Following recent wins at VA and CMS; being recognized with the Department of Labor’s HIRE Vets Medallion Award; and being recognized as an Elev8 GovCon company that is #doingitright, we caught up with members of the MBL Leadership team, including President and CEO, Matt Buchert; Senior Vice President, Denis Lynch; Vice President, Courtney Schiffman to hear more about the journey, and what’s ahead.
The Journey
As with many startups, MBL grew from lessons learned, driven by a desire to grow while doing a great job, supporting and leveraging the insights of your team along the way.
“Coming out of large businesses, many of our leaders initially considered the small business mentality to be that family atmosphere but that can be too cozy and not the professional environment that is needed. In the end, we learned the balance to be a commitment to fairness and honesty, to supporting career and life development; and continuous learning, both from a growth and lessons learned perspective.”
As a small business, MBL has also leaned into its ability to work more freely, to be more agile and flexible. “We have the ability to bring in people that we like to work with, and everybody gels. We have a very good vibe among the leadership team but also among the partners we work with. There is never a partnership decision based on the shortest path to a win, but instead on strategic long-term relationships.”
Unique Culture
As a collective, the MBL team brings some common aspects of what they would like to see in a culture and some new aspects that are then blended together to create something really special.
Part of MBL’s unique culture goes back to being open to lessons learned and moving forward from there. “There may be hiccups, may be things that are misunderstood or don’t happen as planned but the response then is to pick up the phone to get it sorted out.”
As may be the case with many in the GovCon space, MBL puts its focus on mission. For this team though that means taking care of people first. “Making sure the mission still moves forward means making sure people are doing well, personally, professionally and emotionally. There is a level of respect here, a level of people being able to speak their truth that stands out.”
Looking to Patrick Lencioni’s book, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, MBL recognizes that trust is one of the key tenants for moving forward. “When the CEO and the SVP are accountable for their words and accountable for their actions, and they admit when they’re wrong or when something went askew because it is of a decision that they made, it doesn’t impact the client, or productivity because we pull together to make it right.”
Family and Face-to-face Engagement
MBL recognizes that, no matter how busy things get, engagement, not just for employees, but for families, is key. “People may work remotely and do really well on their little islands but coming together, bringing our families together, is so important. If people can’t make it for one reason or another, that’s ok. We still send a handwritten note or a gift card or something to know they were thought of.”
That personal touch is something that has been part of MBL from day one and will remain as it grows. “There is something about the handshake or finding out who you are and then seeing the family, watching new additions, as kids grow…During COVID that changed but we still made time for the check in to see how everyone was doing, what was new.”
Stakeholder Delivery
MBL is focused on engaging on an equally personal level with its clients and stakeholders as well to ensure what it is delivering is really what the client wants and, even more importantly, needs. “We are focused on quality delivery that is repeatable and part of that is making sure we get the right information from the client, that we take feedback, and that we ensure everyone on the team knows the value of their role in contributing to what we are doing.”
That engagement, from its internal team, also means ensuring the right people are delivering against requirements, and that those who want to move into those roles have what they need to succeed. “It is never, you’re a marketing person, this is your job. Everyone is welcome to have a voice, to stretch their boundaries into other areas so they can grow and really thrive in their careers, to flex outside of whatever their title might be so we can help grow those next-level leader, raise everyone to meet their potential.”
Formalizing the effort through an annual certification campaign, employees are encouraged to pursue professional certifications, to develop skills and expertise that can then help them move into those next level roles, to engage with clients in different and more impactful ways.
Partner Trust
Working with partners which have shared values, those that operate in the same way ensures a solid foundation of trust. “We treat partners the way we want to be treated, and they quickly understand it to be a stronger, unique relationship. Long-time partners offer us to lean on a sort of muscle memory that has delivered success, that avoids some of the getting to know you time and effort which in turns allows us to be more agile and flexible; to leverage the operational efficiencies that exist.”
What’s Ahead
With its infrastructure solid, MBL is now looking to grow into complimentary areas, to take bigger swings, and to look to adjacent capabilities that may not currently be part of its offerings. “This will mean leveraging our JVs but also revisiting old partnerships, relationships we have maintained as people have moved into new corporate or government roles.”
As an SDVOSB, MBL is committed to supporting veterans and over the past two years has earned the military friendly award, providing support for transitioning veterans, but also military spouses. That commitment too will continue with more opportunities to give and to give back.
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