A Call for New Leadership
Pleased to feature a fellow 10KSB Alumni peer as she brings wellbeing to clients in Chicagoland. Wellbeing is the new driver of performance and companies of tomorrow are focused on creating wellbeing today. Enjoy her contribution this month on ‘A Call for New Leadership’
A Call for New Leadership
by Kyra Cavanaugh, President of 15Be
If the last year has taught us anything, it’s that we’re in for a lot more change. Being resilient leaders that are comfortable with change has always been important, but those who lean into these skills will win in the end.
What will the future look like? What can you invest in now that will pay the greatest dividends in the years to come?
We are entering into an era of leadership when understanding how to leverage people as your greatest resource will be critical. It makes sense. All other aspects of business resilience: innovation, supply chain, client service, product and market development are dependent on creating a workplace that fully optimizes the people working there.
Optimizing your investment in people goes far beyond human resources, talent acquisition, benefits, outsourcing, onboarding and all of the other business functions involved in the hiring, development, and termination of employees.
It’s time to think bigger. Think culture, diversity, inclusion, work/life, equity, and wellbeing. Think about building deeper, heart-based (not just head-based) connections to your workforce. Build compassion and empathy, ensure psychological safety, and organize workloads to make work and life more manageable for your employees.
It’s easy to think that this is a zero-sum game where employees win and you lose. But quite the opposite. Research has shown increases in engagement and morale when leaders help employees understand their purpose at work.
Another study showed that when employees have flexibility in when and where they work, they can work an extra 19 hours/week before they feel the same work/life conflicts as working in an office. And, 80% of employees in a recent study said they’re willing to leave a job if their employer isn’t empathetic.
Add to that the mental health and loneliness crises, and employee burnout. By the end of January 2021, over 36% of U.S. adults reported at least one symptom of anxiety or depression during the previous week, up from 11% two years ago. 61% of Americans reported being lonely even before COVID. Lonely workers report being less engaged, less productive, producing lower quality work, and are more likely to leave their jobs. And, 75% of people have experienced burnout at work, with 40% reporting so during the pandemic.
What steps can you take to become a resilient, compassionate leader who invites your team members to be well and bring their whole selves to work? How can you shift your culture to support this?
1. Consider your current company culture
Ask employees what they’d like to see improve in the way the company works, leaders lead and employees interact. Employee and culture surveys are a great way to gather this data. Then, take steps to address immediate issues and develop a 3-5 year culture transformation plan.
2. Strategize with your leadership team around big questions:
– What are the “old ways” of leading that we need to rethink?
– How do we need to rethink the attitudes and behaviors of a “dedicated worker?”
– How can shifting to a collaborative, people-first approach benefit our business?
– How can we allocate resources to this new people/culture effort?
3. Develop new leadership competencies
Staying grounded, being fully present, creating psychological safety, leading with heart, letting go, optimizing energy, and building resilience are just some of the skills your leaders will need to lead teams into the future. Seek out learning opportunities to develop these competencies.
Our WELLTEAM Leadership Certification Course is a great place to start. It combines online learning, executive coaching, and assessments to benchmark progress. Leaders train their teams to reinforce and spread the learning.
4. Create employee workgroups to tackle the big stuff
Form collaborative councils of employees at all levels to build a new vision for your company on topics like: Inclusion and Equity, Wellbeing, Managing workload, Efficiency, Innovation, Incorporating client feedback, etc. Go beyond employee resource groups that explore issues to working groups that recommend and implement real change.
5. Create systems of accountability
Change needs to permeate all levels of your organization. Hold leaders accountable for developing new skills. Provide visibility to employee workgroup representatives to report their progress directly. Talk openly (and often) about your expectations for these cultural shifts. Celebrate and recognize wins.
Rome wasn’t built in a day. You’ve got a lot of other market pressures on you right now. But get started. Find people in your organization who are excited and eager to lead change. Invest in easy wins and plant seeds for future victories.
Looking back five years from now, you’ll be glad you did.
Kyra Cavanaugh
President, 15Be
About Kyra Cavanaugh
Kyra is the president of the learning experiences company 15Be where she leverages her experience training thousands of leaders, scientific research, and global traditions to spark courageous leaders who value wellbeing as much as performance. 15Be offers corporate wellbeing and resilience training, personal retreats, and the WELLTEAM Leadership™ Certification course.
She has helped hundreds of companies think differently about how work gets done and is the author of two books: Who Works Where [and Who Cares?], A Manager’s Guide to the New World of Work; and 100 Ways to Wellbeing in 10 Minutes or Less.
Learn more at www.15Be.com
