how do?
Jandel Allen-Davis (03:25):
you think about how Craig plays?
Sarah Purdy (03:27):
Yeah, kind of piggybacking on what Sarah said,
that we just kind of bring itout with everything we can.
Halloween is, you know.
I'll start with that, sincethat's kind of our bread and
butter.
Sara Pittman (03:38):
We may or may not have our theme already.
Not to interrupt you.
I mean, people come up withtheir themes so early.
Sarah Purdy (03:43):
They start planning OTs and PTs start working with
the patients that we know aregoing to be here for it.
It's such a fun event andpeople know about it and we have
a reputation for it.
And you know, at the holidaytime we, you know, we weren't
sure if we should do agingerbread house competition
and now it's like.
(04:03):
It's a monstrous like theirmansion's being made.
They're horror With likestained glass windows and moving
pieces and you know, and song,and song.
And the first time werecommended it we thought I
don't know, do you think peoplewill get?
We might have one or two peopledo it.
Now it's like I feel like wecould have one of those shows on
the Food Network where it'slike professional pastry chefs
(04:24):
doing it because they're so good.
It shows how much talent's atCraig and how much we like to
play.
Jandel Allen-Davis (04:29):
We like to play and we add a little healthy
dose of competition.
Oh, always.
Sara Pittman (04:34):
The competition of us players.
Jandel Allen-Davis (04:36):
It's healthy .
Sara Pittman (04:37):
It's healthy oh it's in good spirit always.
But yeah, halloween with thegolden pumpkin trike, races with
the golden trike, and then thedepartments proudly display them
.
Jandel Allen-Davis (04:47):
Unless I steal them, unless you steal, I
mean, which I'm known to do.
Sarah Purdy (04:54):
It's so hilarious when people who don't know and I
had several patients this yearsay, sarah, you told me this was
a big deal at Craig and Ibelieved you.
I believe you, but, like whoa,I mentioned that at every new
employee orientation pretty much, there's not one that goes by.
Jandel Allen-Davis (05:12):
That I don't say, wait till Halloween.
Sara Pittman (05:15):
We do the same honestly in a lot of our
interviews.
We'll find a way to kind ofsneak it in there and kind of
test, are they playful?
To kind of see the culture fitthere.
We definitely bring upHalloween and we've definitely
then had staff who have joinedthe team after seeing Halloween
for the first time.
They're like I get it now.
I understand I didn't think itwas going to be what it was, but
(05:37):
my goodness, that was special.
Jandel Allen-Davis (05:38):
What I find and I'd be curious, sarah, what
you think about this is here Ican bring my whole self to work.
I'm silly at home sometime,absolutely, I trip over the
furniture at home sometime or,you know, I laugh like a hyena
all the time.
But this ability to bring yourwhole self to work is a unique
thing 100%, 100%.
Sara Pittman (06:00):
And I do see that and I kind of see the light that
comes in someone's eyes whenthey are a new hire and they may
be a little hesitant at first.
I mean I was when I firststarted.
I was thinking OK, you know, Icome to work, I do my job, I go
home, I come to work, I do myjob, you know the routine of it.
But the more I was here, themore I realized oh my gosh, wait
(06:20):
a minute.
People A enjoy each other'scompany.
We are here for the mission andthat's a uniting factor.
But then again, when I see anew hire who's like, wait a
minute, it's I can be me in thesimplest form of hey, we each
have our version of a candy dishon our desk right and we share
that with each other.
And it's like come over and seewhat I brought today, like
(06:42):
little tiny things and then thatmorphs into big.
That gives people theconfidence to kind of break out
of their shell and not just bean employee but be part of the
family.
Sarah Purdy (06:53):
And I think too, it's not only recommended that
you have fun here, it'sencouraged.
And that's another thing.
I mean, I remember one time ata previous job we were given
coloring books you know theadult coloring books that when
they first came out, and somecolored pencils and it was kind
of like here, this is forself-care, take it home.
Jandel Allen-Davis (07:15):
You know, kind of like that kind of a
feeling, you know, when we hadour coloring pages Go care for
yourself at home.
Yeah, make sure you do thatwhen you're off time Work here.
Sarah Purdy (07:23):
Go care for yourself at home.
Yeah, make sure you do that onyour off time Work here.
And you know, when we had thecoloring sheets here it was like
and then turn in what you doand we'll put it up on the wall.
And you know, you go up tofourth floor, near fourth floor
nursing, and there was all thepictures that people had colored
and you'd go by and when nurseshad a little bit of downtime
you'd see them coloring on theircoloring sheets with their
little Craig pillared pencilsthat we had gotten through
(07:43):
culture committee and seeing thedifferent departments working
on their gingerbread houses.
I mean.
Jandel Allen-Davis (07:55):
I'm all over this hospital seeing patients,
and so I'd be like, oh, what's,what are you doing over?
Sarah Purdy (07:57):
there you can see people are engaging in that play
.
They're engaging in the funthere.
It's encouraged.
You know what's interestingabout that?
Jandel Allen-Davis (08:05):
and and for those who might be listening to
this, you might wonder well,when do they work?
And I'm going to once againreinforce a couple things play
is work, and there's somethingabout the ability to have
moments that are I'd go evenfarther than encourage, but are
actually expected.
This is part of what makes thisculture as strong as it is is
(08:30):
that play isn't something thatsits over here on the side or,
as you said, you color when yougo home, exactly, but there's
this recognition that being ableto engage all your senses,
being able to engage both yourright-oriented thinking as well
as your left-oriented thinking,creates different and better
outcomes, and Craig has theoutcomes to prove it both in
(08:51):
terms of the patient and thefamily experience here, as well
as us as employees.
