Face Forward

Celebrating Success and Building Pride​:  We're doing some focus groups for a new client, and an attendee said, "We used to hear stories of the difference we made, and we don't hear about it anymore. It'd be nice to get that back.​" ​ Why is it important?  ​ Because it helps to celebrate your purpose – Why you exist – through the difference you make, and that's at the very core of the culture you want to create​. Stories bring strategy to life: Strategy is boring – stories bring it to life and show the difference people can make. The halo effect is people seeing examples of the difference they can make​. Aligned with your strategy, it highlights the difference everyone can make​ They create a sense of belonging and a reason to stay – we know from research that people will move jobs for a mere 5-10% pay rise, so we need to do something more to get them to stay – pride is EMOTIVE and powerful​. ​ So how can you find and tell them?​ Proactively look for them – get your senior leaders or internal communications s

Episode Summary:  On this episode of Building Better Cultures we’re checking in with Kevin Empey, Managing Director of WorkMatters, who first shared thoughts about pandemic fall-out back in March 2021 (Ep 61)   Kevin details various models going forward and where the priorities must lie for leaders invested in cultivating agility as well as sustainability. The need for onsite collaboration and innovation is real, but so are the advantages virtual workers have seen in skipping their commutes. Are hybrid solutions a brilliant compromise or the source of confusing mixed messages? Finding the right balance will require leaders to develop experiential metrics as well as communications that resonate with the hearts and minds of employees. “We have an opportunity to reset workplace culture and reaffirm it,” says Kevin. “And also maybe to lose some of those values that we said were important, but in fact actually are not.” Employee experience and servant leadership loom large on the new Work 4.0 horizon – one idea

Episode Summary:  Organisations of all sizes are trying to define parameters for today's new workplace cultures – whether remote, on-site or in-between. Host, Scott McInnes, invites a people management expert Andrew Bartlow, the Founder and Managing Partner at the People Leader Accelerator, to share his 25+ years of expertise. Andrew shares practical tips and tools leaders can implement when establishing healthy workplace cultures. He dives into detail on a critical strategy –– clarity –– and its importance in engaging and motivating your organization to pursue corporate goals.  Thank you to our sponsor, Workvivo, the communications and collaboration platform that provides seamless digital integration for your hybrid or traditional workplace.  If you enjoyed this podcast, please consider clicking here to rate and review it!  Key Takeaways:  1. Leaders need to stay flexible and iterative with new workplace models while at the same time communicating solid, dependable plans.  2. Change management via tiny steps

Episode Summary:  Darren Murph is an organisational architect who specialises in and knows what works – and what doesn’t. Based on 15 years at GitLab, most recently as Head of Remote, he has all kinds of concrete advice for organisations trying to figure out the correct configuration for their individually distributed workplace models.   Some C-suiters are reluctant to abandon old office-based operations, emphasizing proximity over business results. But looking ahead at the role and impacts of organisational design, Darren believes the forward-thinking, progressive leaders (and ultimately the most successful enterprises) will embrace flexibility, learning and a healthy redefinition of what it means to … build better cultures.  You can check out GitLab’s playbook, filled with information about all things remote, here.   If you enjoyed this podcast, please consider clicking here to rate, review and follow it!    Key Takeaways:  GitLab was founded as an all-remote company and today has 1,500 team members in m

Episode Summary    Big corporate initiatives designed to transform workplace cultures are often top-down affairs, this week’s guest has taken a different approach to integrate sustainability across Swiss Re, a global financial services provider. James Hartley, a global HR Leader at Swiss Re, shares with us the nuts and bolts of their CO2NetZero programme, a rallying point for climate activism that has ignited ongoing interest and creativity among employees around the world.     James has maintained the momentum by staying communicative and open to changes as well as by fostering storytelling that resonates on a personal level. The results? Many measurable quantitative and qualitative impacts, large and small, as well as an interactive app that more than 4,000 employees have downloaded to track, learn about and better understand the ways in which environmental healing starts with the kind of individual daily efforts we can all make — if we know how.     Key Takeaways    James unpacks Swiss Re’s corporate DNA

