Nicole Gill takes an alternative approach to finding success in people-building through listening, leveraging curiosity, and candor.
Nicole Gill always liked psychology and the process of analyzing human behavior. “I always had a passion for it. I enjoy learning about people, behavior, and the way the brain works” says Nicole. Now she’s focused on employee engagement and driving happiness hacks at TheoremOne.
Following a ZigZag Flow
With her lifelong love of learning about people and the inner workings of the human brain in tow, Nicole earned her degree in psychology in a lightning-quick three years and refused to just graduate early. She filled that extra time taking additional management and leadership courses that led to the equivalent of a minor in consulting.
The love of a nice, zigzagging interest trajectory after college has taught her much about the value of not spelling out every moment of your career goals ahead of time—especially to yourself. Following wherever the river flowed and creating organizational opportunities outside of whatever project/engagement management/operations job allowed Nicole to carve out the role she really wanted—to effectively create her own destiny. Now, she helps others do the same and works to make sure TheoremOne can balance its original startup dream while keeping the company’s desired structure intact as it continues to scale.
Nicole’s job entails matching skill sets to opportunities, working that alignment in tandem with project needs, and advising on unseen possibilities.
Recognizing in herself a natural skill for identifying patterns, Nicole now riffs on people-building patterns that intrinsically create roles rather than just fill them.
Without a traditional HR certification, she has shown that expanding worker potential and rounding out teams with the right people is really all about listening, being the right kind of curious, and paying attention.
Nicole shares, “I would always ask when I was dealing with different systems—because in project management there’s always some internal system, and internal systems aren’t always the best. Especially when you’re in a neutral role, it’s stepping back and asking: ‘We’ve been doing this for a while and we’re in this motion of doing the same thing day to day, but why are we doing it this way?’”
Questioning Everything, All the Time
As TheoremOne’s Director of People and Organizational Development, Services Delivery, Nicole has proven that solid systems are built out of questioning, not rigidity or misplaced pride in established approaches. Creating spaces not just for leadership, but for all team members to feel heard and to be able to share queries and observations is one of her core tenets for success in people development. So is dedicating intentional time to celebrating milestones, talking about hobbies and interests, and getting direct feedback from team members on any project, any time, from onboarding forward. Providing space for co-workers to vent and seek advice is crucial for culture at TheoremOne to be its most open and rewarding.
Leaving Space for (Really) Radical Candor
TheoremOne is a company that encourages the ethos of “radical candor,” and the idea that everyone is a leader at every level. Her psychology background serves Nicole well in offering context to team members, implementing a pragmatic approach to problem-solving (rather than an emotion-based one), and understanding human behavior and patterns, focusing in on the top need most people want, to be listened to and respected.
Knowing when to let go of her own attachment to an initiative or where to spot cool opportunities are just two of the many ways Nicole guides the organizational structure that allows for the company’s continuous growth—but also the big-family vibe that keeps that growth meaningful.
“On one hand, if you don’t have strong values, you don’t have a main mission or a heart of the company to find. On the other hand, if you’re so precious about those things, you’re also not growing, you’re staying the same, you’re bringing in the same thinking,” says Nicole.
Outside of TheoremOne, Nicole is full-time CFO (Chief Family Officer) to a 1-year-old daughter and an avowed documentary-watching introvert who lives with her extroverted husband in NJ. She enjoys strategic tests, puzzles, and practices meditation, holistic healing, and energy work.
Whether it is a culture fit question from your HR team or a scaling structure idea you’d like to bounce off some of the best organizational development brains in the business, Nicole and her fellow radicals at TheoremOne can help.
If you’re ready to build a true partnership with professionals who take the time to truly listen to you, reach out to us at hello@theoremone.co or call 1 (888) 969-2983 to book a complimentary consultation.