So that's a little bit aboutsome of the many ways we play,
both large and small.
We've talked a touch about this, but I'd love for both of you
to talk about.
Why does Craig play?
Because some people might arguethat play can be a distraction.
It's why I felt it reallyimportant as part of this
(09:13):
conversation to say trust me, ithas done nothing but improve
our outcomes.
It is not in terms of what wesee, the numbers of people who
go home from here, the folks whoget back to school from here,
back to work.
So some would argue that's adistraction.
How would you counter thatperspective?
Sarah Purdy (09:35):
I think it's intertwined so much in our
culture and in our therapy andjust in who we are.
I don't think it's adistraction.
I think it's such an asset andpeople are going through such a
hard time.
They've just experienced thishuge traumatic injury.
That's life-changing and youknow, then they were in you know
ICU or wherever they were for awhile before they came to us
and they usually say that thatwas really somber and serious.
(09:57):
And then they get to us andthey can start thinking about
okay, what's my new normal goingto look like?
And I just think, showing thatthere can be joy and play and
fun in it.
There's no way that that couldbe a distraction.
So I think it's also meetingpeople where they're at that not
everybody wants to do like thebig Halloween thing and the big
(10:19):
thing whatever, but they canstill have that play and that
joy and doing you know otherlittle things that are fun and
bring them happiness.
And people can find ways to dothat creativity and I think it
helps them to also deal withwhat has happened to them in the
way that they need to.
Jandel Allen-Davis (10:35):
One of the things I've wondered about, with
just for a minute to go back toone of the big things that
insane trike race that we havein the summer, with all of us
dressed in themed costumes andthe whole bit.
I'd wonder what is going throughthe minds of patients, because
it's at noon and patients andfamilies are out there watching
us make fools of ourselves aswell.
My answer to the question andI'd love your perspective, sarah
(10:59):
is that it humanizes us.
There's this concept ofcultural humility, this idea
that we sit at the feet of ourpatients.
We sit at the feet of those weserve, and yet we've got these.
We don't wear them here, butwhite coats and stethoscopes and
degrees and all the things butus doing being that we're eye to
(11:20):
eye with our patients, if notfrankly, sitting down at their
knees and looking up at them interms of, oh boy, did she just
spin out?
They gave her.
She's a CEO.
She's got to learn how to drivethat thing better Now the truth
comes out.
You know just this whole idea.
What do you think is the impacton patients of watching us play
(11:40):
?
Sara Pittman (11:41):
I kind of think it shows them that we believe in
Craig to go all out to come upwith your team name, to come up
with your costume, to show up.
Take time out of your day andsign up ahead of time.
Say you're going to be in thetrack races.
That, to me, says to thepatients we're here for a
purpose, we believe in ourpurpose.
(12:01):
And it doesn't matternecessarily the format per se.
It can be fun, it can beserious, there's time for both.
But hey, let's all cometogether and remember like we
can have fun.
Jandel Allen-Davis (12:11):
You know, I remember, sarah, when we were
prepping for this, you saidsomething that I think would be
really important for those outthere listening to have some
conversation about, and that isthat when you all are preparing
for things whether it's culturecommittee big projects or the
Halloween big project that yousometimes feel like guilty about
(12:33):
the work that goes intoprepping for this.
And then I sounded like a momwhen I said what are you talking
about?
This is work, but talk aboutthat, you know, and even that
conversation, and even if youthink about the conversation,
but how you've thought about itsince.
Sara Pittman (12:50):
And I haven't.
No, that was good.
I actually I'm glad we saidthat before, because I needed to
hear that I have the we'll callthem Jiminy Cricket sitting on
my shoulder with a littleconscience of like, you're here
for your work, your work isimportant.
Your work comes in differentforms, right?
So I'm blessed that I get todesign, and so to me that's a
form of play.
(13:10):
But then to take it one stepfurther and design a gingerbread
house in the middle of the daydon't get me wrong.
That is a blessing and I'm sograteful for it.
But yeah, it crossed my mind.
I'm like we should set adistinct amount of time and not
take too long to do it.
But we need to show up, we needto represent the foundation and
we need to participate in thiscompetition because it's
important.
But, oh, I feel a little bitguilty sitting here putting a
(13:33):
gumdrop on a piece ofgingerbread.
But after this conversation andkind of reflecting, I think I'm
wrong now, to be perfectlyhonest, because it is important.
It is it's showing up for Craig, it's showing up for my
teammates and being part ofsomething that has become very
quickly so important to theculture here, and that's why I
(13:54):
joined Culture Committee wayback when in the beginning.
I see the value in having thatfun thread being woven
throughout everything we do.
It makes it feel family.
It makes it feel it makes melook forward to coming in every
day to know that hey, if I wantto do this, we're going to make
it happen.
And same goes for the patientsIf they want to do something,
(14:15):
we're going to make it happen.
We're not going to say no,we're going to find a way to do
it.
And that's just reallyinspiring to me.
Jandel Allen-Davis (14:21):
You know that's so cool to know that that
conversation was helpful to youto realize that this is work
and it's a element of craig thatwas built in.
I'll say from the beginning,relative to denny o'malley's
time, which goes back over 40years ago now that he was here.
He was here for 35.
So actually, oh my gosh, it'slike 50 years ago.
He started, as I do ago nowthat he was here.
He was here for 35.
(14:42):
So actually, oh my gosh, it'slike 50 years ago he started as
I do the math Because Mike washere 10, I've been here five and
he was here 35.