Episode Summary: Are you ready to integrate a values-based component into your corporate ethos? It’s a big commitment, but one with tremendous ROI at every level. On this episode of Building Better Cultures, Scott talks with Sandy Cross, CPO in the Professional Golf Association of America (PGA).     But for it to work, the effort must be for real. Without buy-in from top leadership – a deep understanding and commitment to sustained change – don’t bother, says Sandy. The PGA’s working group based its program on feedback from up and down the organization, and leaders have deployed it without equivocation. Learn what elements are key to upping your DEI game and how your workplace culture’s frame of mind benefits when a clearly articulated corporate values set is kept front of mind.     Key Takeaways  Mission-driven to values-based: The PGA culture embraced its mission deeply but Sandy advocated for more attention to the “how” of executing that agenda.     The PGA developed a playbook to support four people-ce

Episode SummaryIf we didn’t already know it, the pandemic laid bare the fact that, as humans, we inevitably bring our whole selves to our jobs - including a range of emotions. This episode of Building Better Cultures focuses on mental health, which has taken center stage in the workplace and softened the separation between personal and professional.  Our guest, Niamh Fitzpatrick, a psychologist who works with business and sportspeople alike  The pandemic deprived us of the ability to congregate among our favourite tribes (sports, entertainment, extended family, volunteer activities) but it also delivered a critical pause — a chance to get honest with ourselves and assess our priorities.   Our workplaces can be a source of the safety and acceptance on which humans thrive, particularly when leaders (themselves humans in need of support) foster cultures of openness and psychological safety.  This episode offers advice about how to recognize and respond to workers in distress; the role of communication and empath

There's been a recent trend towards hiring for culture or values fit. It seems sensible in principle - hire people who share a similar working ethos and they should fit in and get going more quickly - but, in doing so, what might you be missing?   How can hiring people with similar value sets help to create more diverse workforces? Or create that bit of tension and challenge that often results in bringing the best out in your people?    So maybe it's not about hiring for cultural fit, but about hiring for cultural add or cultural stretch?   ----------------------------------------- 'Shorts by Building Better Cultures' is a short-form podcast in which we share our tuppenceworth on subjects in the areas of leadership, employee engagement, organisational culture and internal communications.  #BuildingBetterCultures #BBCShorts #InspiringChange #CreatingConnections

Summary:   In this episode of Building Better Cultures, we hear from a top virtual-speaking specialist who sees a golden opportunity in the virtual world. Peter Hopwood, a global executive speaker coach, believes the most reticent public speakers can emerge as stronger, more engaging communicators than ever before.     There are ways to leverage your online environment and actually take pleasure in an ability to control the stage. Peter highlights the many variables (from sound to lighting to backdrop to gesticulation) that can be modulated to our advantage. He also explains other new factors to consider, such as the imperative to develop disciplined, compelling messaging that quickly captures – and then holds – people's interest.    To learn more about the Building Better Cultures podcast and related services, visit www.BuildingBetterCultures.com. You can also find out more about Scott's coaching and consultancy by visiting Inspiring Change's website.    If you're struggling with communications in this time

Summary:  This episode of Building Better Cultures throws a spotlight on mental health and well-being as we tentatively re-enter workplace cultures forever changed by the pandemic. Scott’s guest, Donna Reilly, is an expert in the development of corporate wellness programs. She reflects on Covid19’s long-term impacts on organisations and the adjustments leaders will have to make in light of employees awakened to the importance of work-life balance. In this new reality, everyone has seen that remote offices can and do work. What does it mean when employees refuse to return to business as usual? Will there indeed be a “Great Resignation” or will corporate teams come together to evolve new methods for collaboration?  Donna offers concrete advice for leaders and employees alike – as well as a special shout out for managers in the middle, who have been in many companies the advocates and protectors of employee health and wellbeing. Now, says Donna, it’s time for people at every level of the enterprise to take deep

