Wellness Coordinators: Apply Amazon’s Leadership Principles In Your Worksite Wellness Program Today

A principle is a comprehensive and fundamental doctrine, assumption, law or fact of nature. You do want to be a principle centered leader right? Amazon states that its Leadership Principles are used every day when discussing ideas for new projects, deciding on customer solutions or when interviewing job applicants. But how might these same 14 leadership principles apply to your leadership of your worksite wellness program? Let’s examine each individual principle.Principle #1: Customer ObsessionAs a worksite wellness program coordinator, you serve customers as well. Your customers are the organization as a distinct entity and the organization’s employees. Like Amazon, you too should obsess over your customers.Principle #2: OwnershipYou are the owner of your worksite wellness program. Organizational and employee health and wellbeing are your job. You need to think both short and long-term and establish program value from both perspectives.Principle #3: Invent and SimplifyThe cookie cutter approach does not work in worksite wellness. Each program must be unique to the employer and the needs and wants of its leaders and employees. While being based on an organization-wide assessment, your programming and interventions also need to be innovative and inventive. Even though health, wellness, wellbeing and behavior change are complex issues, you should always be on the lookout for ways you can simplify your program and programming.Principle #4: Are Right, A Lot Based on good instincts and sound program design and execution judgement, the programming and interventions you offer should be right, a lot. Your program offerings should be diverse and encompass more than just your own personal beliefs.Principle #5: Hire and Develop the Best Employee health and wellbeing strategies should play a key role in your organization’s career development and employee training and development initiatives. If you utilize vendors for any aspect of your program, settle only for the exceptional vendor. Remember that any vendor and their services represent your program.Principle #6: Insist on the Highest Standards While the worksite wellness field may not currently have any standards, that does not mean you should not have your own personal, professional standards. Setting high standards for yourself will result in your delivering a high quality program.Principle #7: Think BigEstablish a bold direction for your program. It should encompass a direction that inspires results for both the organization and employees. Don’t be afraid to think differently than the crowd. Think critically about what you read and hear as you look for ways to better serve the organization and employees.Principle #8: Bias for ActionSpeed matters in business so keep up with your organization’s response to change. Don’t be afraid to experiment with next generation programming, while at the relying on evidence based and accepted best practice programming and interventions.Principle #9: Frugality Sadly, most employers still view worksite wellness programs as an expense, rather than an investment. Be frugal and wise with the budget you do get. Maximize the use of existing resources both physical and fiscal. Be resourceful, self-sufficient and inventive.Principle #10: Learn and Be CuriousThe fields of wellness and business are huge. Be a life-long learner. Always be learning and seeking to improve. Be curious about new trends and seek to explore them and their implications for you, your organization and your program. Be sure to read and learn outside your specialty and current expertise.Principle #11: Earn TrustListen attentively, speak candidly and treat others with respect. But yourself in positions where management and employees can come to know, like and trust you. Frequently benchmark yourself and your program against the best.Principle #12: Dive DeepMake sure your program addresses the breadth of the wellness dimensions. Be a check of all trades when it comes to the planning, execution and evaluation of your program. Raise questions and challenges when the anecdotes and metrics don’t agree.Principle #13: Have Backbone; Disagree and CommitHave the backbone to respectfully challenge decisions and conventional wisdom when you disagree. Too many wellness program practices are instituted because everyone else is doing them, rather than because they are known to really work and that they will work in your case. Be clear and tenacious about your convictions, but be sure to openly listen and consider alternative points of view. Commit to being and delivering the best.Principle #14: Deliver Results Far too many worksite wellness programs today don’t deliver results. Be results, not activity, focused and driven. Monitor, measure and evaluate. Be clear about and able to demonstrate the value your program delivers. Know and communicate your results.As a worksite wellness coordinator, you can certainly adopt these Amazon Leadership Principles and you would be wise to do so.