Yeah, that's a lot of numbers.
Time flies and part of what hebuilt in here was a profound
sense of the importance of joymanifest through play, or play
manifest through the ways thatwe do it from a therapeutic
perspective, because it is aheavy place.
(15:03):
I mean this is heavy.
I talk to patients all the time.
Nobody wants to come to Craigand I'm glad we're here, and I'm
glad we're here in the way weare, where birthdays matter,
where the fact that you're hereon the 4th of July doesn't mean
that you're missing out thereare ways we're going to
celebrate it, you know, boththrough food and through I.
(15:23):
Come over and give outtchotchkes which is such a
wonderful thing to get to do.
What are outcomes that ladderup to and support the importance
of strong cultures that have asmany of the things that are in
it, this notion of play and funand joy?
Forbes just recently namedCraig the ninth best small
(15:45):
employer in the country, andthey looked at 10,000, ranked
300, and we were number nine.
And so one of the things I wasthinking about as you were
talking is yeah, and we've gotthe engagement scores to show it
.
Sara Pittman (15:58):
Yeah, absolutely In your minds, what does
engagement mean, and how gooddoes it feel to know that you're
part of that in some ways ittakes it one step further than
the simple act of coming in anddoing your job as it's written
on your job description.
Right, you take it a stepfurther.
You invest your time in ameaningful way to me.
(16:21):
You don't find that very oftenyou don't find the desire to
take it that step further, orthat 10 steps further, frankly,
when we're here and you feelgood about that.
To me it's an honor to be partof something like that here.
Yeah.
Sarah Purdy (16:36):
It's being told yes instead of no to lots and lots
of things.
I had a patient once who was inthe hospital on the day that
they were going to get married.
Sara Pittman (16:46):
Oh my.
Sarah Purdy (16:47):
God and they had made it official in the previous
hospital for legal insuranceand medical proxy and things.
But the actual day came aroundand they were having a hard time
, things.
But the actual day came aroundand they were having a hard time
and we went out and got theflowers that they wanted and
(17:09):
gave them to him and we set upone of the conference rooms
because he couldn't leave thehospital yet he wasn't cleared
medically to do that, and so wedecorated that room and the
colors that they'd wanted andshe gave us some pictures and we
put them in little frames forthem and got them a Grubhub gift
card so that they could orderwhat they wanted in.
And I got them the pretendchampagne things and sparkling
(17:33):
juice and we let them have anevening, a date night, away in
one of our conference rooms andI just I don't know of a lot of
places where you could do thingslike that.
So when something is importantto our patients and important to
the staff, we just we figureout a way.
Jandel Allen-Davis (17:51):
My suspicion is celebration happens in
pockets.
What I think distinguishesCraig is that it happens
everywhere.
It's not in pockets.
There's not a department thatin some way doesn't have the
opportunity to kind of do this.
And I loved what you said aboutyes.
I mean that was like one of myepiphanies last year, thinking
about actually not just what wedo because of the power of
(18:16):
healthcare coverage that is,insurance, but what we're able
to do because of the foundationand the generosity of donors.
I just went, oh my gosh, I amworking in a place where we get
to say yes.
Craig gets to say yes on somany fronts, not just in terms
of meeting the direct andobviously physical needs you
know, sort of home-based needs,equipment needs of patients but
(18:39):
also the mind and the spiritneeds, not just the body or
physical needs, in some reallycool ways.
Sarah Purdy (18:45):
That's one of my favorite things about working
here and a huge amount of my jobsatisfaction, because I can
actually.
We can actually make adifference in someone's life in
a way that you know just isn'tan option in a lot of other
systems, you know, just isn't anoption in a lot of other
systems.
Jandel Allen-Davis (19:06):
It's amazing what a difference that makes.
And, as we wrap up, whatrecommendations would you give
to organizations looking tointegrate more play into their
workplace cultures?
Sarah Purdy (19:11):
I guess just how important it is.
You know we've talked aboutways that we've integrated it,
but it also it's the culture ofit too.
Like understanding.
I would recommend to otherorganizations like understand
that this will help.
It's not going to hinder whenyou do things like bring fun
into the workplace.
It helps to build connections.
(19:34):
It helps to make people feelmore a part of the family when
you have that play and I thinkwhen people feel more invested,
that's when they stay longerterm with an organization.
I mean, there's a reason thatSarah at six years feels like a
newbie still and I'm at eightyears and sometimes I'm like,
okay, I guess I've been here fora blink of an eye, because it's
(19:54):
true, people stay here a longtime because it's a great place
to work.
Jandel Allen-Davis (20:04):
Yeah, and you know what.
Back to data again, ourretention numbers are unrivaled.
Sara Pittman (20:06):
They really are.
Yeah, how about you?
What recommendations would yougive to organizations?
I mean similar to what Sarahsaid.
I think happiness is going tostimulate productivity.
Like no question, I always sayand actually a lot of us in the
foundation, since we are acrossthe street we'll come up when we
need that little boostsometimes.
Walk through the halls, grabsomething in the gift shop, just
honestly, anywhere you go, andthen I'll come back to my desk
(20:26):
and be like that's why I'm hereand I'm invigorated and
re-inspired and I see us asstewards of the mission every
day.
Jandel Allen-Davis (20:36):
Well, thank you both for this.
It was a real pleasure andprivilege to get to sit with you
all, and next time there's oneof these big events, I'll know
who the real oomph behind it is.
Putting them on in a way thatmakes sure that we don't trip
over the furniture, we don'tburn anything down and that
friendly competition doesn'tturn into fights.