Not only is meaningful, sustainable cultural change possible in the workplace, but it’s also something that can be mapped and measured. In this episode of Building Better Cultures, Karen Jones spells out the many elements of the gold standard diagnostic model she deploys as a Managing Director at Denison Consulting. The inquiry starts with a survey of 12 key cultural measures, but those results are not an endpoint. On the contrary, they are meant as a starting place for critical conversations about what’s working within a workplace culture – and what most clearly is not.  The kind of diagnostic consulting that Karen does depends on tremendous buy-in. While her initial point of entry is most often through Human Resources, the work can’t fully succeed unless support comes from the top echelons of leadership. That ownership and willingness to be accountable are what fosters the atmosphere of trust required for employees throughout the ranks. The Denison process depends on candid, vulnerable feedback from team

Our latest BBC shorts is about Creating Boundaries. The pandemic has accelerated the idea of home / remote working and it’s here to stay. It’s given us the flexibility to create a more blended approach to our work and home lives, like bringing the kids to school, doing a load of laundry, grabbing a coffee or going to a doctor's appointment.  BUT… We’re missing the downtime commuting gave us. We need to take that time back and do something we enjoy, like read a book, call someone up on the phone, listen to a podcast or just chill out! AND… We’ve not been great at creating and maintaining boundaries. A lot of us are working more hours, but are we being effective by doing so?  When you finish work for the day, actually STOP. Decide a time that your workday ends and leave it there – no laptop, phone, email, chat, you get the picture. Turn the notifications OFF.   Make time for yourself – Schedule in (YOUR CALENDAR) some time for you. The time you will use to rest, process and recharge.  And, hey, you’re allowed t

Summary:  The Building Better Cultures podcast starts out the new year with a lively conversation featuring Ray Walsh, a communications and internal localization consultant whose professional background and years of living in various European markets have given him unique insights into the power and nuance behind effective messaging. The author of “Localizing Employee Communications: A Handbook” shares thoughts about the challenges unique to global organizations that want uniformity of messaging but not at the expense of effective penetration among the employees those internal corporate communications must reach.   Ray reflects on the responsibility of leaders to collaborate and co-create communications by taking an active role in the process. The most effective internal communications understand and incorporate local culture. English works as the global language of business to a large degree, but not in all instances, which is why Ray has developed a framework for tackling the thorny problem of reaching

It's the end of the year and a time to think about what we've achieved this year and perhaps start to think about what lies ahead. But taking time to reflect on achievements isn't something I've ever been very good at, and I don't think others are either.  But it is really important to take stock and celebrate our achievements.  If we don't it can often be the case that no-one else will either  So take some time to think about the three or four amazing things you've achieved this year - no matter how big or small. ----------------------------------------- 'Shorts by Building Better Cultures' is a short-form podcast in which we share our tuppenceworth on subjects in the areas of leadership, employee engagement, organisational culture and internal communications.  #buildingbettercultures #BBCShorts #inspiringchange #creatingconnections

The world is no longer linear, and yet old command-and-control management structures persist. In this episode of Building Better Cultures, international management consultant Gill Kernick shares powerful insights about why it is that C-Suite executives sometimes lack the leadership skills necessary to support healthy workplace cultures. Internal communications, policies and best intentions go only so far when it comes to shifting paradigms. Gill offers thoughts on why it is that some companies get stuck, their leadership mired in old-school thinking. Agile workplace structures give members of the team at all levels of the enterprise an opportunity to speak up and the confidence that their voices will actually be heard. Gill explains why it’s so critically important to create an environment grounded in authentic care and respect.  It unleashes great performances and sets up a safe landing when – as inevitability happens – failures occur. There are concrete measures that leaders can take to empower employees t

