Podcast Summary

Second in Command: The Chief Behind the Chief with Cameron Herold

Episode 527 – Matthew Rathje: Why Purpose-Fueled Strategies are the Ultimate Hack for Sustainable Growth
Host: Savannah Brewer (for Cameron Herold)
Guest: Matthew Rathje, COO of True North Companies
Date: November 13, 2025

Episode Overview

In this episode, Savannah Brewer speaks with Matthew Rathje, COO of True North Companies, about building sustainable growth through purpose-driven strategies, aligning teams through vulnerability and accountability, and the balance of organizational health versus performance. Rathje shares candid stories from his professional climb, handling immense personal adversity, and how frameworks from Patrick Lencioni and COO Alliance shaped his company's evolution and resilience. Listeners will get tactical meeting structures, approaches to fostering healthy conflict, and the value of vivid vision in scaling culture during rapid growth.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Matthew Rathje’s Journey to COO (04:02–06:36)

• Began career in insurance payroll and claims, quickly rising to leadership, before joining True North’s claims advocacy team.
• Progressed through various divisions (risk management, benefits) before becoming COO in late 2023.
• Emphasizes that COO was never his original ambition, but his passion for assembling teams and solving problems led him there.
• Quote:

  “It’s not about always being the smartest person in the room, but it’s leveraging the unique skill sets we have… and getting the right people together.” — Matthew Rathje (07:19)

2. Value of COO Alliance & Cross-Industry Peer Learning (09:24–12:34)

• Joined COO Alliance before becoming COO to broaden perspective outside the insurance industry.
• Realized that growth and leadership challenges were similar across diverse industries.
• Appreciated access to insights from $5 million to $500 million businesses, encouraging the “spirit of small” as True North scales.

• "We're all leading people at the end of the day. How do you get individuals to gain alignment and aspire in the same direction?" — Matthew Rathje (10:45)

3. Accountability & Organizational Health (12:42–18:32)

• Clarity and accountability were chief challenges; borrowed frameworks from Patrick Lencioni and peer COO groups.
• Created explicit “relatable impact metrics and objectives” for every role.
• Breakthrough: Started the organizational health journey by focusing first on building trust at the executive level.
• The five key behaviors: vulnerability-based trust, healthy conflict, commitment, accountability, and results.

• “Healthy is the multiplier of smart. … You can really accelerate your business if you can work through some of those issues faster.” — Matthew Rathje (18:12)

4. Team Effectiveness Workshops (18:32–22:37)

• Workshops structure: One to two days, starting with vulnerability-based trust exercises, then working through Lencioni’s five behaviors.
• Identify pitfalls like “artificial harmony” versus healthy conflict.
• Each team defines expected behaviors and their unique internal culture.

• “On one end [of the conflict continuum], there’s mean-spirited attacks. On the other end, artificial harmony. … Really in the middle is where you can engage in healthy conflict.” — Matthew Rathje (20:34)

5. Recognizing and Addressing Artificial Harmony (22:37–24:08)

• Signs: Meetings dominated by one or two voices, nonverbal cues of disagreement, “meeting after the meeting.”
• Remedy: Directly asking for input, ensuring all opinions surface before committing to decisions, minimizing side conversations.

• “Artificial harmony would be as you move on from [a meeting topic] and don’t ask those people to weigh in.” — Matthew Rathje (23:20)

6. Principles for Fostering Radical Candor and Vulnerability (24:36–25:39)

• Rathje prioritizes leading with humility, optimism, and high collaboration.
• Learned to ask more questions and create space for others’ perspectives.

• “Not leading them to an answer… getting the right people in the room, getting the opinions on the table, meeting with optimism.” — Matthew Rathje (25:21)

7. Balance Between Collaboration and Decisiveness (25:39–29:20)

• Larger teams and matrix structures can stall decisions if over-collaborated; feedback from frontline staff to “just make a decision.”
• Addresses with tactical meetings: Build agenda on the fly, then focus on specific topics in strategic meetings with prepared agendas.