Sarah Purdy (20:57):
Oh gosh, no, yes, never you too.
Well, thank you for the timetoday, thank you, thank you.
Jandel Allen-Davis (21:07):
We've had the opportunity to record a
number of these podcasts overthe last year or so.
I was thinking about these twothat are part of this series on
play and the importance of playin the workspace, and I hope
(21:30):
that one of the things that youheard more than typically you
hear was laughter I've laughedso much this week but the
opportunity to sit with thesegreat professionals and great
human beings and give them thetime and the space to reflect on
the importance of play and howthey've integrated it into not
just their work life but theirhome life, it was remarkable and
it was such fun and I think oneof the things that makes Craig
(21:54):
special and I think makesworkplaces and there are many of
those that have these culturesout there that are, you know,
sort of known for that whatmakes these cultures so
remarkable?
Actually, sarah, I think, saidit when she talked about how
eyes light up.
Well, you can see people's, ouremployees', eyes light up at
(22:15):
what is possible here.
We can see it in our outcomesand our results.
Do not think and I certainlydon't believe this, don't think
for a moment that part of themagic of low turnover, high
retention, high employeeengagement top small business
rankings, one of the best rehabhospitals in America on the US
(22:39):
News ranking is simply about thetools that we can see, touch
and feel, but recognize alsothat one of the really important
tools if I can use that word interms of building great
cultures that get the kinds ofoutcomes we get, is the ability
of each of us to bring ourentire self into a place to be
(23:01):
vulnerable we heard about thatTo make yourself look silly in
front of your patients, familiesand your team members from
different vantage points.
To risk it all and get on anadult tricycle and go around a
circle.
To spend months dreaming andplanning the competitions around
(23:22):
gingerbread houses or theinsane thing around here which
is Halloween.
To integrate play in some of themost tiny but for patients and
families, impactful ways in thetherapeutic process that happens
here daily.
To know that I get to work in aplace and get to come to a
(23:42):
place where, in answer to thequestion that I asked all four
of the folks that we had achance to chat with, is there
ever a day at Craig that playisn't happening?
Is there ever a place at Craigthat play isn't happening?
And, to get pretty straight up.
No, chaser.
No, there isn't.
Speaks volumes about some things.
I think it speaks volumes aboutour team members agency to do
(24:06):
what's best for themselves andfor their team members and for
patients.
So that's something to thinkabout as you think about the
agency, through the experienceof, and the execution of,
moments of play and creativityto have your employees give even
more than they would have inother places.
The importance of showing yourwhole self through the lens of
(24:27):
vulnerability and in the work wedo, having that give license to
freedom, to patience, to trythings and to push beyond what
can sometimes be some reallimiting beliefs about ourselves
that live in our brains.
To be able to tie this inmeaningful ways through the
comments that you will see onthe family's experience or the
(24:50):
patient's experience of carehere, or our employees'
experience of their work lifehere, that this play, this
notion of play, comes out aswell.
That this play, this notion ofplay, comes out as well.
And to know personally, there'sthis excitement, five plus years
now in this role of CEO andpresident of Craig.
There's an excitement thathappens as I pull into the
(25:13):
parking garage and park and pullall the things together and
jump out and hit the button thatlocks the door and I start the
trek into the building to knowit's another day and heaven only
knows what'll happen.
But what I do know is that evenin the toughest times, there
will be several times during theday where I smile brightly, I
laugh loud and I am once againgrateful for the opportunity to
(25:37):
be part of and do my part tocontribute to great cultures,
and I'd encourage you to try it.
I'd encourage you to not lookat this as extra or as a waste
of time, but actually as anopportunity as leaders for you
even to be that kid again thatlives inside of all of us and
that sometimes we actuallyexpress at home.
(26:00):
It can work wonders on yourculture and on the people you
serve if you bring that kid intowork.
So thank you for listeningagain to Unstoppable at Craig,
and you can certainly accessthis particular podcast on any
one of your channels that youuse to access podcasts.
And thanks for listening.
Welcome to Unstoppable at Craig, where we
pull back the curtain on whatmakes healthy workplace cultures
click and what happens whenpeople are empowered to expand
the boundaries of what ispossible.
We'll explore the perspectivesof employees and leaders who
have carte blanche to speaktheir truths, tell their stories
and unlock uncommon ways ofapproaching challenges.
I'm Dr Jandel Allen- Davis, ceoand president of Craig Hospital
(00:27):
, a world-renownedrehabilitation hospital that
exclusively specializes in theneurorehabilitation and research
of patients with spinal cordand brain injury.
Join me as we learn from peoplewho love what they do and what
happens when fear doesn't stifleinnovation.
Earlier this week I had achance to talk with Joe Fangman
(00:49):
from our team, as well as TomCarr, about the research
benefits of play, as well as howthey bring play into their work
as leaders and into their workas team members.
And today we get to talk to Ilove this phrase two culture
champions at Craig.
Maybe I should call the twoculture champions at Craig.
(01:12):
You know Fred Rogers, who weknow Mr Rogers' Neighborhood,
who has was just chock full ofso much wisdom that you know, we
say is, you know, sort of ownedby children.
But my firm belief is, if weadults listened deeply to Mr
Rogers, we would be a muchbetter place and in a much
better world and much betterpeople.
(01:32):
And what Fred Rogers said isit's the things we play with and
the people who help us playthat make a great difference in
our lives.
And you two are the folks whohelp us play.
