Lead the People #112: Scale Your Business Without Leaving Your People Behind with Amber Bardon
Amber Bardon is the Founder & powerhouse CEO of Parasol Alliance, a full-service managed technology provider that dominates the senior living industry. Under her leadership, Parasol Alliance has become a game-changer, consistently ranked among the Top 501 Managed IT Service Providers in the World for six consecutive years including an incredible #4 global ranking in 2022! Amber’s vision and relentless drive have built an award-winning culture across a multi-state, virtual workforce, earning her the prestigious title of Best & Brightest CEO in the Nation in 2024. She’s not just leading a company, she’s redefining what’s possible in tech and senior living.
Top 3 Takeaways
- Make remote work work. Despite being 100% remote, Parasol Alliance has built a strong culture through intentional practices like daily team calls, mandatory camera-on meetings, and structured Slack policies.
- Think different. Coming from an anthropology background, Amber's disruptor mindset helped her innovate in the senior living technology space. Her experiences facing workplace flexibility challenges as a woman and mother inspired her to create a company culture that prioritizes work-life balance.
- Talk it out. Regular transparent communication, including twice-yearly town halls and CEO welcome meetings with every new hire have been crucial to maintaining culture during rapid growth.
From Our Sponsor
The Predictive Index (PI) is an award-winning talent optimization platform that aligns business strategy with people strategy for optimal business results. More than 60 years of proven science, software, and a curriculum of insightful management workshops make PI the solution for any company looking to design great teams and culture, make objective hiring decisions, foster engagement, and inspire greatness in their people anywhere in the world. More than 10,000 clients and 480+ partners use PI—including Nissan, Citizens Bank, Subway, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and Omni Hotels—across 90+ countries. Learn more at predictiveindex.com.
From the Source
"My goal has always been to create the happiest I.T. Company in the world."
"I think the biggest mistake companies can make with remote work is to treat it like you're working in an office, but you're working from home because that's not what it is. You do have to be intentional and come up with different strategies and policies and processes for that."
"I see myself as a disruptor and I think that has been a big part of our success as a company is because I problem solve from a completely different perspective coming from that disruptor and non-traditional mindset."
"The longer someone is in the wrong role, the bigger impact and problems that you're going to have from that... Our people are our products."
"One toxic person or one person who's causing problems within your culture and refusing to participate can bring so many other people down... You will build the culture and you will start to attract the talent that you want when you are intentional about that."
Connect with Amber
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amberbardon