What If Success Looked Like People Loving Their Jobs? A Conversation with our COO Danielle Thomas.

Before we ever spoke, Danielle Thomas mentioned something almost in passing over email.

“I just want to make sure my uniform’s coming.”

It wasn’t framed as a value statement or a metaphor. It was practical. But over time, it began to feel like a small window into how she approaches leadership, not as something separate from the work, but as something that stays close to it. The uniform mattered because the work mattered, and because she wanted to show up the same way the rest of the team did.

Danielle recently joined Royal Ambulance as Chief Operating Officer. She’s new to the organization, but not to healthcare or operational leadership. What stood out in our conversation wasn’t a desire to announce change or introduce a new philosophy. It was her curiosity. She spoke less about what she planned to do and more about what she wanted to understand first.

“I’m still learning,” she said plainly. “And that’s intentional.”

When I asked how she thinks about success, she didn’t hesitate.

“Success is looking around and seeing people love their jobs,” she said. “Not tolerate them. Love them.”

She didn’t offer it as an aspiration. She offered it as a test, one she applies continuously, including to herself.

In healthcare, success is often measured in dashboards and scorecards. Those matter. Danielle isn’t dismissive of metrics, but she’s clear about what they don’t capture. “If people are just getting through the day,” she said, “something’s off.” For her, the data only means something if it reflects a team that feels supported, clear on expectations, and trusted to do their work well.

That belief shows up in how she talks about her role. She avoids sweeping language and instead comes back to clarity. “In the first six months, my job is to execute on what this organization already believes,” she said. “That means making expectations clear so people can do their jobs without unnecessary friction.” She’s focused on alignment across service lines, not overhaul. Strengthening what already works. Removing noise that slows people down. “When people know what’s expected,” she said, “a lot of the stress disappears.”

Danielle prefers the word enhance over rebuild or reinvent, and she’s quick to credit what’s already in place. “There are strong programs here,” she said. “The Culture, Critical Care, FTO Program, New Hire Academy, and most importantly how Royal cares for people.” Her role, as she sees it, is to connect those programs more directly to the day-to-day experience of the people doing the work.

That emphasis is personal. Danielle describes EMS as her second career, one she entered later than many of her peers. She’s open about the humility that came with that transition. “I didn’t come in knowing everything,” she said. “I still don’t.” What she did know was where she could contribute most. “Education became my lane,” she said. “If I could help people grow, they could go on to help others in ways I never could on my own.”

One idea she returns to often is something she calls the trust battery.

“I don’t make people earn my trust,” she said. “I give it to them.”

Everyone starts full. When something happens and trust drops, she wants it addressed directly. “No guessing. No side conversations. If there’s a problem, we talk about it.” For her, that isn’t about avoiding conflict. It’s about protecting energy. “Drama pulls focus away from what matters,” she said. “And the work matters too much.”

That same thinking shapes how she approaches presence. Not micromanagement. Not distance. Proximity.

“When you start somewhere new, you have to go on a listening tour,” she said. “Teach me. You’re the expert.”

That’s how she spent her first month, listening, learning, asking questions, often more than she spoke. Now she’s beginning to translate what she’s heard into action. “It’s about aligning those insights with our objectives,” she said, “measuring what matters, and communicating clearly.”

Healthcare doesn’t allow for abstraction, she pointed out. “This is an in-person industry. We treat and transport patients. If the people doing the work are present, leadership needs to be present too.”

She describes her leadership philosophy as an upside-down pyramid.

“I work for the people doing the work,” she said. “My job is to remove barriers and help them do better tomorrow than they did today.”

When I asked what she hopes people feel when they talk about working with her, she paused. Not because she didn’t know, but because she was careful.

“I want it to feel fair,” she said. “Equitable. Truthful.” She laughed softly and added, “I don’t need to be the smartest person in the room.”

It always came back to the same measure. If people love their jobs, they show up differently. They stay longer. They take better care of each other. And in healthcare, that difference reaches patients whether we name it or not.

“Success,” Danielle said again, “is looking around and seeing people love their jobs.” Not tolerate them. Love them.