Apurv Gupta, Michael Mantell, and I recently engaged in a discussion regarding the convergence of compassion, culture, and systems in healing not just patients but also those who tend to them. We explored how organizations that prioritize love outperform their counterparts, how collective responsibility for wellness alters outcomes, and why “when two hearts touch, that’s healing!” We discovered real hospitals that are pioneering this movement and how we can broaden our perspectives to recognize what truly unites us. Below are their motivating messages for health care professionals, leaders, and teams!
Michael R. Mantell, PhD
Culture does not change because someone sends out a memo. It shifts when authentic individuals with all their quirks, uncertainties, and aspirations take charge of their emotional lives. I have witnessed this firsthand in an organization with which I collaborated. The pivotal moment was not a new policy but a single manager opting to respond with curiosity rather than criticism. That decision had a ripple effect, making the team feel safer, more open, and more human.
This embodies the essence of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy, the framework that Dr. Albert Ellis developed, which has directed my work for many years. REBT reveals a liberating principle: It’s not the events that disturb us, but the beliefs we assign to them. Within organizational contexts, those beliefs commonly articulate as “I must be flawless,” “Mistakes are disastrous,” or “If something goes awry, someone has to be blamed.” I have encountered those very phrases in boardrooms, exchanged in hallways, and even muttered softly before a presentation. These inflexible, fear-driven beliefs cultivate anxiety, defensiveness, and burnout.
Dr. Apurv Gupta’s concept of “A Loving Organization” provides a compelling counter-narrative. It encourages us to replace irrational corporate doctrines with emotionally intelligent, reality-grounded thinking. Excellence doesn’t necessitate perfection. Accountability doesn’t negate kindness. Errors aren’t moral failures; they are opportunities to learn, readjust, and evolve. This is REBT in practice: unconditional acceptance of oneself, others, and life itself.
A loving organization is principled rather than soft or lenient. It is a system where individuals opt for thoughtful, compassionate reactions instead of impulsive responses. It places as much value on emotional intelligence as on technical skills. Just as REBT equips individuals to confront distorted thinking, Gupta’s model empowers teams to challenge toxic practices and reinvent the emotional narrative of their workplace.
In my own practice, I have consistently highlighted that mental health starts with self-awareness; understanding that our emotions are more significantly influenced by our thinking than by external factors. Gupta’s framework amplifies that insight on an organizational scale. It inquires: How do we think collectively? How do we converse with one another? What understanding do we build within our shared mission? I frequently pose these questions in workshops, and the responses are never theoretical. They are narratives about hallway exchanges, Zoom discussions, and the subtle ways tone and word selection cultivate trust.
The result is a gentler culture, and a more effective one. When individuals feel secure in being authentic, stumbling, and reaching beyond their limits, performance improves. Emotional wellness and excellence aren’t opposites; they are allies. I have observed teams achieving record-breaking goals not due to heightened pressure, but because they felt liberated to express their true selves.
Ultimately, cultural transformation starts with one person making the choice to think clearly and respond compassionately. When that choice is multiplied across a team, a department, and an entire organization, it aligns with Gupta’s vision: a genuinely loving workplace, where emotional well-being and high achievement coexist harmoniously.
Apurv Gupta, MD, MPH
A Loving Organization begins with a straightforward premise: People flourish when the systems surrounding them naturally foster feelings of safety, support, connection, and purpose. It embodies a principled, high-reliability approach that integrates emotional wisdom, clear reasoning, and compassionate accountability into the daily framework of work. Beyond assisting individuals in cultivating personal willpower or resilience, a Loving Organization structures the environment to ensure that healthier beliefs, interactions, and outcomes develop consistently across the entire system. This is a model that has been shaped by studying Exemplar Loving Organizations.
This is why cultural shifts are essential. In numerous workplaces (especially in health care), fear silently becomes the underlying operating mechanism. Fear of blame, fear of inadequacy, and fear of underperformance. Over time, this engenders burnout, isolation, and disengagement—not because individuals are frail, but because the environment continuously triggers distressing beliefs and reactionary patterns. The solution is not to push individuals harder, but to create systems that support them more intelligently.
Dr. Mantell’s REBT perspective aligns seamlessly with this. REBT teaches that suffering is rooted in distorted beliefs: “I must be flawless,” “Mistakes define me,” “If something goes wrong, someone has to be at fault.” A Loving Organization complements REBT by ensuring that such beliefs are not sustained by the culture, and by offering individuals structures that promote curiosity, learning,