I get to be here today withSarah Pittman, who works in our
Craig Foundation as the digitalphilanthropy specialist, and
Sarah Purdy, who, most of thetime anytime I see her there's
(01:54):
something she says that makes melaugh.
I know that who actually workswith our spinal cord injury and
brain injury inpatients as aclinical care manager, but
together they're the mastermindsbehind Halloween, which is only
one of the things we'll exploretoday at Craig in recent years.
I want to just start by havingyou all answer a really big
question around this idea of thevarious ways stepping back from
(02:18):
how you stepped in to do thiswork and just talk a little bit
about how we play at Craig,because Mr Rogers would be very
proud of Craig, I think, interms of how we show up.
I would agree with that.
Sara Pittman (02:29):
I think play is ingrained in us in every single
day, every single task we do,whether it's obvious or not.
To me, play at Craig is.
It means that we care.
It means that we're willing tomake ourselves look silly for
the benefit of someone else,potentially break out of that
shell and really try somethingnew.
(02:50):
Or get back in touch with thechild in us and just let go for
a minute and if we're tooserious, all the time, like
nobody's going to want to behere and you see that in how
long, honestly, how long staffworks here.
I've been here six and a halfyears and I'm still considered
new.
If it was too serious, I don'tthink that would be the case.
Jandel Allen-Davis (03:10):
Yeah, I couldn't agree more.
Thanks for sharing that, and Ilove that, that we bring out the
child in each other.
I love that, which isn't hardfor some of us.
That's what.
Sarah Purdy (03:18):
I'd say and that wasn't an introduction to you,
sarah, that's okay.
I love being known as the onethat brings out the child in
people.
Absolutely, how do?
Jandel Allen-Davis (03:25):
you think about how Craig plays?
Sarah Purdy (03:27):
Yeah, kind of piggybacking on what Sarah said,
that we just kind of bring itout with everything we can.
Halloween is, you know.
I'll start with that, sincethat's kind of our bread and
butter.
Sara Pittman (03:38):
We may or may not have our theme already.
Not to interrupt you.
I mean, people come up withtheir themes so early.
Sarah Purdy (03:43):
They start planning OTs and PTs start working with
the patients that we know aregoing to be here for it.
It's such a fun event andpeople know about it and we have
a reputation for it.
And you know, at the holidaytime we, you know, we weren't
sure if we should do agingerbread house competition
and now it's like.
(04:03):
It's a monstrous like theirmansion's being made.
They're horror With likestained glass windows and moving
pieces and you know, and song,and song.
And the first time werecommended it we thought I
don't know, do you think peoplewill get?
We might have one or two peopledo it.
Now it's like I feel like wecould have one of those shows on
the Food Network where it'slike professional pastry chefs
(04:24):
doing it because they're so good.
It shows how much talent's atCraig and how much we like to
play.
Jandel Allen-Davis (04:29):
We like to play and we add a little healthy
dose of competition.
Oh, always.
Sara Pittman (04:34):
The competition of us players.
Jandel Allen-Davis (04:36):
It's healthy .
Sara Pittman (04:37):
It's healthy oh it's in good spirit always.
But yeah, halloween with thegolden pumpkin trike, races with
the golden trike, and then thedepartments proudly display them
.
Jandel Allen-Davis (04:47):
Unless I steal them, unless you steal, I
mean, which I'm known to do.
Sarah Purdy (04:54):
It's so hilarious when people who don't know and I
had several patients this yearsay, sarah, you told me this was
a big deal at Craig and Ibelieved you.
I believe you, but, like whoa,I mentioned that at every new
employee orientation pretty much, there's not one that goes by.
Jandel Allen-Davis (05:12):
That I don't say, wait till Halloween.
Sara Pittman (05:15):
We do the same honestly in a lot of our
interviews.
We'll find a way to kind ofsneak it in there and kind of
test, are they playful?
To kind of see the culture fitthere.
We definitely bring upHalloween and we've definitely
then had staff who have joinedthe team after seeing Halloween
for the first time.
They're like I get it now.
I understand I didn't think itwas going to be what it was, but
(05:37):
my goodness, that was special.
Jandel Allen-Davis (05:38):
What I find and I'd be curious, sarah, what
you think about this is here Ican bring my whole self to work.
I'm silly at home sometime,absolutely, I trip over the
furniture at home sometime or,you know, I laugh like a hyena
all the time.
But this ability to bring yourwhole self to work is a unique
thing 100%, 100%.
Sara Pittman (06:00):
And I do see that and I kind of see the light that
comes in someone's eyes whenthey are a new hire and they may
be a little hesitant at first.
I mean I was when I firststarted.
I was thinking OK, you know, Icome to work, I do my job, I go
home, I come to work, I do myjob, you know the routine of it.
But the more I was here, themore I realized oh my gosh, wait
(06:20):
a minute.
People A enjoy each other'scompany.
We are here for the mission andthat's a uniting factor.
But then again, when I see anew hire who's like, wait a
minute, it's I can be me in thesimplest form of hey, we each
have our version of a candy dishon our desk right and we share
that with each other.
And it's like come over and seewhat I brought today, like
(06:42):
little tiny things and then thatmorphs into big.
That gives people theconfidence to kind of break out
of their shell and not just bean employee but be part of the
family.
Sarah Purdy (06:53):
And I think too, it's not only recommended that
you have fun here, it'sencouraged.
And that's another thing.
I mean, I remember one time ata previous job we were given
coloring books you know theadult coloring books that when
they first came out, and somecolored pencils and it was kind
of like here, this is forself-care, take it home.
Jandel Allen-Davis (07:15):
You know, kind of like that kind of a
feeling, you know, when we hadour coloring pages Go care for
yourself at home.
