“Think about the problem before getting into the solution.”
This simple concept guides Rula Co-founder Gabe Diop through his work each day. As the mental health care company continues to grow, leaders like Diop are focused on slowing down to provide full context, ensuring that everyone understands not just what they are doing, but why they are doing it. In a remote-first environment, “crisp” asynchronous communication becomes critical — and at Rula, it’s the bedrock of their collaborative culture.
Rula’s journey from startup to a rapidly scaling company has been marked by an intentional focus on fostering alignment and driving collaboration across teams.
VP of Provider Strategy and Operations Eugene Braude emphasized that “the best way to build working relationships is to accomplish great things together,” and Rula has adopted practices that blend operational efficiency with a human-centered approach. As the company grows, leadership is keenly aware that success hinges on a mix of clear goals, transparent communication and a supportive environment that enables employees to thrive.
“Creating impact while doing interesting work at a sustainable pace with nice people is just plain fun,” Braude said. “When a team is missing any of these elements, I steer that team to fix it. If a project is feeling unsustainable, this could be because there’s too much work or the work people are doing is psychologically draining. It’s not possible to be in the green zone all the time, but we try to avoid too much time in the red.”
“Creating impact while doing interesting work at a sustainable pace with nice people is just plain fun.”
In this dynamic workplace, Braude’s focus on steering teams out of the “red zone” reflects Rula’s dedication to maintaining a healthy balance between high achievement and employee well-being.
VP of People Brooke Tandy explained that the company has tackled scaling challenges as it has grown by building operational systems that encourage clarity and cohesion.
“We have put emphasis on building operating systems to support collaboration and alignment as we scale,” Tandy said. “For example, we set companywide objectives and make these goals transparent across the organization, enabling different departments to align their objectives toward the same outcomes.”
This transparency and shared vision are at the heart of Rula’s ability to navigate its rapid growth.
Fostering a Collaborative Culture
At Rula, fostering collaboration goes beyond just setting goals. Tandy’s people team has created a values-driven culture where transparent communication and inclusivity play critical roles.
“We seek to cultivate a values-driven experience for employees that fosters excellence, prioritizes equitable people practices and provides a home for growth — all in service of Rula’s mission,” she said. This includes structured goal-setting, performance-management frameworks and a focus on diversity and inclusion initiatives.
“We seek to cultivate a values-driven experience for employees that fosters excellence, prioritizes equitable people practices and provides a home for growth.”
One of the ways Rula promotes collaboration is through biannual employee engagement surveys, which allow the company to understand how employees are experiencing their work and what could be improved. According to Tandy, a key takeaway from these surveys was that employees desired more ways to foster community. In response, the company introduced various initiatives such as department offsites, city hubs and employee resource groups.
The use of apps like Donut, a Slack integration that connects team members for virtual chats, is another way that Rula fosters personal connections and team understanding. By encouraging informal interactions, Rula strengthens relationships across teams and reduces the communication barriers that can emerge in a remote-first environment.
To ensure that collaboration and alignment are not only encouraged but also measurable, Rula has implemented several tracking methods. Tandy noted that Rula uses key performance indicators and objectives and key results to transparently monitor team performance. Both the OKRs and the KPIs that track them allow leadership to ensure progress on both departmental and organizational levels, as well as alignment toward shared goals.
Braude further highlighted the importance of integrating these systems into Rula’s operations. “OKRs and KPI trackers help create a common source of truth for results,” he explained. “We also use weekly and monthly business reviews to ensure we’re moving toward common goals.”
By employing both formal and informal assessments, Rula’s leadership is able to gauge how well teams are collaborating and where improvements are needed.
How Leadership Drives Collaboration
The company’s leaders play an essential role in setting the tone for collaboration at Rula. Both Tandy and Braude emphasized the importance of clear communication and relationship-building across teams.
For Braude, this means fostering strong personal relationships. “There’s no substitute for getting to know people,” he said. “Jumping into a quick Zoom or Slack conversation can often resolve issues faster than formal meetings.”
Braude also highlighted the need for clear ownership of tasks to avoid functional silos.
“It’s especially critical to establish who owns the result, not just the task,” Braude explained. By defining responsibilities clearly, Rula ensures that each team understands its role in achieving broader company goals.
Tandy also stressed the importance of consistent, open dialogue within and between teams.
“I try to ensure that my communication with my team and colleagues is open and transparent,” she said. “I encourage team members to speak authentically about their ideas, challenges and feedback.”
This open culture helps build alignment, as employees feel heard and valued, contributing to a positive and collaborative work environment. Rula’s collaborative practices are not just theoretical — they are woven into the fabric of the company’s daily operations.
“There is not a single project — big or small — that can get done without cross-functional collaboration and alignment,” Diop said. This includes biannual strategic offsites, regular business reviews, and companywide meetings that ensure everyone is on the same page.”
“There is not a single project — big or small — that can get done without cross-functional collaboration and alignment.”
At Rula, cross-functional collaboration is more than just a strategy — it’s a way of life. By aligning teams with companywide goals, fostering open communication and tracking performance, Rula ensures that its employees can work together seamlessly, even as the company continues to scale. With leaders that value personal relationships, transparency, and continuous improvement, Rula has created a culture where collaboration thrives, driving innovation and success.