Peter Senge, the American systems scientist and author said, "People don't resist change; they resist being changed."  And we've all heard the McKinsey '70% of change programmes fail' stat hundreds of times (largely because of a lack of buy-in from people and leaders). Most corporate 'big change' is agreed by CEOs and senior teams and then pushed down through the organisation from the top, often without sufficient explanation or 'linking and labelling' back to purpose or strategy.  So what about if we turned that on its head? What if we drove change from the bottom up, by empowering people across organisations to make hundreds of micro-changes that, when rolled up, result in that big change the organisation was trying to create all along? Yes, you'd need to ensure that everyone knew where you were going, why and how you're going there.  And you'd need to ensure that everyone was pulling in the same direction by having: A strategy but making it more compelling by turning it into a narrative that talks to head

Summary:   Host Scott McInnes’ guest on this episode of Building Better Cultures exemplifies the passion she prescribes for strong leadership. Zana Goic Petricevic, founder and managing director of Bold Leadership Culture, brings a uniquely compelling brand of coaching and transformational approach to empowering workplace cultures. Her new book, “Bold Reinvented: Leading with Courage, Consciousness and Conviction,” lays out foundational steps that leaders can take to inspire the best in their teams.  Communication is key, and it starts with setting the right tone and vision. The strongest leaders, says Zana, are constantly learning. They’re able to hear all kinds of perspectives and embrace a broad spectrum of viewpoints. In other words, they are learners (the No. 1 trait Zana believes the strongest leaders share). There is an infectious energy communicated when corporate decision-makers are unafraid to do the digging, entertain the feedback and explore new, potentially better paths.   Zana shares wit

It sometimes feels like Employee Engagement has been superseded by the new, best thing in leadership thinking - purpose, values, leading in a hybrid world etc.  But, for me, it's about getting the fundamentals of work right so that workplaces are the best they can be to allow people to be the best they can be David Macleod and Nita Clarke published Engage for Success in 2010 and the four enablers of EE are as true today than they ever have been: 1. An emotive corporate story 2. Engaging Leaders 3. Employee Voice 4. Integrity Scott spoke to David and Nita in Ep 43 of the Building Better Cultures podcast and you can find their work at www.engageforsuccess.org #internalcommunications #creatingconnections #employeeengagement #culture #leadership #recognition #values #purpose ---------------------------------------------- 'Shorts by Building Better Cultures' is a short-form podcast in which we share our tuppenceworth on subjects in the areas of leadership, employee engagement, organisational culture and inter

Summary: While it may seem counter-intuitive at first, there is wisdom in the concept of leading from behind. This episode of Building Better Cultures deconstructs team dynamics and the long-term impact of providing individuals the space to contribute. Host Scott McInnes invites Peter Docker, the popular motivational speaker and author of multiple books, to share his unique take on human collaboration and the tools he’s developed to put theory into practice. Learn about the three pillars that Peter details in his new book, "Leading from the Jumpseat: How to Create Extraordinary Opportunities by Handing Over Control." Together they provide the mutually reinforced scaffolding for fostering healthy cultures – wherever people are working together and accountable to one another. Those three key ingredients include: Commitment Humble Confidence Belonging From his years as a pilot and respected mentor in the Royal Air Force – as well as his transition into the private sector and beyond – Peter has derived an appro

Summary: Startups are known for being fluid, nimble and open to experimentation. In this episode of Building Better Cultures, Host Scott McInnes’ guest is someone uniquely positioned to explain the mindset and best practices under which these ventures thrive. Chief Marketing Officer for MUSH, a Chicago-based food company that has experienced phenomenal growth, Jo shares not only her from-the-front observations in the start-up world but also links them back to some of the leadership experiences she has gleaned while at Fortune 500 companies such as PepsiCo. It turns out that early-stage companies and established enterprises alike have hard-earned lessons to learn – and to teach. Startups done right embrace healthy workplace practices immediately out of the gate, even well before any formal HR function has been codified. Cultures that prioritize psychological safety, practice empathetic leadership and value internal communication set themselves up for the smoothest possible transition to maturity and scalabilit