Yeah, make sure you do thatwhen you're off time Work here.
Sarah Purdy (07:23):
Go care for yourself at home.
Yeah, make sure you do that onyour off time Work here.
And you know, when we had thecoloring sheets here it was like
and then turn in what you doand we'll put it up on the wall.
And you know, you go up tofourth floor, near fourth floor
nursing, and there was all thepictures that people had colored
and you'd go by and when nurseshad a little bit of downtime
you'd see them coloring on theircoloring sheets with their
little Craig pillared pencilsthat we had gotten through
(07:43):
culture committee and seeing thedifferent departments working
on their gingerbread houses.
I mean.
Jandel Allen-Davis (07:55):
I'm all over this hospital seeing patients,
and so I'd be like, oh, what's,what are you doing over?
Sarah Purdy (07:57):
there you can see people are engaging in that play
.
They're engaging in the funthere.
It's encouraged.
You know what's interestingabout that?
Jandel Allen-Davis (08:05):
and and for those who might be listening to
this, you might wonder well,when do they work?
And I'm going to once againreinforce a couple things play
is work, and there's somethingabout the ability to have
moments that are I'd go evenfarther than encourage, but are
actually expected.
This is part of what makes thisculture as strong as it is is
(08:30):
that play isn't something thatsits over here on the side or,
as you said, you color when yougo home, exactly, but there's
this recognition that being ableto engage all your senses,
being able to engage both yourright-oriented thinking as well
as your left-oriented thinking,creates different and better
outcomes, and Craig has theoutcomes to prove it both in
(08:51):
terms of the patient and thefamily experience here, as well
as us as employees.
So that's a little bit aboutsome of the many ways we play,
both large and small.
We've talked a touch about this, but I'd love for both of you
to talk about.
Why does Craig play?
Because some people might arguethat play can be a distraction.
It's why I felt it reallyimportant as part of this
(09:13):
conversation to say trust me, ithas done nothing but improve
our outcomes.
It is not in terms of what wesee, the numbers of people who
go home from here, the folks whoget back to school from here,
back to work.
So some would argue that's adistraction.
How would you counter thatperspective?
Sarah Purdy (09:35):
I think it's intertwined so much in our
culture and in our therapy andjust in who we are.
I don't think it's adistraction.
I think it's such an asset andpeople are going through such a
hard time.
They've just experienced thishuge traumatic injury.
That's life-changing and youknow, then they were in you know
ICU or wherever they were for awhile before they came to us
and they usually say that thatwas really somber and serious.
(09:57):
And then they get to us andthey can start thinking about
okay, what's my new normal goingto look like?
And I just think, showing thatthere can be joy and play and
fun in it.
There's no way that that couldbe a distraction.
So I think it's also meetingpeople where they're at that not
everybody wants to do like thebig Halloween thing and the big
(10:19):
thing whatever, but they canstill have that play and that
joy and doing you know otherlittle things that are fun and
bring them happiness.
And people can find ways to dothat creativity and I think it
helps them to also deal withwhat has happened to them in the
way that they need to.
Jandel Allen-Davis (10:35):
One of the things I've wondered about, with
just for a minute to go back toone of the big things that
insane trike race that we havein the summer, with all of us
dressed in themed costumes andthe whole bit.
I'd wonder what is going throughthe minds of patients, because
it's at noon and patients andfamilies are out there watching
us make fools of ourselves aswell.
My answer to the question andI'd love your perspective, sarah
(10:59):
is that it humanizes us.
There's this concept ofcultural humility, this idea
that we sit at the feet of ourpatients.
We sit at the feet of those weserve, and yet we've got these.
We don't wear them here, butwhite coats and stethoscopes and
degrees and all the things butus doing being that we're eye to
(11:20):
eye with our patients, if notfrankly, sitting down at their
knees and looking up at them interms of, oh boy, did she just
spin out?
They gave her.
She's a CEO.
She's got to learn how to drivethat thing better Now the truth
comes out.
You know just this whole idea.
What do you think is the impacton patients of watching us play
(11:40):
?
Sara Pittman (11:41):
I kind of think it shows them that we believe in
Craig to go all out to come upwith your team name, to come up
with your costume, to show up.
Take time out of your day andsign up ahead of time.
Say you're going to be in thetrack races.
That, to me, says to thepatients we're here for a
purpose, we believe in ourpurpose.
(12:01):
And it doesn't matternecessarily the format per se.
It can be fun, it can beserious, there's time for both.
But hey, let's all cometogether and remember like we
can have fun.
Jandel Allen-Davis (12:11):
You know, I remember, sarah, when we were
prepping for this, you saidsomething that I think would be
really important for those outthere listening to have some
conversation about, and that isthat when you all are preparing
for things whether it's culturecommittee big projects or the
Halloween big project that yousometimes feel like guilty about
(12:33):
the work that goes intoprepping for this.
And then I sounded like a momwhen I said what are you talking
about?
This is work, but talk aboutthat, you know, and even that
conversation, and even if youthink about the conversation,
but how you've thought about itsince.
Sara Pittman (12:50):
And I haven't.
No, that was good.
I actually I'm glad we saidthat before, because I needed to
hear that I have the we'll callthem Jiminy Cricket sitting on
my shoulder with a littleconscience of like, you're here
for your work, your work isimportant.
Your work comes in differentforms, right?
So I'm blessed that I get todesign, and so to me that's a
form of play.
(13:10):
But then to take it one stepfurther and design a gingerbread
house in the middle of the daydon't get me wrong.
