Jocelyn Nowak has built a reputation for transforming early stage companies into mission-driven organizations that grow with intention. Today, she channels 15 years of experience across technology and healthcare into her work as a dynamic Growth and Strategy Advisor, helping organizations achieve sustainable growth through human-centered systems that blend data and purpose in equal measure.
“Growth is very often defined by business metrics that don’t actually show impact,” says Nowak. “You might be getting impressions or downloads, but if you’re not getting user feedback or building a team that’s dedicated to the mission, you’re just throwing spaghetti at the wall.” For her, true scalability comes from embedding human insight, both customer and team feedback, into strategy and culture. To achieve this, experience has shown her that organizations need leaders who are present, self-aware, and clear in their vision while embracing technology as tools to enhance, not replace, authentic human connection. It’s a belief that can be traced back to Nowak’s beginnings in healthcare. “In healthcare, you can have a million problems until you have one with your health, then you only have one,” she says. “That perspective taught me that true growth should focus on what matters most.” And in business, what matters most is your end user and how you help them.
From Product-Obsessed to People-Obsessed
One of the most common pitfalls she sees in early stage companies is mistaking product obsession for customer obsession. “Leaders pour their heart into a product for years, but often they haven’t embedded customers early enough in the process,” she says. “It’s not about making it perfect before launch. It’s about getting feedback, implementing fast, and iterating with purpose.” She points to Amazon as an example of how a customer-first mindset can drive scale. “Whatever you think of them ethically, they’ve been customer-obsessed since day one,” she says. “Their culture reflects it, from support to UX to design. Every person on that team cares about creating an experience that’s simple, delightful, and useful.”
If the example of Amazon illustrates one thing, it’s that being human-centered is an operational discipline woven into every level of the organization. Many organizations, Nowak says, struggle with this because humans are rarely objective. Empathy by nature is difficult to quantify, but that does not mean it should go unmeasured. True progress comes from finding ways to translate qualitative human experience into actionable insights that guide design, communication, and culture.
Three Actions for Human-Centered Leadership
She encourages leaders to start small, focusing their resources and attention on one clearly defined audience before expanding further. “Serve one audience deeply before trying to serve everyone,” she says, underscoring that scalable growth begins with focus.
When asked how leaders can operationalize qualitative human experiences and emotions like empathy as fuel for innovation, Nowak highlights three high-impact actions:
- Presence: Leaders set the tone by showing up embodied and present. Creating space for feedback fosters collaboration and trust. When leaders model authenticity, it transforms the culture from within.
- Awareness: Executives should measure internal dynamics just as they do customer metrics. Tools such as Mirror360, which Nowak has collaborated with, act as an organizational MRI, revealing how teams connect and where bottlenecks exist. Innovation thrives when people feel seen and heard.
- Clarity: A company’s vision must be understood internally before it can resonate externally. If the internal team cannot articulate the mission, customers won’t grasp it either. Crystal-clear messaging is essential to scaling impact.
Human-Centered Growth in the Age of AI
For Nowak, AI is not a disruption to human-centered growth but an amplifier of it. By grounding innovation in empathy and integrity, she argues, companies can use AI to mirror their best values and make better decisions, faster. “Rather than fear new tools, let them reveal what’s possible,” Nowak says. “When teams share what works and what doesn’t, they build a culture of trust and adaptability that keeps innovation grounded.”
Nowak’s previous experience leading through ambiguity has shaped her belief that technology, when guided by human intention, can strengthen rather than dilute authentic connection. Reflecting on her early startup experience, she shares that working in uncertain environments taught her to move decisively, test quickly, and learn continuously—principles that are now vital in the age of AI. “It’s freeing to have that much more space in your brain for creativity,” she says, encouraging executives to create space for their teams to explore emerging tools. “Curiosity and collaboration are what keep technology human.”
The Discipline Behind the Vision
Reflecting on her own journey, Nowak admits she wasn’t always as disciplined as she is today. “I was a C student who showed up for one chemistry class and somehow passed,” she laughs. “If I could talk to my younger self, I’d tell her to take discipline seriously. Structure doesn’t limit you. It actually creates space for freedom and creativity.” As she continues advising early stage teams building ethical, AI-driven solutions, Nowak sees a pivotal moment unfolding: “We have a choice. We can build technology that divides or one that connects, and I’ll always choose connection.”
