In an exclusive interview with Indigenous-SME Business Magazine, Alicia Hibbert, Founder of Edified Projects Inc., shares how relationship-driven leadership and Indigenous methodologies are reshaping the way organizations approach workplace wellbeing and collaboration. This conversation highlights the importance of building trust, valuing lived experience, and creating space for meaningful engagement in professional environments.
Interview By Darian Kovacs
Alicia Hibbert, PMP, MA, is a Métis Nation of Alberta citizen and the founder of Edified Projects Inc., a certified Indigenous business based on the traditional, ancestral, unceded territory of the kʷikʷəƛ̓əm in Port Coquitlam, B.C. With over 15 years of experience in community engagement and research, Alicia integrates agile project management with Indigenous methodologies to improve workplace wellbeing. Her business model is built on radical reciprocity, ensuring collaborators are compensated equitably to value lived experience alongside formal education. Alicia is also the creator of Elevate Workplace Learning, a digital platform that provides organizations with practical tools for reconciliation and psychological safety. Her work focuses on centring Indigenous voices in professional services and building a legacy of economic self-determination across Canada.
You describe your work as intentional, relational, and grounded in building good relations. How do these values show up day-to-day when you’re managing complex projects that involve multiple teams and stakeholders?
In all of my projects, I use strength-based and customized approaches. This means moving beyond standardized methodologies and processes to actively identify and leverage the unique strengths of colleagues and organizations I collaborate with.
Another aspect of this is honouring lived experience. I make sure that diverse perspectives and lived experiences are equitably valued and integrated into project design, daily decision-making, and team discussions. A concrete example is that I generally budget for and compensate consultants at the same hourly rate, no matter their formal education, since they are bringing a perspective to the project that is integral.
As a Métis business owner, visiting is important to good relations. It’s a value I embed in my business. This means being intentional in meetings and check-ins to create opportunities for genuine connection. I want to know how your dog is doing and what you’re doing on the weekend with family as much as the status of a deliverable. And, likewise, I strive to ensure meetings and feedback loops are inclusive of all voices, ensuring there is equitable opportunity to shape the project’s direction.
You bring together expertise in HR, workplace learning, employee engagement, and research-driven solutions. Can you share an example of a project where this multidisciplinary approach meaningfully improved workplace wellbeing?
In 2022-2024, we worked with Rupertsland Institute on a few phases of a Métis Inclusion in the Workplace project. We developed and delivered a live, facilitated workshop informed by research in inclusion, workplace wellbeing, and Métis-specific cultural values. We then translated this into a Moodle course. Finally, we were asked to create a Train the Trainer program so Rupertsland Institue staff could deliver the educational content themselves to community partners. This program was specifically designed for organizations hosting Métis apprentices as part of their Apprenticeship Services Program.
Research: We conducted an extensive literature review on inclusion and workplace wellbeing topics, as well as Métis history and culture, using the foundational documents developed by Rupertsland Institute as well as from Métis thinkers. Being Métis myself, I was able to use my lived experience in storytelling examples.
Workplace Learning: This research informed a 16-hour online Moodle course and tailored workshops designed to build organizational capacity across Alberta.
Engagement & HR: We mentored and coached internal facilitators to ensure the program was sustainable, shifting the focus to sustainment and structural equity.
Outcome: This approach improved workplace wellbeing by ensuring Métis identity is viewed as a professional asset, reducing psychosocial risks and fostering a culture of authentic belonging for Indigenous professionals. It has, in turn, led to my original research with Métis business owners and people leaders on how they embed Métis values in their organizations.
You’ve led innovative, high-functioning teams using hybrid agile approaches inside more traditional, waterfall-style organizations. What have you learned about introducing new ways of working without overwhelming people or creating resistance?
This links back to the benefits of working in relational ways. When you establish trust and respect through good relations, this strong foundation helps with managing change.
When I’m introducing new ways of working, I try to take a long-term approach and think about sustainment. I also think about the change from each person’s perspective. What could cause fear for them as an individual? Will this be more work in the short-term, but have long-term benefits? How can I leverage their strengths to be a change champion?
I use accessible language to clearly explain new processes in a way that shows the practical benefits to their day-to-day work as well as how it will benefit the organization as a whole.
In my team at a university, I introduced using Kanban boards and Asana to track projects. Some team members were really not comfortable with new technology. However, I was able to mentor the team members most comfortable with change to get started using Asana, while allowing for a slower, more intentional coaching process with those a little more reluctant. It’s important to remember that teams don’t have to be “all or nothing.” You can, and should, have personalized approaches.
As a Métis professional working in Indigenous engagement, how do you navigate balancing organizational goals with the need for culturally safe, respectful, and relationship-based processes?
Before I even begin responding to an RFP (request for proposals) or a direct email from a new client, I think about whether that organization will have shared values. I intentionally look for organizations that have public values that align with ethical engagement principles. This sets a baseline for a respectful relationship.
Next, I prioritize distinctions-based approaches, which means I work closely with clients to understand their specific, unique community protocols, avoiding pan-Indigenous approaches. Even when an organization wants to work with an “Indigenous” audience more broadly, the organization usually has a headquarters, which means they have a tie to the Land and specific Nations in their area. Sometimes non-Indigenous organizations are at an early stage in this journey, and just getting their teams to develop the skills to offer a personal, unscripted territory acknowledgement is the first step.
Every organization, team, and individual is unique, so I adapt to each. Sometimes this means requesting new language in contracts that respects IP differently, or honours payment processes and gifting in new ways.
When things are rushed, respectful processes get forgotten, so I build timelines that allow for relationship building, Elder and Knowledge Carrier engagement, and feedback loops.
Looking ahead, what changes would you most like to see in how Canadian organizations approach workplace wellbeing and Indigenous engagement—and what practical steps can small and medium-sized businesses start with?
You first need psychologically safe and inclusive workplaces for Indigenous engagement to occur in a good way. And psychological safety benefits everyone. One practical step is to provide training for all managers on psychological safety, mental health literacy, and trauma-informed approaches.
Next, senior leaders, people leaders, and HR team members should read and deeply understand the TRC’s Calls to Action, especially Call to Action 92, which specifically addresses the corporate sector.
When it comes to Indigenous engagement, organizations (especially those actively recruiting Indigenous people into Indigenous-focused roles) need to critically examine their processes to ensure Indigenous employees have real power to impact policy and practice. Titles and funding for programs with no mechanisms to effect change are frustrating at best, damaging at worst. Related to this, organizations need to understand the long-term time investment required to build good relations and trust. Once trust is built, organizations can embrace Two-Eyed Seeing, stepping outside of the “Western box” to co-create completely new understandings, procurement opportunities, and ways of working.
Culturally safe workplaces don’t just support Indigenous employees, they drastically improve workplace wellbeing for all employees.
Disclaimer: Indigenous-SME Business Magazine is committed to providing insightful interviews that highlight the successes and challenges faced by small and medium-sized businesses. The views expressed in this interview are those of the guest and may not reflect the opinions of the magazine or its affiliates.