That is a blessing and I'm sograteful for it.
But yeah, it crossed my mind.
I'm like we should set adistinct amount of time and not
take too long to do it.
But we need to show up, we needto represent the foundation and
we need to participate in thiscompetition because it's
important.
But, oh, I feel a little bitguilty sitting here putting a
(13:33):
gumdrop on a piece ofgingerbread.
But after this conversation andkind of reflecting, I think I'm
wrong now, to be perfectlyhonest, because it is important.
It is it's showing up for Craig, it's showing up for my
teammates and being part ofsomething that has become very
quickly so important to theculture here, and that's why I
(13:54):
joined Culture Committee wayback when in the beginning.
I see the value in having thatfun thread being woven
throughout everything we do.
It makes it feel family.
It makes it feel it makes melook forward to coming in every
day to know that hey, if I wantto do this, we're going to make
it happen.
And same goes for the patientsIf they want to do something,
(14:15):
we're going to make it happen.
We're not going to say no,we're going to find a way to do
it.
And that's just reallyinspiring to me.
Jandel Allen-Davis (14:21):
You know that's so cool to know that that
conversation was helpful to youto realize that this is work
and it's a element of craig thatwas built in.
I'll say from the beginning,relative to denny o'malley's
time, which goes back over 40years ago now that he was here.
He was here for 35.
So actually, oh my gosh, it'slike 50 years ago.
He started, as I do ago nowthat he was here.
He was here for 35.
(14:42):
So actually, oh my gosh, it'slike 50 years ago he started as
I do the math Because Mike washere 10, I've been here five and
he was here 35.
Yeah, that's a lot of numbers.
Time flies and part of what hebuilt in here was a profound
sense of the importance of joymanifest through play, or play
manifest through the ways thatwe do it from a therapeutic
perspective, because it is aheavy place.
(15:03):
I mean this is heavy.
I talk to patients all the time.
Nobody wants to come to Craigand I'm glad we're here, and I'm
glad we're here in the way weare, where birthdays matter,
where the fact that you're hereon the 4th of July doesn't mean
that you're missing out thereare ways we're going to
celebrate it, you know, boththrough food and through I.
(15:23):
Come over and give outtchotchkes which is such a
wonderful thing to get to do.
What are outcomes that ladderup to and support the importance
of strong cultures that have asmany of the things that are in
it, this notion of play and funand joy?
Forbes just recently namedCraig the ninth best small
(15:45):
employer in the country, andthey looked at 10,000, ranked
300, and we were number nine.
And so one of the things I wasthinking about as you were
talking is yeah, and we've gotthe engagement scores to show it
.
Sara Pittman (15:58):
Yeah, absolutely In your minds, what does
engagement mean, and how gooddoes it feel to know that you're
part of that in some ways ittakes it one step further than
the simple act of coming in anddoing your job as it's written
on your job description.
Right, you take it a stepfurther.
You invest your time in ameaningful way to me.
(16:21):
You don't find that very oftenyou don't find the desire to
take it that step further, orthat 10 steps further, frankly,
when we're here and you feelgood about that.
To me it's an honor to be partof something like that here.
Yeah.
Sarah Purdy (16:36):
It's being told yes instead of no to lots and lots
of things.
I had a patient once who was inthe hospital on the day that
they were going to get married.
Sara Pittman (16:46):
Oh my.
Sarah Purdy (16:47):
God and they had made it official in the previous
hospital for legal insuranceand medical proxy and things.
But the actual day came aroundand they were having a hard time
, things.
But the actual day came aroundand they were having a hard time
and we went out and got theflowers that they wanted and
(17:09):
gave them to him and we set upone of the conference rooms
because he couldn't leave thehospital yet he wasn't cleared
medically to do that, and so wedecorated that room and the
colors that they'd wanted andshe gave us some pictures and we
put them in little frames forthem and got them a Grubhub gift
card so that they could orderwhat they wanted in.
And I got them the pretendchampagne things and sparkling
(17:33):
juice and we let them have anevening, a date night, away in
one of our conference rooms andI just I don't know of a lot of
places where you could do thingslike that.
So when something is importantto our patients and important to
the staff, we just we figureout a way.
Jandel Allen-Davis (17:51):
My suspicion is celebration happens in
pockets.
What I think distinguishesCraig is that it happens
everywhere.
It's not in pockets.
There's not a department thatin some way doesn't have the
opportunity to kind of do this.
And I loved what you said aboutyes.
I mean that was like one of myepiphanies last year, thinking
about actually not just what wedo because of the power of
(18:16):
healthcare coverage that is,insurance, but what we're able
to do because of the foundationand the generosity of donors.
I just went, oh my gosh, I amworking in a place where we get
to say yes.
Craig gets to say yes on somany fronts, not just in terms
of meeting the direct andobviously physical needs you
know, sort of home-based needs,equipment needs of patients but
(18:39):
also the mind and the spiritneeds, not just the body or
physical needs, in some reallycool ways.
Sarah Purdy (18:45):
That's one of my favorite things about working
here and a huge amount of my jobsatisfaction, because I can
actually.
We can actually make adifference in someone's life in
a way that you know just isn'tan option in a lot of other
systems, you know, just isn't anoption in a lot of other
systems.
Jandel Allen-Davis (19:06):
It's amazing what a difference that makes.
And, as we wrap up, whatrecommendations would you give
to organizations looking tointegrate more play into their
workplace cultures?
Sarah Purdy (19:11):
I guess just how important it is.
You know we've talked aboutways that we've integrated it,
but it also it's the culture ofit too.
