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In the ever-evolving world of human resources, Denise Nichols stands out as a highly accomplished and strategy-driven senior global HR leader, spearheading organizations to achieve top-notch performance. With a distinguished career in human resources, she excels in multinational, multicultural environments and collaborating with executive teams to resolve complex global HR issues. As a visionary leader, Denise crafts innovative global operating models, develops business strategies, and fosters high-performance team environments. Her commitment to people-centric leadership and continuous learning has made her a driving force behind Fortitude Re’s thriving work culture, empowering employees to reach their full potential and succeed.
Early Career and Foundations in Human Resources
Denise Nichols’ professional journey began with a psychology degree and an aspiration to help people. Despite her doubts about whether she was a good fit for Corporate America, she accepted a job in investment banking and later transitioned into human resources. She gained extensive expertise in the startup landscape, which taught her valuable lessons about company life cycles, eventually moving to a bigger organization to continue learning.
Denise later landed at Marsh McLennan; it was her first insurance company experience. She identified a new passion for the insurance industry and thrived in various roles, pursuing her drive to learn and innovate. Throughout her career path, Denise learned that being people-centric isn’t about always being nice but about always putting respect for the individual above all else.
Guiding Values in Leadership
While some companies refer to people as their greatest asset, Denise firmly believes they are a professional services organization’s only asset. Her leadership is guided by the values of treating all individuals with respect and care. Whether someone is exiting the company or struggling in performance – regardless of the circumstances, she believes that everyone comes in trying to do their best.
Another key value that has served Denise well in her career is one she learned from her strong Irish grandmother. Regardless of someone’s title, Denise has the ability to speak truth to power and deliver feedback in a way that is seen as constructive.
The Power of Psychology in Executive Coaching
Denise’s undergraduate psychology background influences her executive coaching and talent development. From Psychology 101, she learned that everyone has to navigate their own personal issues and that fosters empathy for others’ challenges. She recognizes that each person is juggling multiple responsibilities. This perspective shapes her approach, enabling her to better support individuals by considering their unique experiences.
Aligning People Strategy with Business Goals: The Key Metric
At Fortitude Re, Denise doesn’t see people strategy as a separate entity but as an integral part of the company’s overall business objectives. She passionately believes that a company’s success hinges entirely on having the most talented and engaged team, all striving for their personal best. Her approach is a testament to the idea that a thriving business is built on the foundation of its dedicated people, all rowing in the same direction to achieve common goals.
Balancing Employee Experience and Organizational Performance
Denise recognizes that employee experience and organizational performance are interconnected. She believes that enabling employees to deliver their best performance is vital to drive success. To make this happen, she suggests taking a holistic approach, understanding the obstacles, tools, and resources employees need, and the growth opportunities required to enhance performance. At Fortitude Re, they do just that and focus on the whole employee journey.
Nurturing a Culture of Learning and Resilience
Denise strives to create balance and build a culture of resilience at Fortitude Re. The company promotes work-life balance through unlimited PTO, a weeklong company closure (#FortitudeReUnplugged), and Focus Fridays for growth and learning.
Denise and her team’s deep belief in a growth mindset underpins their company culture. That approach is supported by bespoke programs like the multi-tiered Manage to Lead program that provides development for managers at various levels of the company and a $5,000 IGNITE learning allowance for each employee to pursue personal or professional development. Denise is a firm believer that growth—whether personal or professional—leads to enhanced performance. And that individuals focused on growth influence the performance of those around them. As the saying goes, “A rising tide lifts all boats.”
Successful Executives: The Evolving Traits
As per Denise, the traits that distinguish the most successful executives today from their counterparts 10 years ago are nimbleness, adaptability, and empathy. She believes empathy is a crucial trait in recent years that enables leaders to support people, prioritize individual growth, provide effective feedback, and enablement. Moreover, leaders must have a strong business acumen and strategic lens on how to advance the business through pulling the talent levers.
Universal Leadership Qualities
Denise’s experience coaching leaders across 20+ nations has revealed that certain universal qualities are essential for success in a global business environment. She believes in the importance of being nimble and adaptable, able to vacillate between what’s appropriate in one market versus another. Being empathetic and understanding of people is also important, enabling leaders to engage with people from different backgrounds. Denise believes global leaders should adapt to balancing these qualities to ensure success in an increasingly complex and interconnected world.
Tailoring Leadership Development for Success
Denise and her team have implemented a tiered-based approach to leadership development, catering to rising talent as well as seasoned executives. The top tier, “Leading from the Front,” is designed for management directors, executives, and SVPs, focusing on the unique challenges of the leaders. For emerging leaders, the Manage to Lead program offers foundational-level training on effective management practices, including feedback, coaching, and team management. Fortitude Re ensures that its leaders are equipped with the skills and knowledge required to succeed by tailoring programs to specific leadership levels.
Defining True Belonging in the Workplace
For Denise, true belonging goes beyond standard industry DEI initiatives. According to her, belonging is ingrained in the culture, where diversity is celebrated in every form, and people feel empowered to be themselves. This sense of belonging is visible in the high levels of respect and inclusivity reported by employees in surveys, despite their background.
Denise attributes this success to deep employee listening practices, including regular pulse surveys and one-on-one meetings, which inform programs and policies that make employees feel valued and heard. That makes it an organization where people feel their voice matters and they truly belong.
Embedding DEI as a Business Imperative
Denise has made DEI a business imperative because she believes strongly that the company can’t solve complex problems on behalf of their clients without the diverse perspectives, experiences and talents of their inclusive workforce. This dynamic tension among diverse perspectives drives innovation and better results for clients and policyholders.
Handling Resistance to Inclusion Initiatives
Denise approaches resistance to inclusion-related initiatives by fostering an environment that values diverse opinions while aligning on a common set of values and business goals.
At Fortitude Re, employee resource groups (ERGs) play a crucial role in celebrating different lifestyles, cultures, and heritages and are entirely employee-led. By engaging employees in learning about the various communities their colleagues identify with, Denise believes that resistance can be effectively addressed. This approach focuses on the significance of peer-driven initiatives and encourages employees to respect and appreciate their colleagues’ differences.
Leader Advice: Breaking into People Strategy
Denise advises young professionals looking to enter the people strategy realm to develop a strong foundation in data and analytics. This skill set empowers individuals to identify trends, make informed predictions, and drive business planning. Additionally, if you can connect with people easily and assess talent easily, that is certainly helpful. But having an analytical and strategic mind is increasingly important in this field.
Denise’s Future Vision: The “Workplace of the Future”
Denise envisions a future workplace that maintains flexibility, enabling employees to work efficiently and effectively in terms of how, where, and when work gets done. She predicts that AI adoption will skyrocket, driving innovation and enabling new ways of working, while human judgment and rational intelligence will remain essential.
As for her future vision, Denise is committed to making Fortitude Re an ideal career destination and the envy of the industry. With her passion for the company and its people, she aspires to keep elevating the organization’s culture, talent development initiatives, and industry reputation, strengthening its position as an industry leader.