• “There are times when we want to collaborate, and there are other times when it actually makes our job harder by you not just having a decision.” — Savannah Brewer (26:20)

8. Adversity and Resilience: Personal and Professional (29:20–36:43)

• Lived through COVID and the 2020 Midwest derecho, losing his home and farm.
• True North’s leadership supported him and thousands of clients.
• Reflected that turmoil builds deeper trust, empathy, and perspective in leadership.

• “You will face adversity. Don’t let a good crisis go to waste. … We’ve come out on this other side so much stronger and it’s been a blessing in disguise.” — Matthew Rathje (30:10)

9. Balancing Vulnerability and Performance in Leadership (36:43–37:47)

• Open about his own adversity to model vulnerability and earn trust, but maintains boundaries to ensure accountability and high standards.
• Encourages “work-life harmony,” not a rigid balance.

• “Sometimes you have to give more to your professional than your personal life, and then other times that flips.” — Matthew Rathje (37:50)

10. Executive Team Dynamics and Vision Alignment (38:41–43:59)

• Executive team blends people-focused and results-driven styles; Rathje as executor, CEO Jason and President Trent as growth drivers.
• Monthly offsite half-days, spring/fall strategic retreats, constant adjustment to ensure clarity and commitment to vision.

• “It’s the same goal, different roles… We’re leading an organization together, but we have different roles to get us there.” — Matthew Rathje (40:51)

• Adopted Cameron Herold’s “Vivid Vision” model to clarify not just numbers but the felt sense and cultural goals for True North’s future.

• “We’ve focused on who are the right-fit colleagues, clients, and partners… that’s really going to continue to enhance and promote the culture we want here.” — Matthew Rathje (43:47)

11. Launching The "True North Way" and Future Excitement (46:24–48:35)

• 2025 focus: Launching the "True North Way," aiming for service excellence (Chick-fil-A/Ritz Carlton benchmark), with plans to evaluate via Net Promoter Score.
• Personally, Rathje enjoys watching his children grow, embracing the busyness of school and family life.
• Books recommended: Unreasonable Hospitality (for customer experience inspiration) and The Apple Experience.

• “It’s not going to happen overnight. … We’ll be working on maybe net promoter score later this year, early next year.” — Matthew Rathje (47:20)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Healthy is the multiplier of smart.” — Matthew Rathje (18:12)
• “Artificial harmony … is when decisions are made, but there’s a meeting after the meeting or people just nod along and don’t say what they really think.” — Matthew Rathje (23:20)
• “Don’t let a good crisis go to waste.” — Matthew Rathje (30:05)
• “We’ve embraced the concept of vivid vision, and it’s not just revenue numbers, but how do you want the organization to feel?” — Matthew Rathje (43:28)
• “Sometimes you have to give more to your professional than your personal life and then other times that flips.” — Matthew Rathje (37:50)
• “Healthy conflict means allowing people to weigh in to buy in.” — Matthew Rathje (21:36)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 04:02 – Matthew Rathje’s career journey and COO role
• 09:24 – Impact and value of the COO Alliance
• 12:42 – Challenges with accountability and clarity
• 14:49 – Organizational health journey and Lencioni’s framework
• 18:32 – Team effectiveness workshops explained
• 22:37 – Identifying and addressing artificial harmony
• 25:39 – Collaboration vs. decisiveness in large teams
• 29:20 – Rathje’s personal adversity (derecho, COVID) and lessons learned
• 38:41 – Executive team structure and vision alignment
• 43:27 – Embracing “Vivid Vision”
• 46:24 – Launching the “True North Way” and personal reflections

Resources, Books & Recommendations

• The Five Dysfunctions of a Team — Patrick Lencioni
• Meetings Suck — Cameron Herold
• Vivid Vision — Cameron Herold
• Unreasonable Hospitality — Will Guidara
• The Apple Experience — Carmine Gallo

Episode Takeaways

• Sustainable growth hinges not just on strategy but deep organizational health and vulnerability-driven trust.
• Effective COOs continuously seek outside perspectives and frameworks, fostering adaptability as accountability and culture scale.
• Leaders must balance candor with support, learning from adversity and using it to unify teams.
• Clarifying and living a vivid vision, felt by every team member, is crucial as companies grow in size and complexity.