Over the past year we have watched this 8(a) EDWOSB win at agencies including CMS, FDA, DHS, NOAA and AoC; grow and attract top talent including FDA’s Elizabeth (Liz) Cruz McNamara who joined the team as its new Health IT Innovation Officer; and do it all somewhat quietly. We wanted to learn more about what makes this team tick, to better understand its success as a woman-owned and women-led entity, and find out what’s ahead so we sat down with Liz and Next Phase President, Lisa Wolff.
A Safe Haven for Top Talent
Growing as an 8(a) and EDWOSB, Next Phase is not only committed to existing as a woman-owned and women-led business, in every sense of the word, but also to being a welcoming and safe space for women in the IT and consulting fields. “This is a place where you can come in and you can work and you can thrive and you can grow, without being pigeonholed or confined to a specific box.”
Founded on the goals of innovation – on the ‘next phase’ forward for government, the company does not seek out simple challenges, evolutions of existing systems. “We really like to get involved where there’s an opportunity for change and we work hard to help understand our clients’ vision, help them tailor it, and be able to implement something innovative in a managed way. These complex challenges provide opportunities for our team to innovate and grow.”
The proof of success in GovCon is often in reputation. Enter Liz. As she considered making her exit from government, speaking with large and medium sized companies, the move to Next Phase was a conversation she says she initiated. “The passion I could see for change, the growth I saw and knowing I could be part of that growth, and the chance to continue to support HHS/FDA from a different lens made this the place I wanted to be. Lisa offered me the chance to continue my focus on the mission, to apply my expertise in a role that was not defined, not constrained, where I can really take it in whatever direction makes sense.”
Guided by a Different Kind of Leader
Leaning largely on female leaders, along with technical capability, in addition to experience, what it takes to succeed at Next Phase is a high Emotional Efficacy (EEQ). Taking a view that its leaders need to be technically competent, but also emotionally competent, Next Phase leaders — at all levels — are able to shift in and out of logical thought to support team members as the people they are, to help them move past the baggage they may carry from past roles.
“A lot of people come to us kind of broken due to mistreatment from other employers. They may be afraid to ask for help or admit a mistake because at another company they were burned for that. As a small company, we all wear many hats and those can include helping employees move past their prior experiences to trust this is a safe place. Our leadership combines that soft touch emotionally that helps people be their best, backed by a high technical competence in whatever they are doing — which I think is a strong discriminator as to why we succeed.”
Slower, People-First Growth
While some companies focus their growth on winning a lot, driving forward quickly at a breakneck pace, Next Phase is committed to slow growth, recognizing people are more than an asset to be managed. “We think about people first. Across the company we support each other, are there for each other, would drop anything to help someone else, because the same would come the other way if needed.”
That caring about people comes into play in everything this team does. That means being careful about workloads, being aware of who people are outside of the office, while focusing on growth and forward motion but at a pace that is sustainable and manageable.
Onboarding from the Top
As it has grown, one touchpoint Lisa maintains for herself is onboarding. “I want people to hear from me what is acceptable from an ethics point of view and to understand how our culture works. Everyone who comes to us has a story and some of those stories are less than pleasant. I want our staff, especially women, to understand they are free here to break free, to try new things. I want them to know they are entering a non-judgemental environment where they will be well paid to work, to try, to sometimes fail, and to grow.”
Hearing from the top what the expectations are, seeing those modelled through day-to-day interactions, even when things go wrong, lays that foundation of trust and security that will allow employees to thrive and truly grow. There is also a focus on letting potential employees know what they are getting into, what works and what does not, the teamwork and collaboration that is required, and providing tips and tricks for success.
“That being said, we are a kind of a fierce organization. We get the work done. When something negative happens, we are upfront in getting things resolved including asking the questions – Why did we do this? What were we thinking? Could we have done something different?”
Empowering Women
If you haven’t made the connection yet, Next Phase is committed to developing and empowering women leaders. In selecting and positioning its leaders, a focus is made on connecting people to what they like to do and building roles around that. “Women are often told they are too something – too bold, too loud… People will naturally stand out more and be most comfortable doing the things they really like to do. Then what happens, that starts to build confidence for them in their new role.”
The other part of empowering people is trust. “If you’ve put someone in a role they are clearly competent to do, trust goes a long way in empowering them to not only fulfil their role but build out their repertoire of what they can do. That goes for men as well as women. Many put themselves in these “boxes” that restrict who they are and what they will try. Women in particular have been told too often how they should be viewed and they need to have a space to find their own view of who they are.”
Recognizing that resumes can be part of building that box, interviews are more about what people like to do, where their passions and goals are focused. “Next Phase empowers women to empower themselves. It isn’t something we do, it’s something we allow and encourage.”
Partnership and Relationships
One of the key words today in GovCon today is partnership – both on the government and industry side. “Government can’t do this on their own, they need smart partners who can not only build what they need but also understand and apply customer experience and change management and all of those softer sides of things. The expression, if you build it, they will come, simply isn’t true.”
This knowledge of where the rubber truly meets the road, helps Next Phase serve as that other lens, that advisor to help clients understand the missing pieces that, once explained, provide the ah ha moment needed to really drive change forward. “People sometimes want to do things they aren’t ready for so we communicate to ensure they have a sense of where they are, really communicate to them what will be required to get to that goal so they understand the steps that may need to happen next.”
Saying that most challenges are not really technology problems, but rather, people problems or process problems, the biggest challenge is often getting stakeholders to do something in a different way.
Skip the Buzz
With terms like modernization and transformation taking center stage as today’s buzz words, the true challenge is often overlooked, the challenge of reinventing.
“Too often these efforts are focused on getting technology platforms that are on the ground into the cloud, keeping status quo. What we need to do is look at whether you [the client] are doing things you [the client} still have to or just doing them because you always have. Starting from scratch, looking at things from fresh eyes, we can drive cost and time efficiencies and really improve mission operations across the board.”
What’s Ahead
Building on its steady growth, Next Phase too is at a next phase of its growth, able to invest at vertical levels instead of focusing strictly on functional, employing people like Liz who will bring it to the next level.
“Our investments, the relationships we have within the company and with external partners; new hires including feds coming out of agencies ready to guide us; and others who are coming to us through friends or based on our reputation as a great and safe place to be, will allow us to move into new agencies, to bring innovative ideas where we know there are issues. The future is bright and we’re excited for what we bring to the table, and facing the big challenges we can help government solve.”
Leveraging the relationships Liz has built in the Federal Health industry, and those she is looking to continue to develop around new agencies, new capabilities and those of other new hires, Next Phase is focused on its next year being a time of cementing its “Cogito, ergo sum,” a Latin phrase that translates to “I think, therefore I am.”
“It’s about envisioning something, about helping government recognize problems, and the best inventive way forward and ensuring we have all we need to succeed. For example, it’s about developing accelerator solutions that can take them all the way, about investing in things we can use to help government succeed.”
Part of envisioning that future includes finding different ways of talking about itself, helping government find new ways to talk about challenges so it can find the right solution, not just the easy solution that finds a few keyword matches.
And, part of that future will be empowering other women-owned companies, finding other women-owned and women-led companies who are aligned in values and purpose that it can work with, win with and grow with.
“When I was starting off, I needed help. I sent out a call and people showed up, they helped me learn and position Next Phase for growth. Now I help other women leaders. It’s karma. What you put out there comes back to you. Women helping women, empowering each other, getting rid of boxes so we can grow and really tackle the big challenges of government.”
Not Yet a Premium Partner/Sponsor? Learn more about the OS AI Premium Corporate and Individual Plans here. Plans start at $250 annually.