Verge Genomics CEO embraces vulnerability for success
NEW YORK, UNITED STATES — Biotech company Verge Genomics is taking a new approach to foster a culture of innovation — by encouraging employees to share their fears and vulnerabilities openly.
Leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) to address complex medical issues such as ALS and Parkinson’s disease, CEO and co-founder Alice Zhang has consistently challenged traditional corporate norms, promoting a culture of authenticity and open communication.
“In the company’s early days, I was told that ‘scientists can’t run companies,’ or ‘you need drug development experience to be a CEO.’ But it was exactly my naivete that allowed me to build a different kind of culture, one that has allowed us to innovate faster and incorporate technology more deeply,” Zhang wrote in a Fortune article.
Fostering a fearless workplace
“At Verge, we have become obsessed with building a conscious culture that chooses authenticity over fear,” Zhang stated.
She believes that suppressing emotions like fear and anxiety, which are common in corporate environments, is counterproductive.
“Fear grips most corporate cultures… This leads people to think it’s ‘not OK’ to express their innermost judgments, beliefs, and emotions,” Zhang explained.
“When people withhold, it drains their energy and creativity.”
Instead, Verge employees are urged to express their innermost thoughts and emotions freely. In fact, a critical moment for Zhang and her team occurred five years ago when employee morale was notably low. In a company-wide meeting, Zhang chose to openly express her own fears and uncertainties, a move that significantly shifted the company dynamics.
“I feel heartbroken and scared,” she shared tearfully. Expecting backlash, she instead experienced an outpouring of support and innovative solutions from her team.
This pivotal moment underscored the power of vulnerability in leadership.
“At Verge, we choose candor and vulnerability over withholding. We practice revealing our inner stories, emotions, judgement—not because we believe we’re right, but because we want to come back into connection with each other,” Zhang explained.
Radical responsibility and results at Verge Genomics
Verge Genomics also practices a philosophy of radical responsibility, where blame is seen not as a tool for evasion but as an opportunity for growth and learning.
“When something doesn’t go the way we think it should, and we become stuck in fear, we begin to blame ourselves, others, or the system… At Verge, everyone takes responsibility for what is occurring,” Zhang noted.
“When you join Verge, you commit to taking radical responsibility for the circumstances of your work. There are no problems to blame people for, only learning opportunities.”
Zhang believes this authentic approach has been key to Verge’s achievements. “When we release this energy, we can reinvest it into the things that matter: innovation and science,” she said.
Verge’s employee engagement ranks in the top 10% of U.S. companies per Gallup data. Turnover is nearly half the industry average. Remarkably, Verge developed a drug candidate for the incurable disease ALS entirely in-house at one-fourth of the typical cost.