Like understanding.
I would recommend to otherorganizations like understand
that this will help.
It's not going to hinder whenyou do things like bring fun
into the workplace.
It helps to build connections.
(19:34):
It helps to make people feelmore a part of the family when
you have that play and I thinkwhen people feel more invested,
that's when they stay longerterm with an organization.
I mean, there's a reason thatSarah at six years feels like a
newbie still and I'm at eightyears and sometimes I'm like,
okay, I guess I've been here fora blink of an eye, because it's
(19:54):
true, people stay here a longtime because it's a great place
to work.
Jandel Allen-Davis (20:04):
Yeah, and you know what.
Back to data again, ourretention numbers are unrivaled.
Sara Pittman (20:06):
They really are.
Yeah, how about you?
What recommendations would yougive to organizations?
I mean similar to what Sarahsaid.
I think happiness is going tostimulate productivity.
Like no question, I always sayand actually a lot of us in the
foundation, since we are acrossthe street we'll come up when we
need that little boostsometimes.
Walk through the halls, grabsomething in the gift shop, just
honestly, anywhere you go, andthen I'll come back to my desk
(20:26):
and be like that's why I'm hereand I'm invigorated and
re-inspired and I see us asstewards of the mission every
day.
Jandel Allen-Davis (20:36):
Well, thank you both for this.
It was a real pleasure andprivilege to get to sit with you
all, and next time there's oneof these big events, I'll know
who the real oomph behind it is.
Putting them on in a way thatmakes sure that we don't trip
over the furniture, we don'tburn anything down and that
friendly competition doesn'tturn into fights.
Sarah Purdy (20:57):
Oh gosh, no, yes, never you too.
Well, thank you for the timetoday, thank you, thank you.
Jandel Allen-Davis (21:07):
We've had the opportunity to record a
number of these podcasts overthe last year or so.
I was thinking about these twothat are part of this series on
play and the importance of playin the workspace, and I hope
(21:30):
that one of the things that youheard more than typically you
hear was laughter I've laughedso much this week but the
opportunity to sit with thesegreat professionals and great
human beings and give them thetime and the space to reflect on
the importance of play and howthey've integrated it into not
just their work life but theirhome life, it was remarkable and
it was such fun and I think oneof the things that makes Craig
(21:54):
special and I think makesworkplaces and there are many of
those that have these culturesout there that are, you know,
sort of known for that whatmakes these cultures so
remarkable?
Actually, sarah, I think, saidit when she talked about how
eyes light up.
Well, you can see people's, ouremployees', eyes light up at
(22:15):
what is possible here.
We can see it in our outcomesand our results.
Do not think and I certainlydon't believe this, don't think
for a moment that part of themagic of low turnover, high
retention, high employeeengagement top small business
rankings, one of the best rehabhospitals in America on the US
(22:39):
News ranking is simply about thetools that we can see, touch
and feel, but recognize alsothat one of the really important
tools if I can use that word interms of building great
cultures that get the kinds ofoutcomes we get, is the ability
of each of us to bring ourentire self into a place to be
(23:01):
vulnerable we heard about thatTo make yourself look silly in
front of your patients, familiesand your team members from
different vantage points.
To risk it all and get on anadult tricycle and go around a
circle.
To spend months dreaming andplanning the competitions around
(23:22):
gingerbread houses or theinsane thing around here which
is Halloween.
To integrate play in some of themost tiny but for patients and
families, impactful ways in thetherapeutic process that happens
here daily.
To know that I get to work in aplace and get to come to a
(23:42):
place where, in answer to thequestion that I asked all four
of the folks that we had achance to chat with, is there
ever a day at Craig that playisn't happening?
Is there ever a place at Craigthat play isn't happening?
And, to get pretty straight up.
No, chaser.
No, there isn't.
Speaks volumes about some things.
I think it speaks volumes aboutour team members agency to do
(24:06):
what's best for themselves andfor their team members and for
patients.
So that's something to thinkabout as you think about the
agency, through the experienceof, and the execution of,
moments of play and creativityto have your employees give even
more than they would have inother places.
The importance of showing yourwhole self through the lens of
(24:27):
vulnerability and in the work wedo, having that give license to
freedom, to patience, to trythings and to push beyond what
can sometimes be some reallimiting beliefs about ourselves
that live in our brains.
To be able to tie this inmeaningful ways through the
comments that you will see onthe family's experience or the
(24:50):
patient's experience of carehere, or our employees'
experience of their work lifehere, that this play, this
notion of play, comes out aswell.
That this play, this notion ofplay, comes out as well.
And to know personally, there'sthis excitement, five plus years
now in this role of CEO andpresident of Craig.
There's an excitement thathappens as I pull into the
(25:13):
parking garage and park and pullall the things together and
jump out and hit the button thatlocks the door and I start the
trek into the building to knowit's another day and heaven only
knows what'll happen.
But what I do know is that evenin the toughest times, there
will be several times during theday where I smile brightly, I
laugh loud and I am once againgrateful for the opportunity to
(25:37):
be part of and do my part tocontribute to great cultures,
and I'd encourage you to try it.
I'd encourage you to not lookat this as extra or as a waste
of time, but actually as anopportunity as leaders for you
even to be that kid again thatlives inside of all of us and
that sometimes we actuallyexpress at home.
(26:00):
It can work wonders on yourculture and on the people you
serve if you bring that kid intowork.
So thank you for listeningagain to Unstoppable at Craig,
and you can certainly accessthis particular podcast on any
one of your channels that youuse to access podcasts.
And thanks for listening.
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