How Scarborough Health Network Drives Results Through a People-First Culture

Featuring:

Michele James

Executive Vice President, Patient Care Services, Community Partnerships & Health System Integration

Scarborough Health Network

*2024 Canada’s Most Admired™ CPCO Award Winner – Non-Profit and Broader Public Sector*

A People-First Culture by Design

When care meets execution, cultures move from intent to impact. By converting feedback into action, measuring what matters, and coaching with empathy and accountability, organizations create a true culture-add—where well-being and performance climb together.

Scarborough Health Network’s (SHN) success isn’t the product of a single program or campaign—it’s the cumulative effect of intentional choices. By naming culture as foundational, resourcing inclusion, acting on data, enabling leaders, and measuring what matters, SHN proves that putting people first isn’t just the right thing to do. It’s how you deliver better results, sustainably.

As Michele notes, embedding culture in SHN’s foundational documents “signals an intentional approach.” That intentionality shows up in how SHN designs its people strategy, equips leaders, measures what matters, and treat every interaction as a chance to build trust and performance.

We asked Michele to share her insights on how SHN pairs a people-first culture with strong accountability, shared ownership, and metrics that drive results.

Learn more about the Canada’s Most Admired™ program and how Waterstone can help your organization build a high-performing culture through our executive search and leadership and culture advisory services.