A corporation’s culture can be challenging to define, let alone build. Kelly Ann Doherty, the chief administrative officer of the home-loan provider Mr. Cooper Group, takes an architectural approach that has helped earn the company a reputation as a Great Place to Work.

Doherty’s own career trajectory is a case study on how a company leader can learn how to successfully communicate the beliefs and behaviors that guide the actions of individuals as well as the company as a whole. 

Doherty traces her growing mastery to her attendance in 2018 at The Fellowship, a four-day master class in organizational culture for HR leaders in Santa Fe, N.M. Doherty was always passionate about building her career around people, and knew that communicating culture was part of her role as Mr. Cooper Group’s chief communications officer. However, it wasn’t until she attended The Fellowship that she saw what a career in building culture could look like. She realized that it wasn’t just her responsibility to communicate culture, but she could design and build the culture Mr. Cooper’s workforce and leadership were longing for.

“People in organizations across the world are focused on building customer-journey maps. For the first time at The Fellowship, I saw a way to build a culture blueprint for our team members, and I knew I wanted to lead our culture efforts. Our culture blueprint has not only dramatically impacted our team member experience, but has directly translated into the way we care for customers,” Doherty said.

Her company’s CEO, Jay Bray, had endorsed her attendance at The Fellowship and was eager to hear what she learned upon her return from Santa Fe. However, Bray never imagined what she would come back with. Doherty had put together a full presentation, complete with the culture blueprint from The Fellowship, along with the ways that she thought their organizational culture could change for the better. Within six months of that conversation, she was promoted to chief people and communications officer.

“I’m so grateful for Jay’s belief in me. While human resources wasn’t in my background, he put his faith in me because he knew I wanted to put our people first,” Doherty recalled. “At The Fellowship, I realized HR is not just about the process and the policy. More than anything, the HR team are the champions of culture. Now, I’m responsible for caring for team members in the same way our customer-care representatives are responsible for our customers. I want everyone who works in a people-focused or communications role to know that they can and should be cheerleaders for their organization’s cheerleaders, champions for their organization’s champions, and challengers to their organization’s challengers,” she said.

The proof of Kelly Ann and her team’s work is in the results. Mr. Cooper Group has now been named a Great Place to Work four years in a row, has seen a 14-point increase in their Great Place To Work survey scores, and was most recently named a Best Workplace in Texas by Fortune magazine and included on Forbes’ Best Employers for Women list.

In 2021, Doherty was named the company’s chief administrative officer. “Kelly Ann has a natural ability to bring teams and people together to drive change and propel our culture forward,” stated Bray in making the announcement. “She and her team have made tremendous improvements in our team member experience as they have focused on putting people first, and in her new role, she will work to ensure we continue to infuse our culture and brand into everything we do to truly delight our customers and team members as we strive to be the best in our industry.”

For corporate leaders looking to emulate her approach, Doherty recommends a step-by-step approach. “Culture can sometimes feel so big it’s hard to wrap your arms around it, but you don’t have to do everything at once. Ask your people what they want, and start by attacking the areas that will have a high impact at a low cost to your organization,” said Doherty, who will join The Fellowship again this year to serve as host and emcee. “What is different about The Fellowship is how action-oriented the programming is. You won’t just walk away feeling good. This is an experience that gives you a plan to turn what you learn into meaningful change for your organization.”

The event, which will take place Nov. 6-9 at the Four Seasons Rancho Encantado in Santa Fe, will feature a host of guest speakers including Cynt Marshall, CEO of the Dallas Mavericks NBA team; Nawal Fakhoury, director of employee experience at LinkedIn; Ginger Hardage, founder of The Fellowship and former SVP of culture and communication at Southwest Airlines; and David Salyers, the original Chick-fil-A marketing executive and pioneer. 

To find out more about The Fellowship and register to attend, you can visit the organization’s website here. 

Editor’s note: From Day One thanks our partner, The Fellowship, which previously published a version of this story.